For Immediate Release The Canadian Ismaili Community puts its Ethics into Action with Ismaili CIVIC Day!

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September 17, 2018— The Canadian Ismaili Muslim community is pleased to announce that the second annual Ismaili CIVICDay – a day of active service by the entire Ismaili communityto improve quality of life in Canada – takes place on Sunday September 23, 2018.

 

Each year, on the fourth Sunday of September, Ismaili CIVIC Daykicks off a series of year-long volunteer events in which the Ismaili Community partners with community organizations, municipalities, and service groups to put its ethics into action.

 

During Canada’s 150th anniversary year, Canadian Ismailis contributed over 1.5 million hours of community service to improve the lives of fellow Canadians. Over200,000 of these hours were provided by the Ismaili communityin British Columbia, a number we anticipate will grow annually.

 

Examples of Ismaili CIVIC volunteer serviceinclude: sharing knowledge through mentorship, skills and employment support, assisting in the settlement of new Canadians, supporting local food banks and shelters, caring for the elderly, supporting poverty alleviation efforts, maintaining public spaces including parks and trails and much more.

 

On Saturday, September 22nd and Sunday September 23rd, 2018, Ismaili CIVIC Day,members of the Ismaili community in British Columbia, their families and friends will join hands and participate in the following initiatives:

 

Saturday, September 22, 2018

·         Food redistribution at Quest Food exchange in Surrey from 10 am to 1 pm

(13890 – 104 Avenue, Surrey)

·         A park clean-up with Friends of the Forest at Hazelnut Meadows Community Park in Surrey from 11:30 am to 1 pm. (14069 – 68 Avenue, Surrey)

·         A clean-up of the Gorge Waterway at Selkirk Green Park in Victoria from 10:00 am to noon

Sunday, September 23, 2018

·         Supporting Habitat for Humanity in Burnaby from 9:30 am to 3:30 pm

(977 Enterprise Street, Burnaby)

·         Farming with Freshroots at Vancouver Technical Secondary School from 10am to 1pm

(2600 E Broadway, Vancouver)

·         The Great Canadian Shoreline Clean-up at Burnaby Lake Nature Park from 11 am to 1 pm

·         Tree planting with Evergreen at Lynmouth Park in North Vancouver from 12 noon to 4 pm

(1322 Cotton Drive, North Vancouver)

The Ismaili community will continue to give back to Canada by holding service initiatives throughout the year and will again come together next September to commemorate Ismaili CIVIC Day 2019.

Ismaili settlement in Canada

The first Ismailis arrived in Canada in the late 1950s as part of a professional pool that immigrated to Canada from the United Kingdom and western European countries.  A few Ismaili entrepreneurs also arrived at that time in search of economic opportunities. This steady growth continued until the early 1970s when political changes in many Asian and African countries led to the arrival of large numbers of Ismailis in Canada. The community went through another important growth phase when several Ismailis from Central Asia settled in Canada after the fall of the Soviet Union in the early 1990s. Today, over100,000 Ismailis are settled throughout Canada, occupying senior positions in the professions and in government, and many are successful business people. In Canada, Ismailis have become known for their strong principles of volunteerism and support for humanitarian causes.

His Highness the Aga Khan and Canada

In Canada, institutions established by His Highness include the Aga Khan Foundation Canada(www.akfc.ca), an agency of the worldwide, non-denominational Aga Khan Development Network, as well as the award-winning Delegation of the Ismaili Imamat in Ottawa; the Global Centre for Pluralism in partnership with the Government of Canada(www.pluralism.ca); the Ismaili Centre in Burnaby; the Aga Khan Museum(www.agakhanmuseum.org), the Ismaili Centreand Aga Khan Park in Toronto; the Aga Khan Garden, Alberta; and a forthcoming park in Burnaby. These institutions reflect the permanent presence and values of the Ismaili community in Canada, as well as the longstanding role of the Ismaili Imamat in creating opportunities for individuals and institutions to learn from one another and work together to improve the human condition. Canada was selected as the site of these institutions, many of them global in scope, in recognition of the values shared by Canadians and the Imamat, including pluralism, meritocracy and democracy.

In his historic address to the joint session of Parliament in Canada on February 27, 2014, His Highness the Aga Khan spoke about voluntary service in Canada: “I have been impressed by recent studies showing the activity of voluntary institutions and not-for-profit organizations in Canada to be among the highest in the world. This Canadian spirit resonates with a cherished principle in Shia Ismaili culture — the importance of contributing one’s individual energies on a voluntary basis to improving the lives of others.

Please visit these websites for further information on the following:

The Ismaili Muslim Community                      https://the.ismaili/

The Aga Khan Development Network             www.akdn.org


For press inquiries please contact:

Khaleel Meghji at 604-614-8870 or [email protected]