North American Chapter Group of the IIS Alumni Association holds its Second Annual Meeting
April 2007
Fifty alumni from across North America came together for the second annual meeting of the North American Chapter Group of the IIS Alumni Association, which was held in Toronto, Canada from 30th March – 1st April. Several representatives from the Institute’s senior management and leaders from the Ismaili community institutions in North America attended segments of the conference and delivered presentations.
Hanif Virani, President of the Chapter Group, and Selina Kassam Ramji, Alumni Relations Coordinator, formally opened the weekend’s meeting by welcoming the alumni and thanking them for their on-going support and commitment to the IIS. The newly elected leadership of the local branches of the North American chapter group was formally introduced to the alumni body.
Mr Shiraz Kabani, Head of Operations, Finance and Development at the IIS, delivered a presentation on key themes related to the commemoration of the Golden Jubilee of His Highness’ accession to the Ismaili Imamat. He shared with the group the over-arching goals of the Golden Jubilee and encouraged the alumni to seek ways to contribute to institutional endeavours to achieve these goals.
The keynote address was delivered by Dr Aziz Esmail, IIS Governor, who spent an entire afternoon with the alumni. He spoke of the special sentiments he held for the alumni body; sentiments of affection, memories and hope. He applauded their courage in their decision to study at the IIS and spoke of contributions they could make to the Jamat and the wider society.
The day concluded with an address by Professor Azim Nanji, Director, who spoke of IIS alumni as torchbearers for the Jamat for the future.
On the second day, Rizwan Mawani, Research Consultant, delivered a fascinating presentation entitled Moving Beyond the ‘Masjid’: Exploring Muslim Spaces of Worship and Gathering, which was based on the research he has been conducting over the past two years.
One of the highlights of the meeting was the Alumni Showcase: five alumni shared with the group their research and work. Farhad Mortezaee showcased a computer programme he has been working on entitled Virtual Fatimid Cairo. Rahim Rajan presented on Scholarly Research and Global Knowledge while Al-Karim Datoo shared with the group his doctoral research entitled Glocalization of Education. Dr Nouraddin Allahdini enlightened the group on his work with AKDN Iran and Karim Gillani delivered a presentation on his doctoral research entitled Message of Islam in the Sacred Songs of Ismaili Ginan:Contemporary Challenges, Transmission and Standardization.
Mohammed Keshavjee, IIS Governor, addressed the alumni over lunch on how they can get engaged with community programmes. He also spoke about principles that should guide the engagement of alumni with Ismaili Community and AKDN Institutions.
Selina Kassam Ramji and Sara Cerfontyne of the IIS Alumni Relations Unit shared with the group achievements and challenges to date, focusing on feedback from the Board on the 2006 Alumni Profile Report. They sought feedback on how to achieve 100% participation for the 2007 report.
Finally, nominees for the positions of President and Secretary for the term ending May 2008 articulated their aspirations for the Chapter Group. Elections of the office bearers from amongst the alumni will take place in May.
During the day, representatives from the leadership of the Ismaili community in North America also addressed the alumni and shared with them their thoughts on how alumni could contribute to the community through institutional endeavours.
Ismailimail 