The International Encounters Competition 2025, held in Dubai from July 20 to 27, introduced collectively greater than 4,000 younger contributors from over 50 international locations, together with a powerful presence from East Africa. Hosted on the Dubai World Commerce Centre and supported by the Authorities of the United Arab Emirates, the occasion drew greater than 25,000 attendees in individual and reached thousands and thousands by world broadcast. It mixed sport, the humanities, service, and management improvement, whereas additionally reinforcing the worth of neighborhood engagement in worldwide cooperation.
The occasion was a structured initiative anchored by the Ismaili neighborhood’s decades-long funding in constructing world relationships and fostering alternatives for younger individuals by schooling, civic participation, and moral management. The Aga Khan Improvement Community (AKDN) offered the institutional spine behind a lot of this system supply and long-term planning.
The Ismaili Group and Its Roots in East Africa
The Ismaili presence in East Africa started within the mid-Nineteenth century, with early settlements alongside the Swahili coast and in business commerce hubs inland. Over time, the neighborhood grew to become an integral a part of nationwide improvement in Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda. It contributed to the area’s infrastructure, schooling, and well being sectors, whereas additionally supporting entrepreneurship, social enterprises, and civic establishments.
A lot of this progress was formed by the management of the late Prince Karim Aga Khan, the forty ninth hereditary Imam of the Shia Imami Ismaili Muslims. His dedication to pluralism, meritocracy, and repair helped construct a community of establishments throughout the continent. Underneath his steerage, AKDN grew to become one of the vital influential improvement organizations in Africa, and globally, delivering tangible enhancements in public well being, schooling, and civil society.
Lots of the younger athletes, artists, and leaders representing East Africa on the International Encounters Competition have been supported straight or not directly by these investments. Their participation displays a legacy that mixes identification with an unwavering dedication to constructing public good.
A Platform for Values-Pushed International Engagement
International Encounters started as a legacy initiative of the late Prince Karim Aga Khan, the forty ninth hereditary Imam of the Shia Imami Ismaili Muslims, designed to convey collectively younger individuals from the world over in a setting that promotes cross-cultural dialogue, moral management, and repair to society. Over time, it has developed into a classy world program that continues to develop in scale and impression.
The 2025 version in Dubai featured sport competitions, artwork exhibitions, service tasks, and immersive workshops. Management classes centered on sustainability, local weather motion, inclusive schooling, and digital innovation. The complete pageant was powered by renewable vitality, utilizing Worldwide Renewable Vitality Certificates from Dubai’s photo voltaic grid infrastructure, demonstrating a powerful alignment with the worldwide vitality transition agenda.
This method displays the AKDN’s built-in mannequin, which seeks to stability cultural and social aims with sustainability and long-term coverage alignment. For governments globally, it presents a novel instance of what will be achieved when civil society companions are empowered to ship youth programming at scale.
Strengthening Ties Between the UAE and the Ismaili Group
The selection of Dubai because the host metropolis despatched a powerful diplomatic message. The occasion was held beneath the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Mansoor bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum. The opening ceremony featured remarks from Minister of Tolerance and Coexistence Sheikh Nahayan Mabarak Al Nahyan, who welcomed the worldwide Ismaili neighborhood and acknowledged the presence of Prince Aly Mohammed Aga Khan and Prince Amyn Aga Khan.
Through the opening ceremony, Prince Rahim Aga Khan, the fiftieth Imam of the Shia Ismaili Muslim neighborhood by a video delivered a message of gratitude that mirrored the importance of the host nation’s help. He mentioned:
“I wish to start by expressing my heartfelt due to His Highness Sheikh Nahayan Mabarak Al Nahyan, Minister of Tolerance and Coexistence and to His Highness Sheikh Mansoor bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Chairman of the Dubai Sports activities Council and President of the UAE Nationwide Olympic Committee; to town of Dubai; and to the federal government of the United Arab Emirates for the nice and cozy welcome they’ve prolonged.”
He famous that sport and the humanities usually are not simply types of artistic expression, but additionally instruments that convey individuals collectively throughout borders. His message emphasised continuity of function and the significance of constructing platforms that join individuals by shared values.
The continued cooperation between the UAE authorities and the Ismaili neighborhood shouldn’t be new. It displays a historic and long-standing relationship constructed on mutual respect and a shared dedication to pluralism and civic improvement. The pageant reaffirmed this relationship and expanded it by the inclusion of latest thematic areas akin to environmental motion and youth innovation. It introduced Ismailis from practically 25 completely different international locations culminating in Dubai, which is now being seen as a hub of world tolerance, inclusivity and variety.
A New Period of Management with Prince Rahim Aga Khan
At this time, the Ismaili neighborhood appears to be like towards the longer term beneath the management and steerage of Prince Rahim Aga Khan, the fiftieth hereditary Imam. His work not solely continues the legacy of his late father, however can be centered on advancing environmental accountability, selling moral governance, and increasing digital entry throughout the creating world.
Prince Rahim Aga Khan has already launched new initiatives inside AKDN aimed toward strengthening inexperienced finance, academic fairness, and institutional partnerships. His imaginative and prescient is grounded in continuity, however it additionally displays the urgency of the second. He brings to the function a give attention to innovation and a perception that younger individuals, if empowered, can turn out to be brokers of significant transformation. The International Encounters Competition is a mirrored image of this method. It’s a house the place younger persons are not solely celebrated for his or her skills, however outfitted to steer in areas that matter to society.
The Strategic Worth of the International Encounters Mannequin
For governments in East Africa and throughout the continent, International Encounters affords greater than a template for youth programming. It presents a working instance of how transnational communities can ship impression that aligns with public aims. From local weather coverage to abilities improvement, the pageant intersects with key priorities on the regional and continental agendas.
Partnerships between governments and establishments like AKDN present a beneficial mechanism for translating coverage into motion, significantly in schooling, civic service, and social enterprise. These partnerships additionally create platforms the place rising leaders can join with friends globally, entry new alternatives, and symbolize their communities in a constructive and dignified method.
Reinforcing Goal Via Participation
The International Encounters Competition 2025 demonstrated the potential of well-organized, community-driven applications to construct long-term bridges between individuals and establishments. It supplied a uncommon instance of how civil society, when supported by governments and anchored by values, can produce outcomes that serve each people and the general public good.
The participation of East African youth was a reminder that improvement shouldn’t be solely about infrastructure or financial development. It is usually about giving younger individuals the instruments, house, and encouragement to take part in constructing their societies and contributing globally. Occasions like International Encounters present what is feasible when that funding is made.
