On September 28, members of the local Ismaili community gathered with UBC students, faculty, staff, and leadership to commemorate the signing of a Statement of Cooperation between the university and the Ismaili Council for BC. Signed by UBC’s 15th President Santa J. Ono and Ismaili Council for BC President Samir Manji, this statement sets the foundation for continuous institutional cooperation in the areas of community engagement and knowledge exchange.
“We look forward to building an ever-stronger partnership based on the fundamental values we share in common: those of exchanging knowledge, improving our communities, and enabling the development of human potential.”
– Samir Manji, President of the Ismaili Council for BC
The Statement of Cooperation is an important milestone in a long and meaningful history of partnership and collaboration between both institutions. “As we now formalize the long-standing relationship that already exists between our two organizations, we look forward to building an ever-stronger partnership based on the fundamental values we share in common: those of exchanging knowledge, improving our communities, and enabling the development of human potential,” Manji said at the signing.
The statement will encourage further exploration in areas like public programming, research, training for educators teaching within the Ismaili Muslim education system, and more. “This statement of cooperation is more than a willingness to cooperate. It’s a commitment to continue to set goals together to create positive, significant, and lasting differences in our communities,” Ono said at the event.
Reflecting further on the value of community engagement to advancing the university’s institutional priorities, Ono shared that “I hope this will serve as a model for future institutional partnerships with communities that share our commitments to education, equity, and justice.” Collaboration between UBC and the Ismaili Council for BC will continue to be guided by the “Joint Liaison Committee”, an established working group officially formed in February 2020.
Recent initiatives between UBC and the Ismaili Council for BC
As a result of recent collaborations between UBC and the Ismaili Council for BC, UBC’s Faculty of Education is working with lead educators from the Ismaili Tariqah and Religious Education Board of Canada to co-develop an online professional learning course for Ismaili educators across Canada. This course will advance participants’ capacity for teacher inquiry and inquiry as a pedagogical practice. Additionally, educators will have opportunities to apply their learning directly to their classrooms throughout the course.
Sociology Professor Renisa Mawani and UBC’s Office of Community Engagement are also collaborating with the Ismaili Council for BC and UBC’s Ismaili Student Association on a public dialogue series titled Reconciliation, Pluralism and Settler Colonialism. The series explores ways of thinking about reconciliation and pluralism under ongoing conditions of settler colonialism. The second dialogue was held on June 14, 2022, at UBC Robson Square, and brought UBC, the Ismaili community, and the public together for a free screening of All Our Fathers Relations and dialogue on settler colonialism, identity, and migration.
To learn more about partnership opportunities between UBC and the Ismaili Council for BC, please contact the UBC Community Engagement Office at community.engagement@ubc.ca.