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The Global Centre for Pluralism (french: Centre mondial du pluralisme) is an international centre for research, education and exchange about the values, practices and policies that underpin pluralist societies. Based in
Ottawa, Ontario Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the core ...
, Canada, the Centre seeks to assist the creation of successful societies. The Global Centre for Pluralism is an international initiative of
Aga Khan IV Shāh Karim al-Husayni (born 13 December 1936), known by the religious title Mawlānā Hazar Imam by his Ismaili followers and elsewhere as Aga Khan IV, is the 49th and current Imam of Nizari Ismailis, a denomination within Shia Islam. He ha ...
, 49th hereditary Imam of Ismaili Muslims, and was established jointly with the
Government of Canada The government of Canada (french: gouvernement du Canada) is the body responsible for the federal administration of Canada. A constitutional monarchy, the Crown is the corporation sole, assuming distinct roles: the executive, as the ''Crown-i ...
in 2006. It is located in the former
Canadian War Museum The Canadian War Museum (french: link=no, Musée canadien de la guerre; CWM) is a national museum on the country's military history in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. The museum serves as both an educational facility on Canadian military history, in ad ...
building along Ottawa's
Sussex Drive Sussex Drive (french: Promenade Sussex), also known as Ottawa Regional Road93, is an arterial road in Ottawa, Ontario, the capital of Canada. It is one of the city's main ceremonial and institutional routes. Travelling roughly parallel to the Ot ...
and was officially opened with
Governor General of Canada The governor general of Canada (french: gouverneure générale du Canada) is the federal viceregal representative of the . The is head of state of Canada and the 14 other Commonwealth realms, but resides in oldest and most populous realm ...
, the Right Honourable
David Johnston David Lloyd Johnston (born June 28, 1941) is a Canadian academic, author, and statesman who served from 2010 to 2017 as Governor General of Canada, the 28th since Canadian Confederation. He is the commissioner of the Leaders' Debates Commis ...
on May 16, 2017.


Board of directors

The Board of Directors of the Global Centre for Pluralism are the following: * His Highness the Aga Khan, (Chairman of the Board) Founder and Chairman of the
Aga Khan Development Network The Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN) is a network of private, non-denominational (de jure) development agencies founded by the Aga Khan that work primarily in the poorest parts of Asia and Africa. Aga Khan IV succeeded to the office of the 49t ...
(AKDN) and 49th hereditary Imam of the Shia Ismaili Muslims; * Princess Zahra Aga Khan, Head of the AKDN's Social Welfare department; *
Iain Benson Iain Tyrrell Benson (born 1955) is a legal philosopher and practising legal consultant. The main focus of his work in relation to law and society has been to examine some of the various meanings that underlie terms of common but confused usage. ...
, Canadian lawyer and Professor of Law at the
University of the Free State The University of the Free State is a multi-campus public university in Bloemfontein, the capital of the Free State (province), Free State and the judicial capital of South Africa. It was first established as an institution of higher learning in ...
in
Bloemfontein Bloemfontein, ( ; , "fountain of flowers") also known as Bloem, is one of South Africa's three capital cities and the capital of the Free State province. It serves as the country's judicial capital, along with legislative capital Cape To ...
; * The Right Honourable Adrienne Clarkson, former
Governor General of Canada The governor general of Canada (french: gouverneure générale du Canada) is the federal viceregal representative of the . The is head of state of Canada and the 14 other Commonwealth realms, but resides in oldest and most populous realm ...
; *
Huguette Labelle Huguette Labelle (born April 15, 1939) is a Canadian retired civil servant and former Chancellor of the University of Ottawa, serving from 1994 until 2012. She has been the chair of the Independent Advisory Board for Senate Appointments since 201 ...
, Chancellor of the
University of Ottawa The University of Ottawa (french: Université d'Ottawa), often referred to as uOttawa or U of O, is a bilingual public research university in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. The main campus is located on directly to the northeast of Downtown Ottaw ...
; *
Azim Nanji Professor Azim Nanji is a Kenyan-born professor of Islamic studies. From 1998 until 2008, he served as Director of The Institute of Ismaili Studies in London, England. At present, he is the Senior Associate Director of the Abbasi Program in Is ...
, Senior Associate Director for the
Abbasi Program in Islamic Studies The Sohaib and Sara Abbasi Program in Islamic Studies facilitates, promotes and also serves as the central forum for interdisciplinary research and teaching in Islamic studies at Stanford University. The program's activities and initiatives focus ...
at
Stanford University Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is conside ...
; * Margaret Ogilvie, Chancellor's Professor of Law,
Carleton University Carleton University is an English-language public research university in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Founded in 1942 as Carleton College, the institution originally operated as a private, non-denominational evening college to serve returning Wo ...
; * Khalil Shariff, Chief Executive Officer of the Aga Khan Foundation Canada and *
Eduardo Stein Dr. Eduardo Stein Barillas (born 20 October 1946) is a Guatemalan diplomat who served as the Vice President of Guatemala from 14 January 2004 to 14 January 2008, serving a concurrent four-year mandate with President Óscar Berger. He is curre ...
, diplomat and former
Vice President A vice president, also director in British English, is an officer in government or business who is below the president (chief executive officer) in rank. It can also refer to executive vice presidents, signifying that the vice president is on ...
of
Guatemala Guatemala ( ; ), officially the Republic of Guatemala ( es, República de Guatemala, links=no), is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the north and west by Mexico; to the northeast by Belize and the Caribbean; to the east by Hon ...
*
Beverley McLachlin Beverley Marian McLachlin (born September 7, 1943) is a Canadian jurist and author who served as the 17th chief justice of Canada from 2000 to 2017. She is the longest-serving chief justice in Canadian history and the first woman to hold the p ...
, former Chief Justice of Canada


Building

The Global Centre for Pluralism is located at 330 Sussex Drive in Ottawa, a building that served as the home of the Public Archives of Canada from 1906 to 1967 and the
Canadian War Museum The Canadian War Museum (french: link=no, Musée canadien de la guerre; CWM) is a national museum on the country's military history in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. The museum serves as both an educational facility on Canadian military history, in ad ...
from 1967 to 2005. The building was built from 1904 to 1906 and is designated a
National Historic Site of Canada National Historic Sites of Canada (french: Lieux historiques nationaux du Canada) are places that have been designated by the federal Minister of the Environment on the advice of the Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada (HSMBC), as being ...
and a
Classified Federal Heritage Building The Federal Heritage Buildings Review Office (FHBRO) was established in 1982 after the Government of Canada adopted an internal policy on managing heritage buildings. Today, federal heritage is incorporated into the Government of Canada's Treasury ...
.


Profile of activities

The Centre is a think-tank for studying and fostering pluralism. The Centre honours people, for efforts to build an inclusive society, with the Global Pluralism Awards. * 2017 Awards: Presented for the first time on November 15, 2017, with the winners being Leyner Palacios Asprilla of Colombia,
Alice Wairimu Nderitu Alice Wairimu Nderitu is the United Nations Special Adviser on the Prevention of Genocide to United Nations Secretary General António Guterres. Early life and education Nderitu holds a master's degree in armed conflict and peace studies (2013) and ...
of Kenya, and Daniel Webb of Australia. * 2019 Awards: Presented on November 20, 2019, with the winners being Deborah Ahenkorah of Ghana, the Center for Social Integrity of Myanmar, and ‘Learning History That Is Not Yet History’ of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Montenegro and Serbia. * 2021 Awards: Presented virtually on February 23, 2022, with the winners being Hand in Hand: Center for Jewish-Arab Education in
Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...
, Namati Kenya of
Kenya ) , national_anthem = " Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , coordinates = , largest_city = Nairobi , ...
, and Puja Kapai of
Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a List of cities in China, city and Special administrative regions of China, special ...
. Each year, the Centre hosts its Annual Pluralism Lecture. The lecturers have been: * 2012 – Former President of the
Kyrgyz Republic Kyrgyzstan,, pronounced or the Kyrgyz Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Asia. Kyrgyzstan is bordered by Kazakhstan to the north, Uzbekistan to the west, Tajikistan to the south, and the People's Republic of China to the east ...
Roza Otunbayeva Roza Isakovna Otunbayeva (Kyrgyz: Роза Исаковна (Исак кызы) Отунбаева, Roza Isakovna (Isak kyzy) Otunbayeva; born August 23, 1950) is a Kyrgyz diplomat and politician who served as the President of Kyrgyzstan from 7 A ...
* 2013 – Former
Secretary General of the United Nations The secretary-general of the United Nations (UNSG or SG) is the chief administrative officer of the United Nations and head of the United Nations Secretariat, one of the six principal organs of the United Nations. The role of the secretary-ge ...
Kofi Annan Kofi Atta Annan (; 8 April 193818 August 2018) was a Ghanaian diplomat who served as the seventh secretary-general of the United Nations from 1997 to 2006. Annan and the UN were the co-recipients of the 2001 Nobel Peace Prize. He was the founde ...
* 2014 – Former UN High Commissioner for Refugees
Antonio Guterres Antonio is a masculine given name of Etruscan origin deriving from the root name Antonius. It is a common name among Romance language-speaking populations as well as the Balkans and Lusophone Africa. It has been among the top 400 most popular ma ...
* 2015 – Chief Justice of the
Supreme Court of Canada The Supreme Court of Canada (SCC; french: Cour suprême du Canada, CSC) is the Supreme court, highest court in the Court system of Canada, judicial system of Canada. It comprises List of Justices of the Supreme Court of Canada, nine justices, wh ...
Beverly McLachlin Beverley Marian McLachlin (born September 7, 1943) is a Canadian jurist and author who served as the 17th chief justice of Canada from 2000 to 2017. She is the longest-serving chief justice in Canadian history and the first woman to hold the p ...
* 2016 – Justice
Albie Sachs Albert "Albie" Louis Sachs (born 30 January 1935) is a South African lawyer, activist, writer, and former judge appointed to the first Constitutional Court of South Africa by Nelson Mandela. Early life and education Albie Sachs was born on ...
* 2018 – Author
Karen Armstrong Karen Armstrong (born 14 November 1944) is a British author and commentator of Irish Catholic descent known for her books on comparative religion. A former Roman Catholic religious sister, she went from a conservative to a more liberal and ...
* 2019 – Deputy Secretary General of the United Nations
Amina J. Mohammed Amina Jane Mohammed (born 27 June 1961) is a Nigerian-British diplomat and politician who is serving as the fifth Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations. Previously, she was Nigerian Minister of Environment from 2015 to 2016 and was ...
* 2021 – Author
Maaza Mengiste Maaza Mengiste (born 1974) is an Ethiopian-American writer. Her novels include ''Beneath the Lion's Gaze'' (2010) and '' The Shadow King'' (2019), which was shortlisted for the 2020 Booker Prize. Early life Mengiste was born in Addis Ababa, Ethi ...


See also

* Delegation of the Ismaili Imamat


References


External links


Global Centre for Pluralism website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Global Centre For Pluralism Pluralism Buildings and structures in Ottawa Pluralism (philosophy) Sussex Drive