Together with the Aga Khan Foundation, we celebrated the V anniversary of our award in Senegal

The Aga Khan Foundation (AKF) is a non-profit organization established in 1967 by His Highness the Aga Khan IV. Its mission is to alleviate poverty and improve the quality of life in disadvantaged communities, primarily in Africa, Central and South Asia, and the Middle East.

In 1977, he established the Aga Khan Prize, a triennial award that recognizes architectural projects that improve the quality of life in Muslim communities, emphasizing innovation, sustainability and cultural sensitivity.

On October 24 and 25, the Foundation organized a conference in Senegal, a country that has a historical relationship with the Awards, as it is home to four projects that have received the Award: the Nianing Agricultural Center (1980), the Franco-Senegalese Alliance in Kaolack (1995), the Teaching and Research Unit of Alioune Diop University in Bambey (2019), and the Kamanar Secondary School in Thionck Essyl (2022).

Our colleague Federico Pardos, coauthor with Javier Pérez of the Bambey University project, participated in the conference, held at the university itself and at the Museum of Black Civilizations in Dakar, which included a seminar on the role of architecture in Africa and an official ceremony to celebrate the Senegalese winners for 2019 and 2022.

In addition, Farrokh Derakhshani, director of AKAA, presented IDOM with an award for its Alioune Diop University project. The program also included visits and celebrations in the company of AKAA jury members Souleymane Bachir Diagne and Lesley Lokko.

Souleymane Bachir Diagne is a Senegalese philosopher and university professor. His work focuses on the history of logic and mathematics, epistemology, the tradition of philosophy in the Islamic world, identity formation, and African literatures and philosophies. Lesley Naa Norle Lokko is a Ghanaian-Scottish architect, academic and writer. In 2022, she was appointed curator of the XVIII International Architecture Exhibition, Venice Biennale. In 2024, she became the first African woman to win the Royal Gold Medal for Architecture.

Copyright: Aga Khan Trust for Culture Chérif Tall photographer