Aga Khan Award for Architecture announces 2025 Master Jury
October 9, 2024, 6:16 pm

Aga Khan Award for Architecture announces 2025 Master Jury

جائزة الآغا خان للعمارة

Geneva, Switzerland, October 2024 – The Master Jury for the 2025 Aga Khan Award for Architecture was announced today. The independent panel, responsible for selecting the winners of the prestigious US$ 1 million Award, will meet in January to evaluate and shortlist projects from hundreds of nominations worldwide.

The nine members of the Master Jury for the 16th Award cycle (2023-2025) are:
•   Azra Akšamija, Professor & Director, Art, Culture and Technology Program, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Boston, USA
•   Noura Al-Sayeh Holtrop, Advisor for Heritage Projects, Bahrain Authority for Culture and Antiquities, Manama, Bahrain
•   Lucia Allais, Director, Buell Center, Columbia University Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation, New York, USA
•   David Basulto, Founder, ArchDaily, Santiago, Chile and Berlin, Germany
•   Yvonne Farrell, Academy of Architecture, Mendrisio, Switzerland; Founder and Partner, Grafton Architects, Dublin, Ireland
•   Kabage Karanja, Co-founder, Cave_bureau, Nairobi, Kenya; Assistant Professor of Architectural Design, Yale University, New Haven, USA
•   Yacouba Konaté, Professor of Philosophy, University Félix Houphouët Boigny of Abidjan-Cocody, Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire
•   Hassan Radoine, Director General & Full Professor, Citinnov SA for Integrated Territorial Planning and Smart Cities, Mohammed VI Polytechnic University, Rabat, Morocco
•   Mun Summ Wong, Professor-in-Practice, Department of Architecture, College of Design and Engineering, National University of Singapore; Co-founding Director, WOHA, Singapore

Read their full bios

Following the selection of the shortlist, projects will undergo rigorous on-site reviews by independent experts, the majority of whom are architects, conservation specialists, planners or structural engineers. The Jury will meet for a second time in summer 2025 to examine the on-site reviews and select the final winners.
The selection process emphasises architecture that not only provides for people’s physical, social and economic needs, but also stimulates and responds to their cultural aspirations. Particular attention is given to building schemes that use local resources and appropriate technology in innovative ways and to projects likely to inspire similar efforts elsewhere.
The Aga Khan Award for Architecture is governed by a Steering Committee chaired by His Highness the Aga Khan. The other members of the Steering Committee are:
•   Meisa Batayneh, Principal Architect, Founder, maisam architects and engineers, Amman, Jordan
•   Souleymane Bachir Diagne, Professor in the departments of French and Philosophy, Columbia University, New York, USA
•   Lesley Lokko, Founder & Director, African Futures Institute, Accra, Ghana
•   Gülru Necipoğlu, Director and Professor of the Aga Khan Program for Islamic Architecture, Harvard University, Cambridge, USA
•   Hashim Sarkis, Dean, School of Architecture and Planning, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, USA
•   Sarah M. Whiting, Dean, Graduate School of Design, Harvard University, Cambridge, USA
Farrokh Derakhshani is the Director of the Award.

NOTES
The Aga Khan Award for Architecture is part of the Aga Khan Trust for Culture (AKTC), an agency of the Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN), which integrates cultural heritage into its broader development strategies.
AKTC works to preserve and promote the cultural and material heritage of Muslim societies, ensuring that culture plays a central role in improving economic prospects and providing hope to vulnerable communities. Its programmes include the Aga Khan Historic Cities Programme, which works to revitalise historic cities in the Muslim world, both culturally and socio-economically. For three decades, it has been engaged in the rehabilitation of historic areas in Cairo, Kabul, Herat, Aleppo, Delhi, Zanzibar, Mostar, northern Pakistan, Timbuktu and Mopti.
The programmes of AKTC also include the Aga Khan Music Awards, an interregional music and arts education programme with worldwide performance, outreach, mentoring and artistic production activities; the Education Programme, which aims to promote broader and deeper awareness amongst young people of the philosophy and values that underpin the efforts of the Trust; and the Aga Khan Museum in Toronto, which provides visitors with a window into the artistic, intellectual and scientific contributions of Muslim civilizations to world heritage.
The Trust supports the Aga Khan Program for Islamic Architecture at Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology as well as www.ArchNet.org, a major online resource on Islamic architecture.

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BENEFIT, the Kingdom’s innovator and leading company in Fintech and electronic financial transactions service, held its Annual General Meeting (AGM) at the company’s headquarters in the Seef District.
During the meeting, shareholders approved all items listed on the agenda, including the ratification of the minutes of the previous AGM held on 26 March 2024. The session reviewed and approved the Board’s Annual Report on the company’s activities and financial performance for the fiscal year ended 31 December 2024, and the shareholders expressed their satisfaction with the company’s operational and financial results during the reporting period.
The meeting also reviewed the Independent External Auditor’s Report on the company’s consolidated financial statements for the year ended 31 December 2024. Subsequently, the shareholders approved the audited financial statements for the fiscal year. Based on the Board’s recommendation, the shareholders approved the distribution of a cash dividend equivalent to 10% of the paid-up share capital.
Furthermore, the shareholders endorsed the allocation of a total amount of BD 172,500 as remuneration to the members of the Board for the year ended 31 December 2024, subject to prior clearance by related authorities.
The extension of the current composition of the Board was approved, which includes ten members and one CBB observer, for a further six-month term, expiring in September 2025, pending no objection from the CBB.
The meeting reviewed and approved the Corporate Governance Report for 2024, which affirmed the company’s full compliance with the corporate governance directives issued by the CBB and other applicable regulatory frameworks. The AGM absolved the Board Members of liability for any of their actions during the year ending on 31st December 2024, in accordance with the Commercial Companies Law.
In alignment with regulatory requirements, the session approved the reappointment of Ernst & Young (EY) as the company’s External Auditors for the fiscal year 2025, covering both the parent company and its subsidiaries—Sinnad and Bahrain FinTech Bay. The Board was authorised to determine the external auditors’ professional fees, subject to approval from the CBB, and the meeting concluded with a discussion of any additional issues as per Article (207) of the Commercial Companies Law.
Speaking on the company’s performance, Mr. Mohamed Al Bastaki, Chairman BENEFIT , stated: “In terms of the financial results for 2024, I am pleased to say that the year gone by has also been proved to be a success in delivering tangible results. Growth rate for 2024 was 19 per cent. Revenue for the year was BD 17 M (US$ 45.3 Million) and net profit was 2 Million ($ 5.3 Million).

Mr. Al Bastaki also announced that the Board had formally adopted a new three-year strategic roadmap to commence in 2025. The strategy encompasses a phased international expansion, optimisation of internal operations, enhanced revenue diversification, long-term sustainability initiatives, and the advancement of innovation and digital transformation initiatives across all service lines.
“I extend my sincere appreciation to the CBB for its continued support of BENEFIT and its pivotal role in fostering a stable and progressive regulatory environment for the Kingdom’s banking and financial sector—an environment that has significantly reinforced Bahrain’s standing as a leading financial hub in the region,” said Mr. Al Bastaki. “I would also like to thank our partner banks and valued customers for their trust, and our shareholders for their ongoing encouragement. The achievements of 2024 set a strong precedent, and I am confident they will serve as a foundation for yet another successful and impactful year ahead.”
Chief Executive of BENEFIT; Mr. Abdulwahed AlJanahi commented, “The year 2024 represented another pivotal chapter in BENEFIT ’s evolution. We achieved substantial progress in advancing our digital strategy across multiple sectors, while reinforcing our long-term commitment to the development of Bahrain’s financial services and payments landscape. Throughout the year, we remained firmly aligned with our objective of delivering measurable value to our shareholders, strategic partners, and customers. At the same time, we continued to play an active role in enabling Bahrain’s digital economy by introducing innovative solutions and service enhancements that directly address market needs and future opportunities.”
Mr. AlJanahi affirmed that BENEFIT has successfully developed a robust and well-integrated payment network that connects individuals and businesses across Bahrain, accelerating the adoption of emerging technologies in the banking and financial services sector and reinforcing Bahrain’s position as a growing fintech hub, and added, “Our achievements of the past year reflect a long-term vision to establish a resilient electronic payment infrastructure that supports the Kingdom’s digital economy. Key developments in 2024 included the implementation of central authentication for open banking via BENEFIT Pay”
Mr. AlJanahi concluded by thanking the Board for its strategic direction, the company’s staff for their continued dedication, and the Central Bank of Bahrain, member banks, and shareholders for their valuable partnership and confidence in the company’s long-term vision.