Event - 1999-11-10

His Highness the Aga Khan, Imam (spiritual leader) of the Ismaili Muslims today addressed industry leaders, government officials and development executives from around the world at the World Bank on applying information technology to the problems of human capital and development needs. According to the Aga Khan, it is only by positioning users to shape content and applications, that the full potential of this technology will be realized and its perceived threat to their cultures addressed. Lauding World Bank President James Wolfensohn's promotion of culture as a dimension of development, the Aga Khan said 'for too long, culture was dismissed as either irrelevant or elitist, or was seen as an obstacle to development.'