Address by Prince Aly Muhammad Aga Khan at UCA's 2026 Graduation Ceremony

Honourable Ministers,

Honourable Governors,

Chair and Members of the Board of Trustees,

Rector, faculty, and staff of the University of Central Asia,

Parents, partners, and friends,

And most importantly, dear graduates of the Class of 2026:

It is a great pleasure to be with you today. And it is an honour to share this moment with you and your families, here in Naryn.

Speaking from my own, relatively recent experience, a convocation is a day where you may feel gratitude. You may feel pride and relief for having completed your undergraduate degree, you may feel excitement bittersweet:

You may be saying goodbye to friends you’ve spent much of the last five years with.

You might be nervous about the world you’re entering and finding your place in it.

But no matter your emotions and however much may be running through your head today, I’d like you to keep the following in mind. Believe me I felt all these emotions myself not so long ago. But no matter how much maybe running through your head today, I’d like you to keep the following in mind.

In a world changing as quickly as ours, dedicating any amount of time to completing an undergraduate degree is a serious consideration. Leaving your homes and your families behind is daunting. And, quite frankly, coming to UCA was a leap of faith.

This relatively young university, with its close-knit student body, small faculty, and in such remote locations probably caused you and your families a second or even third round of consideration. But that is part of what makes UCA, and your time being a part of it, so special.

Young institutions require a certain spirit, patience, and character from everyone to help build them. It has required all the more from each and every one of you over the last five years.

That choice says something important about you.

It says that you are curious.

That you are open to new terrain.

That you are prepared to trust yourselves, and one another, even when the path ahead is not clear.

It says that you are willing to take a leap of faith.

Now, those qualities are not written on your diploma. But they are in you, and may prove to be among the most important parts of your education.

So I ask you, let it not be the last risk you take. Let this not be the last leap of faith.

I hope you will carry forward the curiosity that brought you here.

I hope you will keep trusting yourselves to tread new terrain.

This is your achievement, and it is a moment of great pride for your families, your teachers, and the whole UCA community.  On behalf of all those gathered here, I offer you my very warmest congratulations.

Ladies and gentlemen, I have shared a few of my own reflections on this milestone occasion.

It is now my honour to share a message from my brother, the Chancellor of the University, His Highness the Aga Khan.

Dear graduates, members of the University community, families, and friends,

I am very pleased to send my warmest greetings to you on this important day.

I regret that I am not able to be with you in person. But I am very glad that Prince Aly is with you in Naryn, and that this Convocation brings together the University community in both Naryn and in Khorog.

UCA was created as one university across more than one place. Today, even when separated by borders and distance, you gather as one community.

To the graduates, I offer my warmest congratulations.

This is a day of achievement for each of you.

It is also a day of pride for your families, who have supported you with love and sacrifice.

It is a day of pride for your teachers, who have guided and challenged you.

And it is a day of gratitude to all those whose work has made your education possible: the faculty and staff, the Board of Trustees, the donors, volunteers, partners, and the communities that have stood behind this University.

A graduation is always a personal milestone. Yours has a special place in the history of the University of Central Asia. You graduate twenty-five years after the Treaty was signed to establish this institution.

That Treaty brought together the Presidents of Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Kazakhstan, and the Ismaili Imamat, in a bold commitment to the peoples of this region, especially to its mountain societies.

It is therefore only right to acknowledge the vision of UCA’s Founders. I do so with particular gratitude for the vision and dedication of my late father, His Highness Aga Khan IV – the University’s first Chancellor.

He believed deeply that talent is not limited by geography.

He believed that young people in mountain communities should have access to education of the highest quality.

And he believed that knowledge, when joined with ethics and service, could improve the quality of life for individuals, families, and societies.

That vision remains at the heart of UCA.

Twenty-five years is a meaningful span of time: it’s long enough to see that the founding idea was sound, to recognise the dedication of those who have built this University with such care, and to celebrate real achievements.

But twenty-five years is also a moment to look ahead.

The world around us is changing quickly.

Knowledge is growing at remarkable speed. Technology is reshaping economies and societies. Climate change is affecting lives and livelihoods, especially in mountain regions. And the needs of communities are becoming more and more complex.

That is why this anniversary year has not only been a time of celebration. It has also been a time of reflection and renewal.

As part of that work, the University has undertaken a Strategic Review to consider how UCA can strengthen its focus, deepen its impact, and remain true to its mandate.

The task ahead is not to become a different university. It is to become an even stronger one: more focused, more sustainable, and still more able to serve the people and societies for whom it was created.

That is why, today, I wish to speak to the graduates most directly.

You are the true measure of this University.

Buildings, programmes, and strategies matter. But the success of a university is measured by the lives of its graduates, and by their contribution to others.

Your education has given you knowledge and skills. I hope it has also strengthened your judgement, deepened your sense of responsibility, prepared you to listen with care, to think independently, and to work with others in a spirit of respect.

You are entering a world that will ask much of you: to adapt to change, to make choices in uncertain conditions, to use new tools wisely, and to care not only about your own success, but also about the wellbeing of your communities.

I hope you will meet that world with confidence.

Not the confidence that claims to have every answer, but the confidence that comes from preparation, from values, and from knowing that you are part of something larger than yourselves.

Wherever life now takes you, I hope you will remain connected to one another, to your communities, and to the University of Central Asia.

As UCA continues to evolve, you too will have opportunities to serve, to lead, and to help shape the future of this region.

My hope is that you will carry forward the spirit that brought this University into being: a spirit of courage, of curiosity, of service, and of confidence in the future.

Once again, I offer my warmest congratulations to the Class of 2026.

May the years ahead bring you fulfilment, wisdom, and many opportunities to contribute to the societies you will serve.

Thank you.