TERM 2000-2003

Striving for Excellence in Education by President Dr. Hasnain Walji

Striving for Excellence in Education, a Call-to-Action for the Term of Education - 2000-2003.

Presented at the First Executive Council Meeting held on 27th. January 2001 at Stanmore.

Mission Statement

“To ensure equal access to education and to promote educational excellence and love of knowledge in every field throughout the community”

Preamble:

Today’s society has little room for those who cannot read, write and learn new technologies, skills and occupations and our community is not immune from this. We must be alive to this fact and provide every opportunity for our community to master all the modern technical skills and at the same time have an interest in the whole range of human wisdom and creativity which deals with life and death, beauty and truth, sincerity and compassion.

During this term, which has been declared as the Term of Education, the World Federation has set the following priorities and targets:

1. Availability of quality Primary and Secondary education. Target: All Community Schools
2. By eighteen years of age, our boys and girls are prepared for placement in institution of higher learning or vocational training centers. Target: All Between Ages of 18-25.
3. Drive towards a technologically literate community. Target: All Jamaats.
4. Special provision for gifted children and students of outstanding abilities. Targets: All Jamaats.
5. Special provisions for children with hearing and other disabilities. Target: All Jamaats
6. Promoting Adult Education. Target: All Jamaats
7. Intellectual Social and Emotional Integration. Target: Students in Western Universities.

Meeting these seven priorities requires action on all fronts to ensure that the greatest number of people buy into the vision we need to implement. Our Greatest Challenge is convincing the Community to buy into this vision

Fund for higher education, in our community, dates back to the fifties. However, the amount of money given for education is not increasing as fast as the need. Individual support is lagging while the expectation from WF is growing.

Despite these constraints, the World Federation, through its Jaffery Education Scheme and the Zainabiya Child Sponsorship has had a very creditable performance both in basic and higher education. During this tern WF needs to invest even greater resources in education for our young men as well as women, both in the East and the West, to ensure that they do not lag behind for the want of means and facilities.

At the same time, those who were given education loans have started to pay back. By there are many who are not paying back. By encouraging more and more of these ex-students to repay and even contribute, Inshallah WF can redeploy these funds for more loans.

Transforming Vision to Reality, by President Dr. Hasnain Walji

Presented at the First Executive Council Meeting held on 27th. January 2001 at Stanmore.

The purpose of this master document is to state the plans and projects for the term 2000-2003 and seek the support from the community to turn this collective vision into action. This document incorporates the vision of Conference 2000 and is a result of months of detailed deliberations by the team at the secretariat. It is an attempt at defining the direction envisaged during the term 2000-2003. I now invite the Community at large to enroll in that vision and urge your active participation and input.

World Federation Mission Statement:

The World Federation aims “to create an environment for the betterment of the community and to nurture individuals, who will serve humanity to seek closeness to Allah S.W.T. in accordance with the Sunnah of the Prophet (SAW) and Aimmah (AS)”.

1. Conference Vision: The packed house of Conference 2000 demonstrated yet again, that the community across the globe not only expects the World Federation to deliver the highest level of services but also actively participates in that delivery process. In keeping with the consensus developed during the keynote session, which was devoted to the Vision for the Community, activities of the WF will be carried out in the spirit espoused by Conference as reaffirmed below:
2. Core Values of World Federation
   1. Serve with Simplicity and sincerity
   2. Strive for excellence in all fields especially in education
   3. Enable and facilitate all community in endeavors
   4. Engage grassroots
   5. Prevent duplication and support local and innovation
3. Short Term Goals
   1. Executive Council becomes a strategic body that provides for planning and oversight.
   2. Boards across all organizations to be the engine for action, planning and delivery. The WF executive Council would act as a central strategic resource.
   3. Individual Boards to involve youths and women in all its workings.
   4. The focus for the new term should be to develop leadership, mentoring and succession planning at all levels of our community organizations.
   5. Encourage International youth and women’s forums and Conference.
   6. WF leadership to visit each member organization at least once during the term of office to stay in touch with the community needs.
4. Long term Goals
   1. Education for all
   2. Health care for all
   3. Self-sufficiency for all
   4. Representation for all
   5. Effective leadership for all
5. A Shared Vision: Realization of our vision must be in spirit of the collectivity of purpose. Together we can make a difference by envisioning the WF as a uniting force that conceptualizes projects in the service of the community, and woks with the regional bodies and local organizations in their implementation and evaluation. This document is a result of the shared vision of the team at the Secretariat. It is an attempt at defining the direction and enumerates the projects for the term 2000-2003. WF now invites the Community at large to enroll in that vision by participation and input.
6. Project Profiles
   1. Sharing the Gift of Islam with all – WF IEB: The mission of the WF- Islamic Education Board is to share the gift of Islam with all