- Prince Hussain Aga Khan, Madagascar 1997 (Photo by Julian Cook)
Innovative thinking is the ability to make a difference, to change the world, to save the environment without saying one word.
That’s exactly what Prince Hussain Aga Khan is doing – by traveling around the world and taking pictures of landscape and animals, he manages to capture the essence and beauty of the environment and create awareness about our world in a way that no word description ever could.
In 1996, Prince Hussain went to the Brazilian Amazon, which sparked his interest in photography. He has taken thousands of photos of ecological subjects, wildlife, as well as landscape. Many of his photos have been featured in exhibits, noticably a collection in 2004 - “An Exhibit on Deforestation” which featured his excursions to rainforests and reefs all over the world. Furthermore, he has published a volume in 2008 - “Animal Voyage” - which contains 128 pages worth of pictures taken over nearly a decade!
“His goal was to inspire each visitor to appreciate the unique and fragile beauty in a world of coral reefs and rainforests. When he spoke to students from the Greenwich Academy and Brunswick at a joint Upper School Assembly, Prince Hussain said:
“In my photographs, I let the animals and trees speak for themselves and hope other people will see the beauty I see. I encourage everyone to travel and to visit the forests, for they are amazing. The sooner you visit, the more likely you are to see a broad variety of different plants and animals. There will be fewer and fewer in the future. That’s what I say to myself when I take every photograph.”
(Credit for this whole article goes to the source - which also has wonderful samples of Prince Hussain’s photography).
Through Prince Hussain’s incredible photographs, we not only have the opportunity to learn about places around the world that we have never seen, but through sights from pictures, we can see the beauty in the world around us and feel passionate to preserve our degenerative environments and natural habitats.
This is such a wonderful example of the kind of innovating and creative thinking that Change Tomorrow’s World hopes to emulate.
I am thrilled that such a prominent figure like Prince Hussain graciously demonstrates that the creation of awareness and passion for a cause can be harvested even with simple funds. I hope that many of you will be inspired by Prince Hussain, as I am, and look to him as example of someone who is changing the world. Hopefully that inspiration will transcend into making a difference in your own community. Something as simple as picking up a camera and capture the wonderful examples of nature in your backyard and around your community can create awareness and make a difference. Creating awareness about our environment is such an important cause.
So tell me, what are youth going to do to make a difference?
- Fariya Walji
CEO and Founder of Change Tomorrow’s World
