Remarks By Frank F. Islam At Global Conclave 2023 On Shaping Studies, Students and Society through 21st Century Education January 2023 Distinguished Guests; Friends; Ladies and Gentlemen: Thank you for that kind introduction. It is a pleasure to be with all of you virtually at this groundbreaking Global Conclave to share my thoughts on creating schools for the future. When my dear friends Tarun Basu and KPR Nair extended the invitation explaining the focus and … [Read more...]
Articles
Frank blogs regularly for the Huffington Post and writes occasional columns and articles for publications such as the International Business Times and The Economic Times of India.
Frank writes on a wide variety of topics that are critical to shaping the future of America and the American dream and to making the United States and the world a better place. These include: Business; education; poverty and inequality; politics and public policy; immigration; manufacturing; innovation; leadership; citizenship; and social commentary.
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It is Inconceivable to Call Aligarh by Any Other Name
The impact of rechristening Aligarh and other towns and districts on their local communities, especially those belonging to the Muslim faith, is likely to have disastrous consequences. The Aligarh district panchayat recently passed a resolution asking the Government of Uttar Pradesh to change the name of the district and its eponymous city to “Harigarh.” This proposed renaming is not an isolated event. Cities and district renamed in the UP since the last election in … [Read more...]
Message from Aligarh: Celebrating diversity essential for India’s future as a world leader
In the 19th century, Sir Syed Ahmad Khan, the founder of Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) in India, sent a message that is as relevant and important today as it was back then. His message was a straightforward and simple one: it was to love all mankind. Sir Syed had a vision not only of peaceful co-existence in a pluralistic society but moreover of collaboration and communal harmony in that society. Why did Sir Syed have such vision and foresight? It was partly … [Read more...]
Elevating The Student Voice
It’s no secret that civic education in middle school has virtually disappeared in this 21st century as STEM has taken precedence. It is a secret though that there are still thousands of middle school teachers across the country who are investing their time, talents and energy to cultivate 21st century citizens in the classroom and beyond. This should be a secret no more. That is why, on October 18, the Frank Islam Institute for 21st Century Citizenship (FII), in collaboration with … [Read more...]
Remarks by Frank F. Islam at the concluding ceremony of DCSAFF : September 22, 2019
Thank you, Sanjay for that great introduction! Thank you, Manoj and Geeta, for your leadership. Both of you provide the example and set the standard. Both of you are difference makers. You have done a terrific job in founding and sustaining it. Let us give them a big round of applause. This is the fifth DC South Asian Film Festival (DCSAFF) closing ceremony in which I have participated. Thank you Manoj and Geeta for inviting me to deliver the closing remarks again. It’s wonderful to be … [Read more...]
Pakistan’s bid to reform Madrassas
Pakistan has recently announced to mainstream its 30,000 religious schools known as madrassas in a long overdue move to curb militancy. According to spokesman of Pakistan’s military Major General Asif Ghafoor, these autonomous religious schools would be brought under state control. Under the reform agenda, modern sciences will be included in the curriculum of these schools and hate speech will be excluded from their existing syllabus. The announcement is an important step for independent … [Read more...]
Recognizing Middle School Teacher Civic Engagement Champions
On April 8, at its annual legislative conference, the National Association of State Boards of Education announced that it was collaborating with the Frank Islam Institute for 21st Century Citizenship to present civic engagement champion awards to middle school teachers. Following that announcement, Frank told the conference attendees why he was supporting these awards through his Institute by answering three questions: Why civics? Why middle school? And, why teachers. His … [Read more...]
Pakistan’s employment conundrum
Being one of the world’s most populous countries, Pakistan is uniquely blessed with plenty of untapped human resources. Most of the country’s over 200 million citizens are young and ready to work. However, there are not enough jobs in the country to cater to the growing needs of its younger population. According to estimates of the International Labour Organisation (ILO), unemployment between the ages of 15 and 24 in Pakistan is 10.8 percent. This is higher than other countries in the … [Read more...]
View: India needs a competency-enhancing, job-creation master plan
When Narendra Modi was running for office, he promised to create 10 million jobs per year. The Modi administration has come nowhere near generating that number of jobs during his tenure in office, with the Indian economy expanding but the growth being essentially "jobless". This shortfall was not focused upon much in the early years of the Modi's time as Prime Minister. As India has moved through 2018 toward a national election in May of 2019, however, job creation, or the … [Read more...]
Lessons on the Team, the Game and Grit
Remarks By Frank F. Islam On Lessons on the Team, the Game and Grit for Maryland Youth Cricket Association Banquet December 2018 Good Evening Thank you very much for that kind introduction. It is my pleasure and honor to be here with all of you this evening to participate in this celebration. Thank you for your warm welcome and your hospitality. I want to express my deep gratitude to Jamie Harrison for inviting me to speak on this special occasion. … [Read more...]