Mombasa, 20 December 2003 - Inauguration of the Aga Khan Academy, Mombasa, the first in an international network of close to 20 academic centres of excellence. The Aga Khan Academies will feature a curriculum based on the International Baccalaureate (IB) and a system of international student and teacher exchanges between Academies in different countries as well as with allied schools, including Phillips Academy in the United States and the Schule Schloss Salem in Germany. Proficiency in at least two languages, of which one will be English, and progressive mastery of information technologies will also be hallmarks of the programmes. To ensure access regardless of socio-economic status or other limiting factors, admission to the Academies will be merit-based and means-blind.