The Islamic World Heritage Committee (IWHC), during the final report of its 10th meeting, held at ICESCO Headquarters in Rabat, on Monday, July 4, 2022, decided to inscribe 141 historical sites and cultural elements on the Final and Tentative Islamic World Heritage Lists (IWHL). The total number of inscriptions on ICESCO’s IWHL has reached 473 historical sites and cultural elements from 34 countries.

After examining the files submitted for inscription on ICESCO’s IWHL, IWHC decided to inscribe 49 historical sites and cultural elements on the Final List, including 21 historical sites (tangible heritage) and 28 cultural elements (intangible heritage), from 10 ICESCO Member States, and 80 files on the Tentative List, including 61 historical sites (tangible heritage) and 19 cultural elements (intangible heritage) from 8 countries.

The decisions issued by the Committee at its 10th meeting also included the establishment of a new list under the name: “List of Best Practices for Safeguarding the Elements of Tangible and Intangible Cultural Heritage,” the adoption of an IWHC achievements report between the two sessions of 2019 and 2022 and the adoption of the vision of the Islamic world Heritage Center (IWHC) for the valorization of heritage within the 2022-2023 action plan. The Committee also adopted the “ICESCO Young Ambassadors Program for the Islamic World Heritage” and decided that the duration of the first cycle of the Program would be two years, aiming to train 3000 young men and women and selecting 30 ambassadors from among them, provided that they will represent the three geographical regions of the Organization’s Member States.

The Committee’s Members authorized the IWHC Head to review the book “Heritage of the Islamic World”, the first part of which was prepared by the Committee’s General Secretariat based on a previous decision, and to make the necessary amendments to it, with the help of the expert of the Scientific Assistance Committee and to prepare the final version for printing and distributing to the Member States.

The IWHC’s 10th Meeting brought together representatives of the following Member States: The State of Kuwait, the Republic of Iraq, the Islamic Republic of Mauritania, the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, the Republic of Cameroon, the Republic of Côte d’Ivoire and the Republic of Uzbekistan, as well as representatives of the Scientific Committee from the Kingdom of Moroccan). Representatives of the Republic of Indonesia and the Federal Republic of Nigeria did not attend the Meeting.