In the implementation of the new vision and strategic orientations of the Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ICESCO), which encourages countries of the Islamic world to invest in modern technology and benefit from its potential to achieve sustainable development, ICESCO is holding a two-day forum and workshop on “Metaverse: Global Expectations and Challenges,” in the presence of a high-caliber group of officials from international organizations, institutions and companies as well as experts and researchers specialized in the field, to exchange knowledge and experiences and explore the challenges posed by modern technologies and how to deal with them.

The activities of the Forum started on Tuesday, November 29, 2022, with a recitation of verses from the Holy Quran, then Dr. Raheel Qamar, Head of ICESCO Science and Technology Sector, presented a summary of the importance of the metaverse and its role in contributing to the development of the digital economy. The opening session kicked off with an address by Dr. Salim M. AlMalik, ICESCO Director General, in which he reaffirmed that the world is entering today a new dimension characterized by the metaverse and its capabilities that are not yet identified, indicating that this space allows for transcending borders and working and learning in an endless virtual space.

Dr. AlMalik stressed that the ICESCO’s Forum and Workshop on metaverse aims to provide a space for discussion and exchange of experiences, and to explore the use of metaverse technologies in the Organization’s Member States, referring to ICESCO’s efforts and initiatives to build global partnerships to benefit from metaverse applications.

In his speech, Dr. Rana Tanveer Hussain, Minister of Education and Professional Training of Pakistan stressed the importance of the technology role and the opportunities it offers to meet the challenges of education, noting the need to adopt comprehensive and sustainable educational policies and curricula based on modern applications.

For his part, Mr. Baybars Altuntas, Chairman of World Business Angels Investment Forum, stressed the need to join international efforts to strengthen the economy by relying on startups, commending ICESCO’s efforts to push toward digital transformation.

The first session, which is entitled “Metaverse Experiments: Current Reality and the Virtual World,” touched upon metaverse technologies and the ethics of using them, by reviewing experiences presented by high-caliber officials and experts from MILO Space Sciences Institute, World Business Angels Investment Forum, as well as other specialized international companies and institutions, while the second session dealt with the techniques and trends of the metaverse, and the third session focused on issues of security and ethical privacy in metaverse applications.