Dr. Mohamed Zinelabidine, Head of the Culture and Communication Sector of the Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ICESCO), took part in the closing ceremony of the International Exhibition of Contemporary Art, organized jointly by ICESCO and the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul, the Museum of Contemporary Art in Brazil, the Brazilian International Cultural Center and the Higher Institute of Arts. The Head of the Sector also held a series of meetings with several officials of cultural institutions and bodies in Brazil to discuss prospects for cooperation between ICESCO and these institutions.

The Exhibition was organized at the initiative of the ICESCO Chair at the University, supervised by Dr. Sandra Rey, as part of ICESCO’s International Chairs Network for Thought, Heritage, Literature and Arts, and attracted large numbers of visitors between March and June 2023. The closing ceremony was attended by a host of prominent intellectual and art figures and a number of creative university professors.

During his visit to Brazil, Dr. Zinelabidine held a meeting with the President of the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul and several university officials, where they reviewed the achievements of the “ICESCO Chair on Art and Nature: Common Concepts,” which the University hosts. The meeting was also marked by the signing of a working agreement with the National Foundation of the School of Engineers, and a series of discussions with a large number of thinkers and innovators from Brazil and neighboring countries in Latin America to agree on establishing an international network to work within the scope of ICESCO’s areas of competence and in the context of its international scientific, cultural and artistic partnerships.

In addition, the Head of ICESCO’s Culture and Communication Sector presented a lecture at the Art Museum in Rio Grande do Sul on the theme, “Culture for Rethinking the World,” to which he reviewed the development of applied social science concepts and their bias towards cultural theories, highlighting ICESCO’s areas of competence and its support for its Member States to develop their comprehensive policies in order to further upgrade their cultural development indicators and promote creative industries and the digital economy.

Dr. Zinelabidine was also the guest of honor at the Iberé Camargo Foundation, where he attended its international exhibition, and agreed with its Director to hold joint international exhibitions between ICESCO and the Foundation, which houses a collection of more than three thousand international artistic monuments and works with major international institutions and companies.