The Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ICESCO) and the Arab Council for Youth (ACFY) in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia signed a memorandum of understanding to promote cooperation and exchange expertise in the fields of education, research, innovation, youth capacity building.

The MoU was signed on Wednesday, January 17, 2024, by Dr. Salim. M. AlMalik, ICESCO Director-General, and Dr. Faisal bin Youssef Alanezi, ACFY Secretary-General. The signing took place during the opening ceremony of the 44th Session of the Executive Council, hosted by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in Jeddah, on 16-18 January 2024.

Over the course of three years, the MoU outlines cooperation between ICESCO and ACFY in the field of knowledge and expertise exchange to promote understanding and dialogue among young people from different cultural backgrounds. It also provides for cooperation to design join initiatives to overcome the challenges facing Arab and Muslim youth, notably issues pertaining to education, employment, social integration, climate change, sustainable development and technological innovation.

The MoU signed with ACFY, an initiative affiliated with the Association of Arab Universities in service of youth development, provides for promoting the exchange of best practices in the field of strategic foresight and studies on the future, focusing on their applications in building youth capacities and policy making. It also provides for invigorating their role in shaping their societies’ future and promoting their active participation in decision making.