Dr. Salim M. Al-Malik, Director General of the Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ICESCO), attended the opening of the 13th edition of the Madayn Heritage Festival, in the historic city of Chinguetti, Mauritania, which kicked off on Friday (13 December 2024) under the patronage and presence of H.E. President Mohamed Ould Cheikh El Ghazouani, President of the Islamic Republic of Mauritania.

The opening ceremony saw high-level attendance, including Mauritanian ministers and senior officials, as well as heads of international organizations working in the fields of education, science and culture, ambassadors accredited to Nouakchott, and a host of international figures and intellectuals.

The five-day festival, which has been organized by the Mauritanian Ministry of Culture, Arts, Communication and Relations with Parliament since 2011, aims to revitalize ancient cities both culturally and developmentally.

This major festival is held annually, alternately in four historic cities: Chinguetti, Wadan, Wolaleh and Tichit. It features numerous cultural and artistic activities, seminars and discussion sessions, and exhibitions of manuscripts, traditional arts and heritage products.

The attendance of ICESCO Director General at the opening of this long-standing festival comes within the framework of the Organization’s keenness to preserve and valorize the Islamic world’s heritage and support its Member States’ relevant efforts, having established its Islamic World Heritage Center and the Islamic World Heritage Committee, which inscribed 724 historical sites and cultural elements in the past five years on ICESCO’s heritage lists, and enhanced the Programme of Culture Capitals in the Islamic world.