Dr. Abdelilah Benarafa, Deputy Director-General of the Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ICESCO), took part in a cultural symposium held on the occasion of the first anniversary of the passing of Royal Advisor and Dean of Moroccan Literature, Dr. Abbès Jirari, organized by the Jirari Club, in partnership with the National Library of the Kingdom of Morocco on Friday, January 17, 2025, at the Library’s headquarters in Rabat, in the presence of a number of literary and intellectual figures.

In his address at the Symposium, Dr. Benarafa highlighted the close relationship between Dr. Jirari and the Organization, and his selection as the first lecturer in the “ICESCO Cultural Forum”, held on October 22, 2019. The lecture discussed the “Future Cultural Challenges in the Islamic World”, whose contents were later published in an ICESCO book bearing the same title, the first in the series of books of the Forum’s meetings.

Dr. Benarafa also referred to the tribute paid to the late scholar and thinker by Dr. Salim M. AlMalik, ICESCO Director-General, who presented him with a certificate of excellence and the Organization’s Shield, on December 10, 2019, in recognition of his efforts to enrich Arabic literature.

The Deputy Director-General recalled the great appreciation Dr. Jirari had for ICESCO’s efforts, and his keenness to follow up on the developments that the Organization has witnessed in recent years, as manifested by its initiatives and programs, praising the great Moroccan thinker’s contributions to academia, thought, culture, literature and human heritage.