Dr. Salim AlMalik, Director-General of the Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ICESCO), received a high-level delegation from the International Baccalaureate (IB) on 9 September 2026, at ICESCO’s headquarters in Rabat, to discuss the latest developments in their joint project on the “Development of the First ICESCO School Teachers and School Leaders Standards and Practice Instrument for the Islamic World.”

The International Baccalaureate delegation included Dr. Donna Hurrle, Senior Learning Architect; Ms. Kiri Stevenson, Senior Education Systems Solutions Manager at the IB’s office in the United Kingdom; and Ms. Issota Crisafulli, Senior Operations Manager Education Systems Solutions at the United Kingdom Office.

During the meeting, Dr. AlMalik emphasized that developing an assessment instrument is an important step toward translating the provisions of the Memorandum of Understanding between the two organizations into tangible impact. The Project aims to build the capacities of teachers and educators in educational institutions across Member States in areas including enhancing the quality of education, future skills, and modern technologies. He underscored that the Project will bring real added value to education systems in the Islamic world and beyond.

For its part, the delegation praised the strong partnership between the two organizations and invited Dr. AlMalik to participate in the IB Global Conference, scheduled to be held in Lyon, France, in October 2026.

At the conclusion of the meeting, a joint technical team from ICESCO and IB delivered a presentation on the scope and methodology of the Project as well as the meta-analysis of current international and national professional standards. The presentation also covered the findings of the surveys, mechanisms for developing and validating the assessment instrument, and its role in providing a reference framework to support countries in the Islamic world in strengthening the capacities of teachers and school leaders to adapt to local educational needs.

The meeting, held on the sidelines of a joint technical workshop on the Project, was attended by Dr. Ahmed Albanyan, Head of the Education Sector and Director of the Translation and Publication Center at ICESCO, and Dr. Waqas Afridi, Expert at the Education Sector.