Dr. Salim M. AlMalik, Director-General of the Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ICESCO), announced the “10K Leaders Training Program,” on Wednesday, 16 September 2026, in partnership with the International Center for AI Research and Ethics (ICAIRE). The announcement was made during the fourth edition of the UNESCO Global Forum on the Ethics of Artificial Intelligence, hosted by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in Riyadh.

The program aims to train 10,000 leaders in the field of AI over two years across ICESCO’s 53 Member States. It targets two categories. The first comprises institutional and strategic leaders, including ministers, senior officials, diplomats, parliamentarians, and heads of national institutions and bodies. The second includes professionals, academics, technical experts, private-sector decision-makers, researchers, educators, students, young professionals, and entrepreneurs.

At the program’s launch, Dr. AlMalik stated that AI governance has become closely linked to countries’ capability to manage their affairs and determine their own choices. He warned that societies lacking this ability would be subject to decisions made elsewhere and guided by priorities they had no role in shaping. He noted that only two countries from the Islamic world rank among the top 20 in the Government AI Readiness Index, describing this as a gap that must be addressed.

ICESCO Director-General explained that the Organization prioritizes investment in people, convinced that leadership development and technology transfer are key to utilizing AI to enable societies to navigate ongoing transformations.

Dr. AlMalik stated that the training program is structured around four tracks: AI fundamentals, advanced AI applications, AI ethics and governance, and the role of AI in strategic decision-making. The content will be tailored to the responsibilities of beneficiaries and their countries’ national priorities.

He added that the program places particular emphasis on women and young people and is grounded in the ethical principles and values outlined in the “Riyadh Charter for Artificial Intelligence in the Islamic World”. The program also focuses on sustaining the impact of training, supporting national strategies, and providing a platform for continuous learning and networks connecting governments, academia, and industry.

Dr. AlMalik concluded by inviting universities, partner institutions, and the private sector to join the program and contribute to building an Islamic world prepared for the AI era.
Afterwards, ICAIRE held a ceremony attended by Dr. AlMalik and Dr. Majid AlShehry, Acting Director-General of ICAIRE, to celebrate the program’s first cohort of graduates.