The Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ICESCO), in cooperation with the Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum Foundation for Medical and Educational Sciences, has launched the “Mishkat Educational Leadership” program for 2026–2028 under the theme “Creative Practice: Our Way to the Skills of Tomorrow.” The program aims to train educational leaders in 16 countries across Africa and Asia through 40 workshops to be held over two academic years.

On Thursday, 8 October 2026, the Mishkat Hall at ICESCO Headquarters in Rabat hosted a preparatory meeting for the program’s experts and coordinators, attended by 24 experts and educational officials. ICESCO was represented at the meeting by Mr. Adel Bouraoui, Adviser to the Director-General, Supervisor of the Mishkat Al Arabiya Program, alongside the participation of Dr. Mohammed Ismaili Alaoui, the Program’s academic coordinator and Director of the University Center for Teaching Arabic to Non-Arabic Speakers at Morocco’s Sultan Moulay Slimane University.

In this regard, Mr. Bouraoui stressed that this edition falls within ICESCO’s strategic vision, which focuses on moving from implementing activities to generating a sustainable impact, with the ultimate goal of achieving international leadership. He highlighted the importance of investing in the professional development of educational leaders to advance Arabic language teaching and respond to the rapid changes taking place in the education sector.

Representatives of the participating entities expressed their appreciation to ICESCO and the Hamdan bin Rashid Foundation for launching the Program, and stressed that it responds to an urgent need for specialized training opportunities that equip Arabic language teaching professionals with modern leadership and pedagogical skills and help them benefit from artificial intelligence technologies.

The first program workshop is scheduled to take place on Wednesday, 14 October 2026, under the title “Educational Guidance and Professional Development for Teachers of Arabic to Non-Arabic Speakers.” Training will be delivered by a team of 10 specialized international experts, using practical approaches that incorporate digital applications and artificial intelligence tools to achieve the Program’s objectives.

The Program forms part of the ICESCO–Hamdan bin Rashid for supporting the Arabic language in countries where other languages are spoken. It aims to develop the pedagogical and leadership competencies of Arabic language teaching professionals and enable them to use digital applications and artificial intelligence tools to enhance their teaching practices.