Category: Director General

The participants taking part in the first meeting in the webinar series, “Societies We Want,” held by Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ICESCO), reaffirmed their support for ICESCO’s adoption of “Education for Peace”.

The participants stated that this initiative is likely to help address the significant challenges of peace and security, stressing the need to work together to build healthy, peaceful societies that can safely coexist.
The meeting, held virtually by the Department of Human and Social Sciences at ICESCO to discuss perspectives on peace, citizenship, and resilience in conflict and post-conflict contexts, saw the participation of Dr. Salim M. AlMalik, ICESCO Director General , and several international organizations’ representatives and experts in inter-civilizational dialogue and human and social sciences. Mr. Adama Dieng, Special Adviser to UN Secretary-General for the Prevention of Genocide, also participated in the meeting as a special guest, who called for close cooperation with ICESCO regarding issues of education for peace and conflict prevention through anchoring religious values, safe coexistence and acceptance of the Other.

Moreover, Mr. Dieng stated that education plays a pivotal role in building peace as it is one of the most powerful tools we must use to eradicate the causes of hatred. He added that through education, we could anchor noble values founded on respect for humans and indiscrimination, underscoring that education guarantees a level of awareness and understanding in people which prove necessary in recognizing the danger of those who spread hatred, racism, and segregation through the internet or other mediums.

In the same vein, Mr. Dieng stated that the United Nations would hold a ministerial conference on the role of education in eradicating hatred, whose organization will be overseen by the Office of the Special Adviser to the UN Secretary-General for the Prevention of Genocide, in cooperation with UNESCO Director-General.   He added that the conference would bring together ministers of education, experts and all stakeholders, including the youth, to come up with practices and recommendations, and outline the commitments of Member States to implement these recommendations at the national level, seizing the opportunity to call on ICESCO to take part in this conference.  

The first meeting of the “Societies We Want” webinar series saw active participation and fruitful discussion; and stressed the need to adopt a comprehensive approach to building peace and attaining safe coexistence. To achieve this goal, ICESCO called for creating a framework of cooperation between the participating organizations and institutions, including UNESCO, the Conference of the Ministers of Education of French-speaking Countries (CONFEMEN), the Conference of French-speaking Ministers of Youth and Sports (CONFEJES), the G5 Sahel, the West and Central Africa Office of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), the African Development Bank (ADB), Water Summit 2021 Coordination Office, “Roses of Peace” Singapore, and Timbuktu Institute—Niger.
 
For his part, the CONFEJES Secretary-General stated that they would place focus on issues of peace and citizenship in teacher training curricula, as part of the trilateral cooperation with ICESCO and the CONFEMEN.  This would also include physical education teachers to promote the values of sports as a tool for building peace and anchoring citizenship.

** COVID-19 pandemic reveals weakening cooperation in ecosystem preservation

The Director-General of the Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ICESCO), Dr. Salim M. AlMalik, reaffirmed that joint action to prevent conflicts, address crises and preserve peace must be a priority of all societies under the “global citizenship” concept. He pointed out that the pandemic, the latest in a long series of crises which have plagued the planet in the era of globalization, has uncovered the degree of humanity’s vulnerability and weaknesses, including low commitment and inadequate cooperation to preserve the ecosystem for the service of our peoples and rising generations.

This came in ICESCO Director-General’s address at the opening session of the series of virtual meetings on “Societies We Want” held by the Sector of Human and Social Sciences at ICESCO. The first meeting was dedicated to the discussion of viewpoints on peace and citizenship and resilience during and after COVID-19 as part of the Organization’s “Societies We Want” initiative to spread knowledge and build healthy, peaceful, prosperous, inclusive and resilient societies, a need that surfaced at the time of Coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19).

ICESCO Director-General stressed that when facing considerable challenges to peace and security, we should work as one world and one humanity. To this end, ICESCO advocates for education for peace while paying special attention to youth, women, and religious leaderships through developing their social and psychological capacities to counter violence and extremism and promote peaceful conflict resolution. It also seeks to establish a sense of global citizenship among people to think of other nations instead of thinking solely of ones’ own countries and show a feeling of belonging to our planet and the shared destiny regardless of faith, race, and values.

Moreover, Dr. AlMalik stated that in the next few weeks, ICESCO would launch a major project to advocate for the integration of the values of peace, peaceful coexistence, and citizenship in Member States’ education systems. As human civilization is on a crossroads, the choice is to remain in this current situation or face its societies toward a better future. “What happens today signals an urgent need to be addressed. We should proceed with a drastic social change amid the crises and emergencies facing our societies to limit the effects of conflicts and epidemics and reaffirm our resolve to protect humanity,” he added.

He expressed his hope that the entire humanity would prioritize ending conflict, violence rejection, and health crisis mitigation while noting that ICESCO will contribute to building a world free of conflicts and making peace a reality for peoples.
At the close of his address, Dr. AlMalik stated that the Organization would launch a programme for encouraging young researchers to participate, through their studies and research, in the development of the society and limit the social and psychological impact of crises and conflicts on our lives. He called on specialists in development, research, and human sciences to cooperate and put aside their differences and work toward the world’s best interests.

The Director General of the Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ICESCO), Dr. Salim M. AlMalik, received today Dr. Götz Schmidt-Bremme, Ambassador of Germany to the Kingdom of Morocco at ICESCO headquarters in Rabat. Together they explored ways to promote cooperation between ICESCO and the Federal Republic of Germany in the educational, scientific and cultural fields.

During the meeting, which was also attended by Mr. Steffen Krüger, Representative of Kaunrad Adenauer Stiftung Foundation Morocco, Dr. AlMalik briefed the German Ambassador of the Organization’s new vision which advocates openness and cooperation with all parties in the service of Member States and Muslim communities around the globe. He also reviewed the initiatives, programmes and activities implemented by ICESCO during COVID-19 pandemic to curb its adverse effects and support Member States to overcome them.

Likewise, ICESCO Director-General pointed out that ICESCO had redrafted its Charter and administrative and financial regulations and established a charter for ICESCO Observer States. In this vein, he invited Germany to join the Organization as an observer and contribute to the “Comprehensive Humanitarian Coalition” with executive projects and field programmes to assist the poorest and most affected countries by the pandemic.

For his part, Dr. Schmidt-Bremme voiced his country’s commitment to cooperate with ICESCO within the realm of its competence and in light of its new vision and action strategy, while commending the initiatives and actions of ICESCO during COVID-19 pandemic. He also considered this meeting as a starting point for constructive cooperation between the two parties.

At the close of the meeting, Dr. AlMalik thanked Mr. Krüger for the support extended by Kaunrad Adenauer Stiftung Foundation to ICESCO this year, namely the sponsoring of many of the Organization’s foresight conferences and studies, the membership of the Foundation to the Comprehensive Humanitarian Coalition and the involvement of ICESCO as a key partner in its action strategy for the coming years.

The meeting was attended from ICESCO by Dr. Ahmed Said Bah, Director of the Sector of External Relations and Cooperation; and Dr. Kaïs Hammami, Director of the Center of Strategic Foresight.

The Director-General of the Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ICESCO), Dr. Salim M. AlMalik, called on news agencies in the Islamic world for closer cooperation and partnership with similar agencies and media institutions in the world to develop awareness and push for joint efforts in handling Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

The remarks came in his address at the first web forum of the Union of OIC News Agencies (UNA-OIC) held today to explore the role of news agencies in backing anti-COVID-19 efforts. The forum was organized under the patronage of Dr. Majid bin Abdullah Al Qasabi, Acting Minister of Media of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Chairman of the UNA-OIC Executive Council, with the participation of Dr. Ahmed Yousef Al-Othaimeen, Secretary-General of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC); Dr. Bandar Hajjar, President of the Islamic Development Bank Group (IsDB); Dr. Zayed Sultan Abdullah, UNA-OIC Deputy Director-General; and presidents and managers of the Islamic world news agencies.

Dr. AlMalik demanded that the concepts and terms used by news agencies in their discourses and materials in the Islamic world be thoughtfully and seriously reconsidered.  Most notable terminology, “Islamophobia,” which he qualified as “intrusive,” should be scrutinized in terms of meanings, scope, and impact on entrenching on values of tolerance and understanding.

In another vein, ICESCO Director-General listed the initiatives launched by the Organization to support anti-COVID-19 efforts and help the Member States overcome its adverse effects on education, science, and culture. In this respect, he cited the digital information, and video clips ICESCO has broadcasted on its website and social networks pages for raising awareness of the threat of a pandemic. These materials provide ample explanation on how to protect against the virus in three languages: English, French, and Arabic, including few local African languages.

The Director-General of the Islamic Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ICESCO), Dr. Salim M. AlMalik, highlighted the importance of strengthening international cooperation in handling the damaging repercussions of Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.  

This is the substance of his address delivered at the opening session of the Global Web Forum organized by ASAN Network, under the patronage of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, on the theme “Governments Agile Response to COVID-19.”  Dr. AlMalik further stressed that government responses should be all-inclusive in this critical moment, emphasizing equity and fairness, especially in health, financial and educational spectrums. Moreover, he urged the government to give priority to the most vulnerable communities in the development of policies as the crisis exposed the gap between regional and social categories.

“Government responses to the pandemic should focus on genuine dialogue and inter-disciplinary cooperation while drawing inspirations from the successful experiences of some governments in addressing emergencies. Despite growing tensions, governments should not lose sight of the fact that interinstitutional and external cooperation proves indispensable in the fight against any crises.  Joint efforts and sharing of best practices between international partners can help overcome the grinding standstill of economic activities and the debilitating effect of social restrictions, Dr. AlMalik added.

ICESCO Director-General alerted the Member States to recognize the importance of culture and education as the future of humanity hinges on the preservation and protection of these fundamental societal spheres.

Then, Dr. AlMalik highlighted activities, programmes, and initiatives launched by ICESCO to support the efforts to help cushion the adverse effects of Coronavirus pandemic, particularly:
• ICESCO Prize for Fighting Coronavirus with a value of 200,000 US$ to reward anyone who discovers an efficient treatment or vaccine against the virus.
• Launch of the Comprehensive Humanitarian Forum to help the most affected developing countries and promote innovation and scientific research.
• “ICESCO Digital Home” which is a platform providing technological, educational, social, cultural, and awareness content for all age groups.
• Provision of technical and financial support for the production of sanitizers and disinfectants in several African countries.
• Provision of smart equipment and materials to 30 Member States to ensure the continuity of the educational process during school shutdown.
• “Societies We Want,” an initiative that seeks to disseminate knowledge and implement creative programmes for building healthy, safe, prosperous, and inclusive societies.

At the close of his address, ICESCO Director-General suggested that ICESCO launch “ICESCO-ASAN Award for the Management of Public Services in the Islamic World” to promote good governance, build capacities and provide good services in managing all the sectors related to education, sciences, culture, and social development.

Launched by ASAN Network, the Global Web Forum is an initiative of the State Agency for Public Service and Social Innovations under the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan. It aims to discuss public service activities and ways to access them in times of epidemics and the role of innovations and smart solutions during and after COVID-19.

Announcement of the 2nd Edition of Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum-ICESCO Prize

The Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ICESCO) and Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum Foundation for Distinguished Academic Performance signed a framework agreement for a strategic partnership on the establishment of “Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum Fund for Supporting ICESCO,” on the sidelines of the Extraordinary Virtual Conference of Education Ministers of ICESCO Member States, held today via videoconferencing.

The Agreement was signed by Dr. Salim M. AlMalik, ICESCO Director-General, and H.E. Eng. Hussain Ibrahim Al Hammadi, Minister of Education of the State of the United Arab Emirates, Chairman of the Board of Trustees of Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum Foundation for Distinguished Academic Performance. The two parties thanked each other and welcomed this partnership.

The Agreement aims to develop the foundation and framework to jumpstart cooperation and partnership for the joint strategic goals in the field of education. ICESCO and Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum Foundation agreed to cooperate, support, and promote the quality of education in the Islamic world. Current and future projects and initiatives are detailed in the Agreement, including the institutional requirements of its cooperation.

The Agreement also included the establishment of a general fund named “Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum Fund for Supporting ICESCO” through which the two parties will develop the projects.  Furthermore, the Agreement provides for the two parties to share general ideas, documents, and information, and develop concrete initiatives to serve both interests.
Moreover, on the sidelines of the Conference, the two parties announced the 2nd Edition of Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum-ICESCO Prize for Voluntary Development of Education Facilities in the Islamic World on the fight against Covid-19.

It is worth mentioning that Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum-ICESCO Prize for Voluntary Development of Education Facilities in the Islamic World was launched in 2017 with the support of His Highness Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum, in cooperation with ICESCO. It aims to encourage and pay tribute to voluntary initiatives and charitable works in the field of education, particularly to develop the education facilities in the Islamic world.

The Prize is awarded to three winners every two years from leading figures or institutions that contribute to the development of the education system in the Islamic world, with each receiving a shield and  US$100.000 to be used in charitable work.

The Director-General of the Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ICESCO), Dr. Salim M. AlMalik, reaffirmed that education systems need to be rehabilitated so that they can face future challenges and be resilient to crises and emergencies through revamping infrastructure, updating training programmes and using modern technology.

In his address at the opening session of the Extraordinary Virtual Conference of Education Ministers of ICESCO Member States, which kicked off today under the theme “Education Systems in the face of Crises and Emergencies -Covid-19-“, Dr. AlMalik pointed out that the Conference is being held at a time where education systems are being hard hit by this pandemic leading to school disruption and closures of education facilities which had adverse effects on education.

ICESCO Director-General reaffirmed that the Conference constitutes an opportunity to share experiences and explore the most efficient ways to limit the negative impact of the pandemic, which, no matter how serious it may be, shows positive indicators worthy of considering. “Member States can draw on the successful experiences of some countries, particularly the adoption of ICT and AI applications to ensure successful continuity of the educational process toward the achievement of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), precisely Goal 4 which aims to “ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all, ” Dr. AlMalik added.

Moreover, Dr. AlMalik reaffirmed that ICESCO is fully and unconditionally prepared to put its expertise at the disposal of its Member States to find efficient solutions to the issue of school dropout, which stood at 30% in the pre-crisis levels. “This rate is likely to spike due to the disruption of the education process to levels threatening the quality of education, a challenge that needs to be handled based on a sound academic approach,” he stressed.

By the same token, ICESCO Director-General stressed the importance of the proactive vision to avoid potential complexities in school return under the pandemic, which need to be addressed through adequate measures and efficient solutions. In this regard, Dr. AlMalik noted that ICESCO has prepared a “guidebook for improving the preparedness of education systems to reopen education institutions,” drawing on international expertise. The guide was sent to education ministers for guidance.

In another vein, Dr. AlMalik called for serious steps to standardize and pay further attention to science and mathematics curricula in the Islamic world since mathematics and sciences play a decisive role on the global educational scene as benchmarks for the quality of education systems through international assessments and competitions.

At the close of his address, ICESCO Director-General listed a series of initiatives launched by ICESCO to support the efforts underway to fight the pandemic, specifically “ICESCO Prize for Fighting Against Coronavirus” to reward discoveries of a vaccine or treatment for the virus, “ICESCO Digital Home”, “Societies We Want”, along with the major initiative “Comprehensive Humanitarian Coalition” which aims to help the neediest affected Member States. In this regard, Dr. AlMalik reiterated his call to countries and donors to join the Coalition, which has been joined by many countries and leading international institutions.

The Extraordinary Virtual Conference of Education Ministers in the Member States of the Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ICESCO), kicked off today via videoconferencing, under the theme “Education Systems in the Face of Crises and Emergencies (Covid-19)”, saw unprecedented participation in education conferences. It brought together participants from 43 countries, of whom 38 were represented by ministers of education, and 5 by deputy-ministers or under-secretaries, in addition to the participation of 10 heads and directors from 12 international organizations.

The opening session of the Conference, held by ICESCO, in cooperation with the Ministry of Education of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, President of the Conference, started at 12:00 PM (Makkah Al-Mukarramah time) with an address by Dr. Hamad Bin Mohammed Al-Shaikh, Minister of Education of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, President of the Conference, who welcomed the participants and lauded ICESCO’s Organization of this Conference, while reaffirming that the responsibilities shouldered by the ministries of education have doubled during Covid-19 pandemic.

In his address, Dr. Al Shaikh stated that “we have emerged from the trauma of this surprise and acquired expertise in dealing with the crisis. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has started providing distance education services years ago. The Kingdom has modernized this system that it now has 20 live channels of Ain educational channels. We have also provided access to educational content on various social media platforms and the channels of Saudi universities. Moreover, these systems will continue to operate even after the crisis to solve the problems of school dropout.”

Afterward, Dr. Yousef bin Ahmad Al-Othaimeen, Secretary-General of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), gave an address wherein he highlighted that the OIC and its various organs have launched many initiatives as part of the fight against Covid-19, and reaffirmed that the OIC and its organs had paid great attention to neediest Member States.

Dr. Al-Othaimeen also underscored that the Member States are burdened with the responsibility to work collectively amid the lack of any treatment or vaccine for Covid-19 while stressing the need for preparedness to the post-Covid-19 period and ensuring the return of students to their schools.

In his presentation, Dr. Dandar Hajjar, President of the Islamic Development Bank Group (IsDB), said that investment in education and training had had the attention of the Bank since its establishment 45 years ago, explaining how the Bank has succeeded to finance 20 educational projects with a total value of US$ 5 million and provide around 17 thousands educational scholarships.

Moreover, Dr. Hajjar reaffirmed that “the Bank’s attention to investment in education stems from three major convictions: first, education is part of human rights; second, human-being is the focus of development; third, the willingness to achieve Sustainable Development Goals, particularly SDG 4.”

The floor was then given to Ms. Stefania Giannini, Assistant UNESCO Director-General for Education, who highlighted the dire need for resilience to this crisis, which uncovered large technical gaps between world countries. “Around 100 million students globally are deprived of their right to pursue their studies due to the lack of internet communication technologies. It reaffirms the importance of education in our schools,” she explained.

Furthermore, Ms. Giannini stated that Covid-19 crisis has accelerated the digital transformation and showcased the need for the establishment of an international coalition for education, which UNESCO called for last March; the world is now facing three major challenges related to this pandemic: ensuring all students’ right to education, strengthening student’s resilience, and the digital revolution. Ms. Giannini also praised the constructive cooperation between UNESCO and ICESCO.

At the close of the opening session, Dr. Salim M. AlMalik, ICESCO Director-General, made an address wherein he stressed the need to rehabilitate the educational systems in Muslim countries to be able to counter the future challenges and adapt to crises and emergencies through the development of infrastructure and training programmes, and use of modern technologies.

In addition, Dr. AlMalik reiterated that “the Organization’s full and unconditional willingness to provide the Member States with access to its expertise to find solutions to the problem of school dropout which stood at 30% in pre-crisis levels, but it is likely to increase due to the disruption of the educational process to reach levels threatening the quality of education. It requires us to address this challenge according to a sound scientific approach”.