Category: Director General

The Islamic World Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (ICESCO) announced officially in a major international celebration, the launch of ICESCO 2021 Year of the Women, under the theme “Women For the Future” and under the high patronage of His Majesty King Mohammed VI of Morocco.

The celebration saw high-level participation of first ladies, princesses, ministers, women leaderships from the United Nations and other international organizations, several Moroccan male and female ministers, and public figures.

The opening session of the celebration kicked-off with a recitation of verses from the Holy Quran, a welcoming address to the participants, and a musical performance of a poem that ICESCO produced dedicated to all women around the world in appreciation of their pioneering roles in all fields.

Ms. Intissar El-Sisi, the spouse of the Egyptian President, delivered an address wherein she stated that the celebration comes in a culmination of women’s active contribution over the past decades in all political, cultural, and socioeconomic fields and participation in building civilization since its inception.

She also reviewed the efforts of the Egyptian government in the field of supporting women and gender equality in recent years. Ms. El-Sisi closed her address by reaffirming Egypt’s constant willingness to cooperate with ICESCO to ensure the success of joint Islamic action in supporting women.

Addressing the participants, Dr. Mariem Mint Dah, First Lady of Mauritania, noted that women are a source of inspiration and innovation, either on the cultural, scientific, or social level and that women’s education constitutes powerful leverage for socioeconomic development.

Dr. Mariem Mint Dah also appreciated the important role women played during the COVID-19 pandemic to counter its negative repercussions at all levels. She also indicated that the road of women towards the future is not without obstacles while stressing that the sought-after forward-looking vision must start with women in all their facets, capabilities, talents, and sources of inspiration.

In her address, Ms. Rula Ghani, First Lady of Afghanistan, praised the achievements of Afghan women in all fields and stressed the need to stand with women, encourage them to persevere, and strive to ensure they enjoy their right to healthcare and education.

Dr. Madeeha bint Ahmed al Shibaniyah, Minister of Education, readout the address of the Sultanate of Oman, upon the high instructions of His Majesty Sultan Haitham bin Tariq Al Said, Sultan of Oman, may Allah preserve him. The address stated that ICESCO’s choice of “Women and the Future” as a theme for the Year of Women 2021 mirrors the appreciation and pride of ICESCO of women’s role in society, confirmed by its tremendous efforts during the COVID-19 pandemic in the fields of education, health and social care.

The Sultanate of Oman’s address also reaffirmed the great confidence in ICESCO’s ability to draw a clear roadmap of women leaders to future generations in all areas to meet sustainable development requirements.

In her address, Ms. Amina J. Mohammed, Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations and Chair of the United Nations Sustainable Development Group, expressed the need for women to assume leadership positions. She also stressed that women empowerment is key for building a brighter future for individuals and communities. She lauded the efforts of the United Nations aiming to encourage women to showcase their capacities and talents.

In his speech at the celebration’s opening ceremony, Dr. Salim M. AlMalik, ICESCO Director-General (DG), expressed his deep thanks and gratitude to His Majesty King Mohammed VI for his high patronage of ICESCO’s Year of Women 2021 and welcomed the participants at the headquarters as well as those who attended by videoconference.

Dr. AlMalik explained that the choice of 2021 to serve as a year of women was not fortuitous but emanates from a desire to reward the merit of women and recognize the pioneering roles they played and still play before and during the COVID-19 pandemic, while stressing the Organization’s keenness to accord women their rights, appreciate their status and highlight their societal role and contribution to the future building.

     The DG emphasized that ICESCO welcomes all cooperation initiatives with bodies and institutions in the Member States and with international organizations to enhance the pioneering role of women. He announced a package of initiatives, projects and programmes the Organization intends to implement throughout 2021, namely the establishment of a specialized international platform that includes the most prominent influential and inspiring female figures; the launch of a training programme to prepare 1000 young women leaders; cooperation programmes with the Member States to support them to raise international indicators for women in line with their national policies; and the support for orientations likely to achieve UN sustainable development goals.

At the close of the opening session, the “Light of the Future” was launched as a symbol that marks the start of a new year with new hope: the Year of ICESCO for Women 2021.

The Director-General (DG) of the Islamic World Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (ICESCO), Dr. Salim M. AlMalik, emphasized that the Organization’s celebration of culture capitals in the Islamic world countries stems from the awareness of the importance of cultural assets and a desire to change the image of these cities for the better. The goal is to change the cities from a cultural interchange into a cultural destination, in a way that gives each city its cultural appeal and soft power that enables it to score top positions in the international ranking.

In his televised address at the launch ceremony of the celebration of “Doha, Islamic World Culture Capital for 2021”, ICESCO DG said that “since ICESCO launched the Islamic World Culture Capitals Programme in 2005, 50 culture capitals have been celebrated in the Islamic world. Throughout this period, we have discovered the rich cultures of the Islamic world countries and strongly felt our sense of belongingness to the great Islamic civilization”.

“The selection of a culture capital aims to expand the borders of each of ICESCO Member States to represent us all,” he added.

Dr. AlMalik congratulated H.H. Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, Emir of Qatar, the Qatari people, and the Government of Qatar that the Ministry of Culture and Sports represented, on choosing Doha as the Arab region’s Islamic world culture capital for 2021, noting that this choice comes in recognition of Doha’s millennia-old tradition and history.

The DG pointed out that cultural heritage and culture in the Islamic world have suffered heavy damage due to looting and vandalism, calling on the Member States and Qatar to support the Organization’s programmes and projects, especially those relevant to digital culture dissemination. The aim, Dr. AlMalik underscored, is to protect, highlight, document, and export the richness and diversity of cultural heritage and cultural creations in the Islamic world to ensure that the Islamic World Culture Capitals Programme achieves its civilizational stature and bold goal.

Dr. Salim M. AlMalik, Director-General (DG) of the Islamic World Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (ICESCO) himself and on behalf of ICESCO’s working team, congratulated His Royal Highness Prince Mohamed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz, Saudi Crown Prince, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Defense, may Allah preserve him, on the success of the surgery he underwent and his safe discharge from the hospital.

Dr. AlMalik besought Allah Almighty to grant good health and wellness to the Saudi Crown Prince to continue the journey of development, progress, and prosperity that Saudi Arabia enjoys under the wise leadership of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, may Allah preserve him.

The Islamic World Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (ICESCO) and the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) held a series of coordination meetings over three consecutive days, which brought together the sectors of ICESCO and IsDB’s cooperation department. The meetings explored joint action following the meeting of Dr. Bandar Hajjar, IsDB President, and Dr. Salim M. AlMalik, ICESCO Director-General (DG), on February 15, 2021, wherein they stressed their desire to support joint programmes and distance education in Member States amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

During the latest meeting of the series, held on Thursday, February 25, 2021, the two parties explored cooperation in the areas of digital transformation, quality education, women empowerment, training, scholarships, science, technology and innovation, economic empowerment, and other areas of common interest.

Each party presented its vision and activities on the transfer and exchange of expertise between Member States, in addition to its programmes aimed at fostering the environment of science, technology and innovation, as well as its experiences and success stories in economic empowerment, particularly for women and young people.

ICESCO DG commended IsDB’s efforts and leading achievements in various fields, particularly in science, technology, and innovation, while stressing the consensus between ICESCO and IsDB over promoting scientific research and adopting modern technologies to achieve development in the Islamic world.

The two parties stressed their keenness to develop practical cooperation mechanisms by establishing specialized joint committees, holding regular meetings, and signing specific programme agreements.

Dr. Salim M. AlMalik, Director-General (DG) of the Islamic World Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (ICESCO), gave the opening lecture of the second edition of the “Hadith Al-Khamis” Series, which the Faculty of Letters and Human Sciences at Mohamed V University in Rabat organized. The Faculty held the lecture on Thursday, February 18, 2021, and addressed the topic “Thinking about the future: stakes and challenges.”

The DG opened his lecture with the question “What is the future?” stating that there are thousands of definitions for the notion of “future.” He added that philosophers, scientists, and poets were the major category that thought about the future starting from ancient to more recent times, with figures like Mohamed Iqbal and his foresight philosophy and thought. He maintained that later on during the post-World War II period, a shift occurred from adopting theoretical proactive thought to scientific future applications.

The DG underscored that strategic intelligence is logical and reasonable as it is the intelligence of the future and the ability to think about it. He added that any future foresight without strategic planning remains mere predictions that may or may not happen because planning is the prerequisite for the foresight to be scientific.

Dr. AlMalik stated during the lecture that the University of the Future should adopt a human-oriented vision that places humans at the core of university research and works towards encouraging cooperation instead of futile competitiveness. He also stressed the need for universities to open up to their external surroundings, as development hubs that contribute to the economy and open new prospects for research in various fields.

Dean of the Faculty of Letters and Human Sciences, Dr. Jamal Eddine El-Hani, also delivered the opening address for the lecture.

The lecture series “Hadith Al-Khamis” consists of open and interactive lectures discussing intellectual, social, and cultural issues, with the participation of senior intellectuals and scholars.

The Director-General (DG) of the Islamic World Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (ICESCO), Dr. Salim M. AlMalik, met with Sheikh Dr. Mohammad Al-Issa, Secretary-General of the Muslim World League (MWL). The two parties examined cooperation between ICESCO and the League and the programmes that can be implemented during the next phase.

During yesterday’s meeting in Riyadh, KSA, Dr. Al-Issa reviewed the most significant activities of the League during the COVID-19 pandemic with their great impact. Dr. AlMalik also touched on ICESCO’s work in its fields of competence, the programmes and activities that the Organization launched and implemented, and the support it provided to several of its Member States in facing the negative effects of the pandemic. He then presented Dr. Al-Issa with a copy of the report on ICESCO’s achievements during the period from May 2019 to September 2020.

The two parties agreed to develop the partnership between ICESCO and the League in many areas and to work together to implement programmes and assist several countries in dire need of aid during the COVID-19 pandemic. The parties also agreed that the MWL and the Muhammadan League of Scholars in Morocco will be strategic partners in ICESCO’s international conference on “Civilizational Values in the Prophet’s Seerah,” which the Secretary-General of the League described as important, especially in light of the despicable attacks on the person of the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH).

Dr. Salim M. AlMalik, Director-General (DG) of the Islamic World Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (ICESCO) held a meeting with Mr. Hamed bin Mohammed Fayez, Saudi Deputy Minister of Culture. The meeting also brought together Mr. Hattan bin Mounir bin Samman, Secretary-General of the Saudi National Commission for Education, Culture, and Science; Mr. Rakan Ibrahim Al-Touq, General Supervisor of Strategy and International Relations at the Ministry; and some officials at the Ministry.

During the meeting, held yesterday February 18, 2021, Dr. AlMalik reviewed the main initiatives, programmes, and activities of ICESCO in the coming two years as well as the celebration of 2021 as the Year of Women. He also commended the achievements of the Saudi Ministry of Culture which strives to publicize identity through leading cultural initiatives inside and outside of Saudi Arabia and supporting and disseminating Islamic arts worldwide.

Dr. AlMalik reaffirmed ICESCO’s keenness to cooperate with the Saudi Ministry of Culture and all the competent parties concerned with ICESCO’s areas of action.

The Deputy Minister of Culture lauded the leading role of ICESCO in all the cultural fields, particularly Islamic arts such as Arabic calligraphy and many others.

ICESCO DG proposed to the Saudi Ministry of Culture to sponsor some of ICESCO cultural chairs and awards and co-organize the Islamic Arts Biennale which the Ministry plans to hold this year.

The two parties also agreed that ICESCO will submit multiple programmes for the Ministry of Culture to adopt. Officials at the Ministry showed particular interest in ICESCO’s celebration of 2021 as the Year of Women while stressing the importance of Saudi women’s participation in these activities and highlighting that several female staff members serve at the Ministry. Many women also served as CEOs on some of the Ministry’s bodies.

Dr. Salim M. AlMalik, Director-General (DG) of the Islamic World Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (ICESCO), met with Eng. Waleed bin Abdulkarim Al-Khuraiji, Deputy Foreign Minister of Saudi Arabia, to explore cooperation prospects between the Kingdom and ICESCO in the fields of education, science, and culture, in addition to several topics of mutual interest.

During the meeting on Wednesday, February 17, 2021, at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Riyadh, Dr. AlMalik discussed the major programmes and activities that ICESCO will implement over the next period, as part of the Organization’s proclamation of 2021 as the Year of Women. The DG also discussed the work ICESCO carried out during the COVID-19 pandemic to support the efforts of its Member States to mitigate the impact of the crisis, presenting the Deputy Foreign Minister with a copy of ICESCO’s achievement report over the period between May 2019 and September 2020.

The DG also noted that ICESCO’s new vision adopts an open-door policy with regional and international organizations and bodies and endorses building cooperation with them for the benefit of ICESCO Member States and Muslim communities across the globe.

Eng. Al-Khuraiji commended the work of ICESCO and its leading roles in the fields of education, science, and culture, reaffirming the importance of cooperation with international and specialized organizations, especially the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC).

Dr. Abdulmajeed bin Abdullah Al-Banyan, President of Naïf Arab University for Security Sciences (NAUSS), received Dr. Salim M. AlMalik, Director-General (DG) of the Islamic World Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (ICESCO), on Wednesday, February 17, 2021, at the University headquarters in Riyadh. The meeting also brought together the vice-presidents of the University and saw the signing of a cooperation agreement between ICESCO and NAUSS.

Dr. Al-Banyan gave a presentation on NAUSS’s future vision on security sciences, which focuses on leadership in training, academic excellence, reference in scientific research, institutional effectiveness, and financial sustainability. He also stressed that NAUSS aspires to be the first Arab university in the areas of security sciences through prioritizing the development of security sciences in the areas of cybersecurity, organized crime, combating terrorism, extremism and forgery, and environmental security, etc.

Dr. Al-Banyan shed light on the potentials and the research and training centers of the University while reaffirming that NAUSS can become one of the top 10 world universities in the field of security sciences.

The meeting also reviewed the most recent programmes and projects that are being implemented in cooperation with international organizations, research centers, and universities, particularly between ICESCO and NAUSS. The focus was also on future cooperation programmes, particularly in the exchange of scientific and academic expertise and capacity-building experiences, the promotion of scientific research and technology transfer, and scholarships for students from Member States.

The two parties also tackled the expansion of scholarships to provide opportunities for more students from the Islamic world to study at NAUSS and benefit from its modern training centers and post-graduate programmes in various security disciplines.

The cooperation agreement that ICESCO DG and NAUSS President signed during his meeting aims at strengthening cooperation between the two parties in academic and scientific fields, research, programmes and activities, training and scientific seminars, capacity-building for decision-makers, policymakers and civil society institutions, and good investment of scientific potentials and resources to promote policies in areas of common interest.

Following the meeting, Dr. Al-Banyan took Dr. AlMalik on a tour of some of the specialized centers, which the University equipped with state-of-the-art technologies, and provided an explanation of their working mechanisms and contribution to the development of security sciences, in accordance with the latest global standards.

The Islamic World Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (ICESCO), signed on Tuesday, February 16, 2021, a partnership agreement with King Abdulaziz University and a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Academy of Arab Poetry of Taif University, at the headquarters of the Emirate of Makkah Region, in the presence of H.R.H. Prince Khalid Al-Faisal bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Advisor to the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, Governor of Makkah Region.  

Dr. Salim M. AlMalik, ICESCO Director-General (DG), and Dr. Abdulrahman Obaid Al-Youbi, President of King Abdulaziz University, signed the partnership agreement, which provides for cooperation between the two parties to support scientific research in the fields of education, science, culture, and communication. The agreement also aims to hold fora and meetings in the fields of education and science, fund twenty chairs of ICESCO Chairs Programme, provide the necessary technical assistance for conducting and publishing educational and scientific research and studies, implement specific activities and programmes, and encourage creative young talents in the field of scientific research.

Dr. AlMalik and Dr. Yousef Asiri, President of Taif University, signed the MoU, which sets forth cooperation between ICESCO and the Academy of Arab Poetry in supporting Arab poetry, promoting women’s poetry, and celebrating the World Poetry Day through cultural and artistic activities. The MoU also aims at publicizing Prince Abdullah Al-Faisal International Prize for Arabic Poetry, holding an international forum of poetry, networking the academies, associations and clubs of poetry, publicizing the works of great poets, translating poetry anthologies to world languages, promoting the role of poetry and poets in the civilizational dialogue, enhancing the values of tolerance, synergy and solidarity, and sharing scientific and academic expertise and capacity-building experiences.