Under the patronage of His Excellency Tunisian President Kaïs Saïed, the Republic of Tunisia will host the 45th Executive Council of the Islamic World Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (ICESCO) on February 25-26, 2025, with the participation of delegations from the Organization’s Member States.
The announcement was made following a meeting between President Kaïs Saïed and Dr. Salim M. AlMalik, ICESCO Director-General, along with his accompanying delegation, on Tuesday, 27 January 2025, at the Carthage Palace in Tunis. The meeting was part of the delegation’s official visit to the Republic of Tunisia.
During the meeting, Dr. AlMalik expressed his gratitude to President Kaïs Saïed and conveyed his profound delight at this significant step. He emphasized that it reflects the President’s and Tunisia’s confidence in the Organization’s role over the past five years, as well as its pioneering efforts in education, science, and culture.
Dr. AlMalik added that Tunisia’s hosting of the ICESCO Executive Council provides a strong boost to enhancing cooperation between the Organization and Tunisia. He expressed confidence in the capabilities of the Tunisian authorities to ensure the Council’s success.
It is worth noting that ICESCO’s Executive Council meetings are held annually, with delegations from all 53 Member States in attendance. These delegations are typically led by the secretaries-general of the national commissions. The Executive Council is tasked with reviewing and evaluating ICESCO’s annual performance reports and approving future work plans proposed by the General Directorate.
Dr. Salim M. AlMalik, Director-General of the Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ICESCO), discussed with Mr. Noureddine Nouri, the Tunisian Minister of Education, ways to promote cooperation in education and invest in artificial intelligence (AI) to improve the quality of the sector, as part of the visit of the ICESCO delegation led by its Director-General to the Republic of Tunisia.
During the meeting, which took place on Tuesday, 28 January 2025, at the headquarters of the Ministry, Dr. AlMalik reviewed the main thrusts and strategic orientations of ICESCO’s vision, stressing the importance of integrating AI into the various stages of the educational process, developing curricula, and proposing innovative solutions to improve the performance of teachers and students. He also provided a comprehensive overview of the programs, projects, and activities of the Education Sector and the main roles played by ICESCO in the development of this field in its Member States.
Dr. AlMalik highlighted the Organization’s initiatives to improve the quality of education, develop education policies, support education systems, promote digital education and scientific research, and train education leaders. He stressed that the Organization is adopting the latest technologies to improve the sector and that it is up to us to build more inclusive and sustainable education systems that aim to train leaders capable of managing change and improving education.
For his part, the Tunisian Minister praised ICESCO’s pioneering efforts, projects, and programs that support Member States in several areas, including education, and the establishment of sustainable education systems that meet the needs of the present and pave the way for a better future. He also emphasized the Ministry’s keenness to work closely with ICESCO to implement joint programs and initiatives focused on capacity building for students and teachers, particularly in the area of AI, and called for an expanded conference in partnership with ICESCO to explore the impact of AI on the future of education.
At the end of the meeting, both parties reaffirmed their commitment to strengthening their cooperation in the development of education-related strategies and policies, and the implementation of joint programs and projects in this field.
In celebration of its sustained successes and achievements over the past five years, the headquarters of the Tunisian Academy of Sciences, Letters, and Arts “Beit al-Hikma” in Tunis, the capital of Tunisia, hosted on Monday (January 27, 2025) a symposium titled “The Culture of Tomorrow: ICESCO’s New Vision”. The event featured a lecture by Dr. Salim AlMalik, Director-General of the Islamic World Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (ICESCO). During the lecture, he reviewed the organization’s recent developments as well as its vision and strategic orientations, which have positively influenced its work across its Member States. The symposium witnessed high-level attendance from Tunisian intellectuals and artists, and Arab personalities, including ALECSO’s Director-General Mohamed Ould Amar.
At the opening of the symposium, Dr. Mahmoud Ben Ramadan, President of Beit al-Hikma, delivered a welcoming speech in which he expressed the Academy’s pride in ICESCO’s achievements in the fields of education, science, and culture within the Islamic world. He also emphasized the desire to establish productive cooperation with the organization in its diverse areas of expertise. Representing ICESCO’s academic chairs at the Center for Arts, Culture, and Literature at Ksar Saïd in Tunis, Dr. Fathi Triki remarked that tomorrow’s culture must be built on a foundation of scientific and technological innovation. He noted that such progress requires a clear and forward-thinking vision like the one ICESCO adopts in its programs and activities.
In his presentation, the ICESCO Director-General highlighted Tunisia’s long legacy in the fields of science, culture and arts, and praised the contribution of Tunisia, its figures and scientists, throughout history to the Islamic world civilization, praising the Tunisian competencies working at ICESCO and their outstanding performance.
Dr. AlMalik stressed that ICESCO has worked hard since 2020 to keep its programs and activities in line with contemporary needs and requirements, efforts that culminated in obtaining a set of prestigious international certificates in the fields of governance, management, creativity and innovation.
In this vein, ICESCO Director-General highlighted the initiatives, programs and projects launched by the Organization during the past years, including ICESCO’s Roads Initiative, the inscription of 724 historical sites and cultural elements on ICESCO’s Islamic World Heritage List, facilitating the inscription process to ensure the rights of Member States to preserve their heritage, coining the concept of “civilizational diplomacy,” launching 30 academic chairs in the fields of arts, science and literature, establishing scientific cooperation with major international space institutions, distinguished participation in the largest international forums and events on environment, such as the COP conferences, issuing the “Riyadh AI Ethics Charter for the Islamic World” and collaborating with Tunisia in preserving Ibn Khaldun’s heritage. Dr. AlMalik also stated that ICESCO’s modernization is largely due to its youthful spirit and its transformation into a bee-hive by attracting some of the best talents from the Islamic world, especially people under 35, who account for nearly 40% of ICESCO’s staff, while women hold half of the leadership positions. He commended the unparalleled success achieved by the International Exhibition and Museum of the Prophet’s Seerah and Islamic Civilization at ICESCO Headquarters in Rabat, which has so far received 8 million visitors in two years.
The symposium concluded with an open discussion, during which Dr. AlMalik addressed questions from the audience regarding the organization’s ambitions and plans for further enhancing its fields of expertise.
His Excellency Mr. Dharam Gokhool, President of the Republic of Mauritius, received Dr. Salim M. AlMalik, Director-General of the Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ICESCO), at the Presidential Palace (The State House) in the capital, Port Louis, on Monday, January 20, 2025. The two parties discussed prospects for cooperation between ICESCO and Mauritius in areas of common interest.
At the beginning of the meeting, Dr. AlMalik conveyed his congratulations to President Gokhool for the trust placed in him by the National Assembly of Mauritius (the Parliament), reflected in his unanimous election as President of the Republic on December 6, 2024, and wished him success in serving his country.
Dr. AlMalik also commended the Mauritian competent authorities’ keenness to promote the country’s linguistic and cultural plurality and their cooperation to ensure the success of the pioneering “Arabic for Non-Arabic Speakers Curriculum Support Project,” officially launched on January 18, 2025, funded by the Sultan Bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud Foundation and organized in cooperation with the Blue Crescent Society in Mauritius.
Likewise, the Director-General highlighted the key aspects of ICESCO’s vision and strategic orientations, which emphasize openness and cooperation with all parties in the fields of education, science, and culture, in service of humanity. He added that this openness is demonstrated by providing non-Member States the opportunity to join ICESCO as Observers, launching leading initiatives to build young people’s capacities, promoting innovation, and fostering the values of coexistence, peace, and civilizational dialogue.
For his part, President Gokhool commended ICESCO’s roles and the implementation of the “Arabic for Non-Arabic Speakers Curriculum Support Project” in Mauritius, reaffirming his commitment to promoting cooperation with ICESCO.
The two parties agreed to sustain coordination to establish cooperation mechanisms and plan for the upcoming period.
At the close of the meeting, the Director-General presented the President of the Republic of Mauritius with the Organization’s Shield.
The meeting was attended by Dr. Sheikh Ghulam Mohammad, Secretary-General of the Blue Crescent Society of Mauritius, and Mr. Mukhtar Ahmed from the Ministry of Education and Human Resources.
Dr. Salim M. AlMalik, Director-General of the Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ICESCO), received the Honorable Judge Mohammad Wissam El-Mortada, Minister of Culture of the Republic of Lebanon.
The meeting, which took place on Wednesday, 15 January 2025, at the headquarters of the Organization in Rabat, focused on the latest developments in cooperation between ICESCO and Lebanon in the fields of preservation and promotion of culture and heritage, and explored ways to strengthen it.
Dr. AlMalik opened the meeting by reviewing the activities implemented by the Organization in its various fields of action, highlighting the successes achieved thanks its strategy of openness, which reflects a deep conviction of the richness of cultural and social diversity in the countries of the Islamic world.
For his part, the Lebanese Minister expressed his country’s pride in the strong relations with ICESCO. He praised the visionary role of the Organization, which reflects a deep understanding of contemporary international issues and their cultural and civilizational dimensions. In his view, this approach paves the way for enhanced and effective cooperation between the two parties, especially in a context of cultural and social change in Lebanon, which further steps up coordination with ICESCO.
The meeting concluded with both parties agreeing to adopt an innovative plan to strengthen their shared commitment to a deeper cultural partnership.
Dr. Salim M. AlMalik, Director-General of the Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ICESCO), received Mr. Ernesto Ottone Ramirez, UNESCO Assistant Director-General for Culture. The meeting discussed ways to strengthen bilateral cooperation and develop joint working mechanisms, especially in supporting cultural indicators and launching programs to strengthen the capacities of local communities in the field of culture.
During the meeting, held on Wednesday (January 15, 2025), at ICESCO headquarters, in Rabat, Dr. AlMalik commended the educational, scientific and cultural efforts of UNESCO as a major international organization, and lauded its continuous support for outstanding initiatives and partnerships in its areas of competence. He also highlighted the main lines of ICESCO’s vision and strategic orientations, as well as its programs and projects, which are in line with the relevant international efforts, especially in the fields of heritage preservation and promotion, stressing the importance of fostering joint efforts at all levels, and launching joint projects to build the capacities of experts and specialists in academic and cultural fields and space science, and develop capacity-building programs for local communities.
Moreover, Dr. AlMalik stressed the pivotal role of ICESCO’s Islamic World Heritage Center in protecting cultural elements through their inscription on the Organization’s Islamic World Heritage List, highlighting the Center’s workshops organized to build the capacities of workers in the field of heritage preservation and promotion.
For his part, UNESCO Assistant Director General for Culture commended ICESCO’s remarkable achievements over the past years in its areas of competence, calling for complementarity between the two organizations in the field of culture to support Member States’ efforts to achieve their cultural goals. He also expressed his aspiration to establish a joint research chair between ICESCO and UNESCO, and jointly identify cultural indicators likely to help grasp and enhance Member States’ cultural development.
The meeting also discussed joint action mechanisms to launch programs in the field of creative and cultural industries, and support efforts geared towards removing heritage sites from the List of Heritage in Danger.
The meeting saw the presence of Mr. Eric Falt, Regional Director of UNESCO Office for the Maghreb in Rabat, and Mr. Karim Hendili, Head of Culture Program at UNESCO Maghreb Office, as well as Dr. Mohamed Zine El Abidine, Head of ICESCO’s Culture and Communication Sector, Mr. Anar Karimov, Head of ICESCO’s Partnerships and International Cooperation Sector, and Ms. Sally Mabrouk, Director of ICESCO Director-General’s Office.
Dr. Salim M. Al-Malik, Director-General of the Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ICESCO), affirmed that culture is the fundamental lever of every country’s civilizational progress and renaissance in various creative fields, and the most important gauge of its contribution to the progress of human civilization as a whole. He added that ICESCO is fully aware of its responsibilities towards its Member States in this regard, pointing out that this responsibility is reflected and in the pioneering programs, projects and initiatives implemented by the Organization in the culture, a field that ranks high at the top of its priorities.
This was part of his speech today, Wednesday (January 15, 2025) at the opening session of the 24th Conference of Ministers of Cultural in the Arab World, held under the theme “Cultural and Creative Industries and the Challenges of Digital Transformation and Artificial Intelligence”, by the Arab League Educational, Cultural and Scientific Organization (ALECSO) in cooperation with the Ministry of Youth, Culture and Communication in Rabat, capital of the Kingdom of Morocco. The Conference witnessed high-level participation by a number of ministers and senior officials concerned with cultural affairs in the Arab region, and representatives of relevant regional and international organizations.
ICESCO Director-General also stated that the Organization’s activities in the cultural field confirm its ability to take the initiative, follow up and anticipate. Over the past period, it has suggested many valuable initiatives, including a proposal to adopt culture as the 18th SDG, the launch of the project of “the Cultural Index in the Islamic World” in partnership with the Ministry of Culture in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the inauguration of heritage centers in the Islamic world, and the inscription of more than 740 elements on the Islamic world tangible and intangible heritage lists.
In the same vein, Dr. Al-Malik unveiled a number of cultural initiatives due to be launched by the Organization in the near future, including the “ICESCO’s Index for Cultural and Creative Technologies”, and the “New Economies of Culture Index”. He also reviewed some of ICESCO’s implemented initiatives on civilizational dialogue between nations, respect of the specificities of the other and cultural diversity, most notably the “Read it… to Understand it” initiative to understand the Holy Quran, which was recently taken up by one of the largest European universities to establish a specialized academic chair in Quranic studies in cooperation with ICESCO, as well as the formulation of the “civilizational diplomacy” concept, intended to promote international dialogue between different peoples, civilizations, and cultures.
Dr. Salim M. AlMalik, Director-General of the Islamic World Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (ICESCO), received Dr. Hibo Moumin Assoweh, Minister of Youth and Culture of the Republic of Djibouti, and her accompanying delegation on Monday 13 January 2025, at the Organization’s headquarters in Rabat. Extensive discussions were held on several topics related to the cultural field.
The talks focused on strengthening efforts in training, organizing joint seminars, and attracting Djiboutian talent to work within the Organization, in recognition of the steady progress Djibouti is achieving through its citizens. The Meeting also addressed the importance of supporting and paying attention to traditional industries as a leading sector in the country’s industrial development.
Both parties agreed on the necessity of intensifying meetings to further strengthen relations and ensure fruitful collaboration.
The Meeting was attended by Mr. Mohamed Dohour Hersi, Djibouti’s Ambassador to the Kingdom of Morocco, and Dr. Mohamed Zinelabidine, Head of the Culture Sector at ICESCO.
As part of the celebration of World Arabic Language Day, the Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ICESCO) held the International Forum “The Arabic Language and the Creation of Useful Content” at its headquarters in Rabat on Thursday, 19 December 2024, with the participation of a select group of content creators known for producing useful content in standard Arabic.
The opening session of the Forum began with the recitation of verses from the Holy Qur’an, followed by an address by Dr. Salim M. AlMalik, ICESCO Director-General (DG), delivered on his behalf by Dr. Abdelilah Benarafa, ICESCO Deputy DG, who underlined the importance of the Forum’s theme in a world of increasing communication and information, hence the role of language as a powerful tool for communication.
He also pointed out that this Forum reflects ICESCO’s belief in the complementarity between Arabic and the creation of useful content, and is aimed to highlight the contributions of this language to media action and its most recent tools, namely content creation, as well as to highlight the role of Arabic in preserving the civilizational identity of the Islamic world.
Furthermore, Dr. Benarafa stated that Arabic, given its universality, must contribute to the creation of meaningful content that reinforces its international status, cultural understanding and exchange. He also reiterated the urgent need for a qualified language to support the creation of useful content that provides information based on unbiased facts and reliable and objective evidence, in light of ICT revolution.
In a speech delivered on behalf of Mr. Mohammed Mehdi Bensaid, Minister of Youth, Culture and Communication of the Kingdom of Morocco, Ms. Samira Lemlizi, Secretary-General Ministry of Youth, Culture and Communication, noted that Arabic is a communicative and cognitive link across a vast geographical area, and praised the language’s role in preserving national identity and promoting cultural diversity in Morocco.
Afterwards, the winners of the “ICESCO Young Anchors” competition, organized by the Arabic Language Center for Non-Arabic Speakers to encourage non-Arabic-speaking children to practice and master the language, were announced. 200 children from 23 countries took part in the competition, and prizes were awarded to the following three winners: Hussam Mustafa from Canada won first prize, Aisha Timur from Türkiye won the second and Mohammed Aslam from Malaysia won third.
This ceremony was followed by the first discussion panel on the creation of Arabic language and literature content, in which a group of content creators from Saudi Arabia, Mauritania, Syria and Palestine presented their inspiring experiences and initiatives in this field. The following session titled “Creating Public Cultural Content in Classical Arabic”, featured rich discussions between content creators from Jordan, Morocco and Türkiye on the challenges they face and how to overcome them.
At the end of the forum, participants formulated a series of recommendations, namely to work towards perpetuating the Arabic language and its major role in shaping the global cultural scene, to support the creation and development of useful content befitting Arabic and its civilizational value, and to invest in visual content to enhance the status of Arabic worldwide.
The Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ICESCO) and the European Muslim Scholars Council (EULEMA) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to establish cooperation between the two parties in consolidating the values of intercultural and interfaith coexistence, peace and civilizational dialogue.
The MoU was signed on Wednesday, December 18, 2024 at ICESCO headquarters, in Rabat, by Dr. Salim M. Al-Malik, ICESCO Director-General, and Dr. Yahya Pallavicini, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the European Muslim Scholars Council, in the presence of a number of ICESCO’s heads of sector and directors of department and center. Upon the signing, Dr. Al-Malik expressed his happiness for this step, which lays the foundation for future partnership between ICESCO and the Council of European Muslim Leaders, with a view to pursuing the common objectives, particularly highlighting the tolerant image of our noble religion and combating extremism.
For his part, Dr. Pallavicini stressed the Council’s keenness to enhance cooperation with ICESCO given its leading roles in promoting dialogue, harmony and tolerance.
The five-year MoU provides for the joint organization of exhibitions in Europe to highlight the biographies of the Prophets and Messengers, shed light on the values of humaneness and mercy in their biographies, hold international conferences, seminars and training workshops in areas of common interest, and support Euro-Mediterranean cooperation through youth, academic and cultural exchange programs.
The MoU also includes developing educational initiatives and conducting training sessions to address contemporary challenges facing religious leaders in Europe, exchanging ideas and views on issues of peace, dialogue and peaceful coexistence, promoting interfaith dialogue, and issuing and exchanging scientific and research reports, books and periodicals.
