Category: Director General

As part of the activities of the Islamic World Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization’s (ICESCO) 2021 Year of Women, under the high patronage of His Majesty King Mohammed VI of Morocco, the ICESCO Learning Café hosted Dr. Hayat Sindi, Chief Scientific Advisor to the President of the Islamic Development Bank. In the meeting entitled “Challenges and Successes,” Dr. Sindi talked about the beginnings of her passion for science and scientists, who contributed to change, and the impact of inspiration in her life.

During the meeting, held yesterday, March 17, 2021, at ICESCO Headquarters in Rabat, Dr. Sindi told the participants about her childhood dreams of success and the contribution of her father, who strengthened her passion for science, while stressing that the main motivation behind the passion is considering science as the first and basic means for satisfying all the human needs.

Dr. Sindi stated that there are vulnerable and poor groups that are deprived of access to technology. The situation encouraged her to look for the means likely to provide technology for all without exception because science and technology derive their power from being accessible for all.

Dr. Sindi added “men monopolize the fields of science and women are looking for their position there too. The perceptions that women and men have on science are different from one another. For instance, men consider Artificial Intelligence more appropriate for wars while women find it useful for health and social care, which is a source of invention and innovation.”

Speaking of inspiration, Dr. Sindi reaffirmed that it is a particularly important element in our life, without which no goal can be achieved, stating that she drew inspiration from her family and school. She was about to give up, especially in her beginnings, but she drew strength and perseverance from considering every day of her life as a new challenge.

The participants asked questions and expressed their ideas, with which Dr. Sindi interacted based on her rich career and experience in the fields of science and innovation.

The International Symposium on Human Rights and the Digital Challenge kicked off today, Tuesday, March 16, 2021, at ICESCO headquarters. The Islamic World Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (ICESCO) and the Ministry of State in Charge of Human Rights and Relations with the Parliament held the symposium face to face and via videoconference. The event saw a high-level participation from Morocco and beyond.

During the opening session, Mr. El Mostapha Ramid, Minister of State in Charge of Human Rights and Relations with the Parliament, talked about the remarkable strides Morocco made in the field by strengthening the legislative powers with several laws, including the right to access information and the cybersecurity law.  He added that the misuse of technology caused several problems such as the spread of the discourse of extremism, hate, and racism, stressing that ensuring the sound use of technology requires devising plans and measures likely to guarantee the rights of individuals. The Minister also underscored that restricting the right to access to the digital world should be an exception.

In his address, Dr. Salim M. AlMalik, ICESCO Director-General (DG), noted that some governments have almost completely embraced digital transactions, while others still do not possess the prerequisites of digital transformation, which, he stated, calls for ensuring territorial justice for all. The DG also warned that the impact of the growing digital progress on human rights requires the adoption of a different approach that respects and protects the collection, storage, and transfer of individuals personal information within the digital world.

Dr. AlMalik stated that the dangers that modern technology pose should not eclipse its numerous advantages and major role in advancing societies and humans, reaffirming that the ultimate goal is to strike balance between technological development and the protection of peoles’ basic rights and freedoms.

The DG also commended the approach Morocco adopts in dealing with human rights, under the high patronage of His Majesty King Mohammed VI.

In her address, Ms. Amina Bouayach, President of Moroccoʻs National Council of Human Rights, talked about the challenge of subjecting digital spaces to legal provisions, in light of the growing numbers of people accessing these spaces and the emergence of what is called new media. She added that the transnational digital revolution elaborated the forms of demanding rights in our societies, especially economic, social and cultural ones, and anchored the notion of social and territorial justice as a new concept.

Mr. Mʻhammed Abdenabaoui, President of the Public Prosecution, talked about the efforts of Morocco to protect citizens’ rights within the digital space, highlighting several measures taken to protect the rights of this space’s users and prosecute violators. He added that digital technologies have become a tool to exercise several rights such as the right of expression and publication and consolidated principles such as equality, noting that the digital space allowed for promoting access to several services and departments, especially during the pandemic.

Mr. Omar Seghrouchni, President of Morocco’s National Commission for the Control of Personal Data Protection, underlined the need to focus more on protecting citizens in the digital society rather than just protecting their personal data, stating that societies should shield themselves against international platforms whose sole interest in making profit.

The symposium includes three sessions addressing the following topics: “Right of access to accurate information in cyberspace and the protection mechanisms of personal data,” “Hate, violent and discriminatory speech in the digital space: prevention mechanisms and protection tools”, and “Human rights and the digital challenge: actors’ roles.” The close of the symposium features reading the symposium’s final report and recommendations.

The Director-General (DG) of the Islamic World Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (ICESCO), Dr. Salim M. AlMalik, reaffirmed that the future challenges, which the rapid developments in technology and artificial intelligence pose, impose upon us a set of common duties and responsibilities. The list includes ensuring safe access by Islamic world societies to cyberspace where the freedom of expression and belief as well as academic, cultural, and educational freedoms are respected and the dignity of the human self is preserved.

The statement came in his address at the opening session of the international symposium “Human Rights and the Digital Challenge,” that ICESCO and the Ministry of State in charge of Human Rights and Relations with the Parliament in Morocco held today, face-to-face at ICESCO headquarters and by videoconference.

In his address, Dr. AlMalik stated that ICESCO seeks to thwart the threats to individual rights in the cyberspace by urging its Member States to develop their legislation and ratify international conventions related to the protection of personal data, the fight against all forms of discrimination and violence against women and children and immigrants, as well as those relevant to combatting violent extremism, prevention of money laundering and all forms of cybercrime.

The DG called for joint action to develop regional and international systems based on cooperation and complementarity between the judicial and legislative institutions and the civil society. He also lauded the quantum leap that Member States and private legislation made in monitoring cyberspace and responding to all sorts of crimes. Dr. AlMalik announced ICESCO’s establishment of the “Human Rights and Digital Transformation” Chair to promote the sincere efforts to absorb these changes in Member States.

ICESCO DG reaffirmed that all the risks associated with modern technologies should not conceal their advantages in developing societies and ensuring human progress. “Technology is an efficient tool in monitoring and anticipating potential violations to human rights. Our objective is to ensure balance between technological development and the protection of rights and freedoms,” he concluded.

The participants in the major international celebration, which the Islamic World Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (ICESCO) held to mark the official launch of the Year of Women, sent a letter of thanks and gratitude to His Majesty King Mohamed VI, Monarch of the Kingdom of Morocco, for granting his patronage to ICESCO’s initiative of the Year of Women.

The letter, which Dr. Salim M. AlMalik, ICESCO Director-General (DG), readout at the close of the celebration, stated that the women representatives of governments, international governmental, and non-governmental organizations and institutions, at the highest level of responsibility and leadership, having participated in the official launch of ICESCO’s celebration of 2021 as the Year of Women under the theme “Women and the Future”, were privileged to express to His Majesty their heartfelt thanks for having granted his patronage to ICESCO’s Year of Women.

 The participants also seized this opportunity to convey to His Majesty their sincerest gratitude and appreciation for the special attention King Mohammed VI attaches to women in Morocco and at international events, expressing their delight with the outstanding position Moroccan women have attained at all levels of responsibility.

The participants also conveyed their appreciation of the Moroccan government’s commitment to preserve the rights of women in full compliance with the lofty values of Islam and the gains of the human rights system and international conventions. The letter reaffirmed that the high patronage of his Majesty has left a deep imprint on ICESCO family, the Member States, and international partners.

“Indeed, sponsoring women-related activities for a whole year truthfully testifies to the attention Your Majesty accords to the empowerment of women and the preservation of their rights, the achievement of justice and the keenness to build on women’s contributions and creations toward the achievement of comprehensive development”, the participants stated.

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).