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MoU between ICESCO and Alwaleed Philanthropies to help 10 African countries as part of anti-COVID-19 initiatives

Posted on 1 July 2020 by aqeil aqeil

The Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ICESCO) and Alwaleed Philanthropies signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on the phases and programme related to implementing the joint initiative to help 10 countries address the adverse repercussions of the COVID-19 pandemic. The initiative entails humanitarian aid to the needy categories, capacity-building in the production of sanitizers and protective equipment to prevent the transmission of the COVID-19 pandemic, and support to the private sector and women and youth entrepreneurs.

Following the signature of the MoU during the virtual ceremony held on Tuesday, H.R.H. Princess Lamia Bint Majed Saud AlSaud, Secretary General of Alwaleed Philanthropies, said “we are proud of our partnership with ICESCO marked by many years of humanitarian initiatives to meet the urgent and long-term needs of the neediest categories around the globe. This initiative will empower women and young entrepreneurs by making them assume the principal role in the fight against Coronavirus”.

For his part, Dr. Salim M. AlMalik, ICESCO Director General, expressed the honor of ICESCO to collaborate with Alwaleed Philanthropies in support the most vulnerable and marginalized people in Africa and across the Islamic world.

“His R.H Prince Alwaleed Ibn Talal, has always been a champion for this noble cause, we look forward to strengthening our collaboration with Alwaleed Philanthropies as an icon for others to follow” added Dr. AlMalik.

The MoU stipulates that Alwaleed Philanthropies, over a period of one year, provide 2,090,000 US dollars in aid to contribute to the efforts of addressing the repercussions associated with the COVID-19 pandemic in Niger, Senegal, Morocco, Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali, Nigeria, the Sudan, Mauritania, and Cote d’Ivoire.

The initiative seeks to provide food assistance to the neediest populations and most affected by the pandemic, most notably centers of elderly care, people with disabilities, and women victim of violence, orphanages, refugee centers and patients in health centers and hospitals. It also aims to build local capacities in the production of sanitizers and protective equipment (gels, protective masks, ventilators) through prioritizing and empowering men and women entrepreneurs in local informal sectors.

The two parties agreed to set up an implementation schedule to be attached to the MoU and a code of conduct for media outreach specific to the partnership. In this regard, the MoU stipulates that ICESCO prepare a quarterly report about the implementation of the project in each of the target countries and a detailed one at the end of the implementation, on the most important innovative initiatives with photos of production units and recorded testimonials of some beneficiary citizens.

For 4 decades, Alwaleed Philanthropies has supported and spent more than 15 billion Saudi riyals and carried out more than 1000 projects in over 189 countries, managed by 10 Saudi female members, reaching more than 1 billion beneficiaries around the world, regardless of gender, race, or religion. Alwaleed Philanthropies collaborates with a range of philanthropic, governmental, and educational organizations to combat poverty, empower women and youth, develop communities, provide disaster relief and create cultural understanding through education. It seeks to build bridges for a more compassionate, tolerant, and accepting world.

Based in Rabat, Kingdom of Morocco, ICESCO specialized in education, science and culture to bolster relations among Member States in the Islamic world. It seeks to build future decision-makers, share expertise, provide institutional support and upgrade development policies and innovation and knowledge systems.

ICESCO and Huawei explore cooperation prospects

Posted on 1 July 2020 by aqeil aqeil

Dr. Salim M. AlMalik, Director General of the Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ICESCO), today at the headquarters of the Organization, received Mr. Chu Yuan, Assistant Director General of Huawei Company in the Kingdom of Morocco, and together they explored ways of cooperation between ICESCO and Huawei in the fields of education, science and culture.

During this meeting, Dr. AlMalik reaffirmed that ICESCO’s new vision advocates openness to non-Member States, regional and international organizations, and civil society institutions in such a way as to serve ICESCO Member States and Muslim communities around the globe, while highlighting that ICESCO developed a new Charter of the Observer States, and calls upon all non-Member States to join the Organization as observer members.

In the same vein, ICESCO Director General reviewed the major initiatives, projects and programmes launched by the Organization to support the efforts geared toward countering the negative effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, mainly ICESCO Prize for Fighting Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19), with US$200,000 in prize money, to be awarded to anyone who discovers an efficient treatment or preventive vaccine against the virus; and “ICESCO Digital Home” which has become a rich knowledge platform targeting all categories and covering all ICESCO’s fields of action; as well as the initiative “Comprehensive Humanitarian Coalition” which targets through its executive projects and field programmes the poor and affected countries.

On his part, Mr. Yuan lauded ICESCO’s action supporting the efforts of countering the COVID-19 pandemic while pointing out that Huawei devotes great attention to its social responsibility by providing aid to the local communities in the host countries of Huawei’s branch offices, and offering scholarships to students to pursue their studies on technology in China.

The discussion also covered the prospects of cooperation between ICESCO and Huawei, particularly in the fields of education and Artificial Intelligence (AI) as well as the technological studies and research works.

The meeting was attended from ICESCO by Dr. Ahmed Said Bah, Director of the Sector of Partnerships and International Cooperation; Dr. Barry Koumbou, Director of the Sector of Education; and Ms. Rime Jirari, Head of the Department of Organizations and Institutions at the Sector of Partnerships and International Cooperation; and from Huawei Ms. Chaymae Salhi, Public Relations and Governmental Affairs Officer.

ICESCO Director-General takes part in the meeting of BOT of the International Islamic University, Islamabad

Posted on 30 June 2020 by aqeil aqeil

Dr. Salim M. AlMalik, Director General of the Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ICESCO), participated in the 4th meeting of the Board of Trustees of the International Islamic University Islamabad (IIUI), held today via a videoconferencing platform, under the presidency of H.E. Mr. Arif Alvi, President of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, Chancellor of the University, President of IIUI’s Board of Trustees (BOT).

At the outset of the meeting, the President of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan gave an address wherein he welcomed the participating members of IIUI’s Board of Trustees, while commending the key role played by the university to train scholars and professionals capable of keeping pace with the changes and needs of the time.

In the same vein, the meeting explored several topics relevant to the university and its Waqf. It also discussed the election of the members to fill vacant seats, nomination for membership of the University Administration Council, the Finance and Planning Committee, the Council of the Dawah Academy, Shariah Academy, and Islamic Research Institute as well as the International Institute of Islamic Economics. The meeting also adopted the report of the BOT’s previous meeting, held on 12 April 2018, and reviewed the report on the implementation of the adopted decisions of the said meeting.

Besides, the meeting nominated Dr. Hathal bin Hamoud Al-Otaibi, from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, for the IIUI presidency to succeed Dr. Ahmed Yousif Al Draiweesh. The meeting concluded with an address by the President of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, wherein he thanked the participants in the meeting.

It is worth mentioning that IIUI was established in 1980/1400 A.H. with support from many Muslim countries’ governments. It is considered one of the biggest and most prominent universities in Pakistan and includes many specialized faculties in various scientific disciplines.

AlMalik and El-Enany explore ICESCO-Egypt cooperation promotion in the heritage field

Posted on 30 June 2020 by aqeil aqeil

**Egypt’s museums at ICESCO Digital Home

Dr. Salim M. AlMalik, Director General of the Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural (ICESCO), and Dr. Khaled El-Enany, Minister of Tourism and Antiquities of the Republic of Egypt, during a videoconference meeting agreed to develop cooperation between ICESCO and Egypt in the field of heritage preservation and the fight against illicit trafficking in cultural property.

The two parties examined several topics, namely the inscription of the Egyptian sites inscribed on the World Heritage List (WHL) (6 sites on the final list and 49 on the tentative one) on the Islamic World Heritage List (IWHL), and the examination by the Islamic World Heritage Committee (IWHC) of the inscription of the building of the Grand Egyptian Museum (GEM) on ICESCO Modern Architectural Heritage List. They also discussed the use of experts from both parties to hold sessions on the preparation of application files for the inscription of heritage sites on the IWHL and WHL.

The Egyptian Minister agreed to exhibit Egyptian heritage sites and museums, already prepared by the Ministry in their digital format, on ICESCO’s Heritage Portal and ICESCO Digital Home.
Dr. AlMalik and Dr. El-Enany reaffirmed the cooperation between ICESCO and Egypt in the field of fighting illicit trafficking in cultural property and the need to propose new mechanisms for combating this crime at a webinar to be held by ICESCO for this purpose. Moreover, they agreed to set up a small working group bringing together Egypt, several Member States, and international experts to draw up a practical approach to this cause.

For his part, the Egyptian Minister suggested the establishment of a regional center in Egypt, in cooperation with ICESCO and UNESCO, tasked with fighting illicit trafficking in cultural property and ensuring its restitution, a move welcomed by ICESCO Director-General. The two parties also agreed to cooperate in the organization of training sessions in partnership between ICESCO, the Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities in the preservation, documentation, inventory, protecting and restoration of monuments, especially with the Restoration Center of the Egyptian Grand Museum, known for its technical potentials and expertise in capacity-building for restoration specialists in the Islamic world.

Dr. El-Enany invited Dr. AlMalik for a visit to Egypt. Dr. AlMalik welcomed the invitation and promised to visit the country as early as possible.

The meeting was attended by Mr. Najib Rhiati, Director of the Sector of Culture and Communication, Dr. Osama Elnahas, Heritage Expert at the Sector, and Amb. Maged Mosleh, Supervisor of Central Department for Public and International Relations at the Ministry.

ICESCO Director-General calls for moving from COVID-19 crisis management to future anticipation

Posted on 22 June 2020 by aqeil aqeil

The Director-General of the Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ICESCO), Dr. Salim M. AlMalik, reaffirmed that the Organization has managed to turn the ordeal of the COVID-19 pandemic into an opportunity to assert its pioneering role among international organizations while carrying out its quality action and strategic standards. To this effect, Dr. AlMalik said that ICESCO had upgraded its action mechanisms in such a way as to keep pace with the rising challenges due to the COVID-19 pandemic and set up projects designed to support the Member States in addressing the repercussions of the pandemic.
This came as part of his address at the Virtual Meeting of National Commissions for ICESCO, kicked off today under the theme “Post-COVID-19 world: what action priorities and procedures for education, science and culture?”.

The meeting brought together the guests of honor, Princess Doaa bint Mohammad Ezzat, Supreme President of the Arab Women Foundation, UN Peace Ambassador; and the renowned scientist Professor Rachid Yazami, inventor of the lithium-ion battery, in addition to the secretaries of National Commissions for education, science and culture from 56 countries inside and outside the Islamic world, and a select of experts in education, science and culture.

In his address, ICESCO Director-General stressed that the question “what is next after COVID-19?” is at the core of ICESCO’s concerns and priorities and that the meeting is opportunity to share expertise, experiences and successful practices and meets the expectations of Member States to move from crisis management to future anticipation. He also expressed his confidence that National Commissions, as a strategic partner, will contribute to supporting our orientations to draw the dimensions and trends defining projects and programmes sensitive to needs after COVID-19 crisis.

In this vein, he pointed out that ICESCO is currently preparing a charter to regulate its relationship with National Commissions, adding thanks to the 30 contracts signed with a large number of Member States benefiting from the Organization’s support activities in many sectors.

Dr. AlMalik listed the pioneering, practical initiatives launched by ICESCO since the beginning of the crisis, namely the “ICESCO International Prize” to reward the discovery of a vaccine or treatment against COVID-19 and “ICESCO Digital Home,” a knowledge-based educational, cultural and scientific platform, along with the programmes of Arabic language for non-Arabic speakers and the African languages in the Arabic script. He also mentioned the “Comprehensive Humanitarian Coalition,” which was widely welcomed by many countries and donors and which is open to membership, and the “Societies We Want” Initiative.

Moreover, ICESCO Director-General stated that ICESCO held virtual conferences on topics spanning its fields of competence, as well as foresight and AI, and is now preparing for more events in the future, adding that the two recent virtual conferences of education and culture ministers bear witness of the success of our new approach while noting that the Organization is currently preparing a set of foresight studies in contribution to strategic studies approach.

“The efforts and initiatives made by ICESCO will not attain their desired outcomes without your support and dedicated action toward the achievement of our objectives and our vision to crown our efforts with success for the benefit of our peoples who always expect new achievements,” Dr. AlMalik concluded.

Virtual Meeting at ICESCO: We need a better understanding of AI potentials and cooperation to address AI dependence

Posted on 19 June 2020 by aqeil aqeil

The future challenges and prospects of benefitting from the remarkable possibilities of AI applications in developing the educational process was the subject of the webinar “Artificial Intelligence and Education: Best Practices and Policy Recommendations.” The webinar was held yesterday by the Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ICESCO), in cooperation with King Abdulaziz University and the AI Civic Forum; and brought together a host of prominent experts in education, AI and strategic foresight.

The webinar was opened by Dr. Salim M. AlMalik, ICESCO Director General, who welcomed the participants, underlining the significance of the themes to be discussed.

The first statement was by Dr. Driss Ouaouicha, Minister Delegate in charge of Higher Education and Scientific Research in the Kingdom of Morocco, who stated that AI has proved its presence in any fields and showed a great impact on the economy. He added that currently, there are more than 40,000 articles on AI, a number expected to continuously rise, underscoring that AI can improve the quality of education as it facilitates its procedures; enables students to acquire the skills of autonomous learning; identifies challenges as well as ways to address them; and exposes fraud and copyright infringements attempts.

In his statement, Mr. Andreas Schleicher, Director of the Directorate of Education and Skills at the Organization for Economic and Cooperation Development (OECD), stated that the COVID-19 pandemic had been an opportunity for AI technology to prove its importance. He further explained that it had been widely used, especially in the field of distance education, as it can render educational systems more effective, arguing that the world is ready today to adopt automation, given the widespread use of smartphones, which have become indispensable.

For his part, Dr. Salim M. AlMalik, ICESCO Director General, stated in his address that at the peak of the COVID-19 spread, more than 90% of students across the globe were impacted, as this pandemic exposed the myriad of problems faced by the educational systems, most notably the weak educational policies, the dominance of face-to-face education, and the unpreparedness of most countries to provide distance education, given the lack of curricula digitization, reaffirming that integrating AI applications in education is an opportunity for overcoming major educational challenges.

Afterward, Dr. Kais Hammami, Director of the Centre for Strategic Foresight at ICESCO, stated that the webinar aims to change outlook; find a common ground on the relation between AI and education; and put forward recommendations on the policies that can be drafted and shared to regulate the sustainable educational and digital shift in ICESCO Member States.

In addition, Ms. Sacha Alanoca, Senior AI Policy Researcher at The Future Society, reaffirmed the significance of the webinar’s themes as well as the discussion taking place about them. At the same time, Ms. Pauline Noiseau, Coordinator at Algora Lab, noted the fields of expertise of participants augurs well with the webinar’s themes.

Moreover, Ms. Michaela Horvathova, International Education Policy Expert, discussed the topic of AI in education and education for AI.
The presentations carried on with Mr. Ehab Abozinadah, Professor of Smart Cyber Security, Vice Dean of Deanship of e-learning for Development at King Abdulaziz University, who discussed the aspects of the growing role of AI, stressing the need to promote scientific research to develop screening and misinformation mechanisms.

Regarding the dangers relating to the AI use, Mr. Mohamed Hedi Shili, Director of Legal Affairs at ICESCO, highlighted the need to build legal systems and reach new international agreements that keep up with the technological mutations that have erased geographic borders and created a different relation between the human and the machine.
Another ICESCO official to address the panel was Dr. Barry Koumbou, Director of the Sector of Education at ICESCO. Dr. Koumbou talked about the potential of AI in improving the quality of education and literacy programmes, underlining the need to exchange best practices in the field of education between countries with extensive expertise in this field and other countries, and the importance of South-South cooperation.

Concerning AI misconceptions among many people, Ms. Ramata Almamy Mbaye, Director of Social and Human Sciences Sector at ICESCO, stated that there is a dire need to revisit the AI myth that makes many people view AI as witchcraft and a threat to the human race, at a time when AI can benefit mankind in its quest to discover and develop itself.

John A. Sweeney, award-winning futurist, designer, and author, talked about the future of AI and the need for everyone’s participation in addressing the disadvantages of its application, including misinformation.

The live broadcast of the webinar on ICESCO’s Facebook page saw a large number of views. The full video of the webinar can be accessed at the following link:
https://www.facebook.com/ICESCO.Ar/videos/321090965570471/?v=321090965570471

ICESCO Director-General: Integrating AI applications in education, an opportunity for overcoming major educational challenges

Posted on 19 June 2020 by aqeil aqeil

Dr. Salim M. AlMalik, Director-General of the Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ICESCO), underscored that Integrating AI applications in education is an opportunity for overcoming major educational challenges, stressing that artificial intelligence should not raise concerns as much as present a way to facilitate the teaching process and improve the means of information transmission using easy and modern tools.

This was a point made by the Director-General in his address at the Webinar on “Artificial Intelligence and Education: Best Practices and Policy recommendations,” held in cooperation with King Abdulaziz University and the AI Civic Forum. He added that at the peak of the COVID-19 spread, more than 90% of students across the globe were impacted, as this pandemic exposed the myriad of problems faced by the educational systems, most notably the weak educational policies, the dominance of face-to-face education, and the unpreparedness of most countries to provide distance education, given the lack of curricula digitization.

In the same vein, the Director-General posed several questions that compel us to anticipate the future of education and shed light on the future role of AI and the opportunities it will provide in this field. “How will the world look like in light of a projected demographic growth? In light of steady population growth from eight billion peoples in 2019 to around 10 billion people in 2050? How will the world be like in light of expectations that about 223 million people between the ages of 5 and 19 will remain below the extreme poverty line by 2030? How will the reality of the right to education be like given the close relationship between the issues of school dropout and wastage, poverty, and social vulnerability? What is the role of AI in light of the rise in the revenues of the AI global market, which are expected to reach 11.1 billion dollars?” the Director-General wondered.

Moreover, Dr. AlMalik stated that linking AI to education poses many challenges, most notably balance between AI for education and education for AI, mainstreaming the use of this technology, and drafting a framework for its ethical use to protect the privacy and ensure human control over it. He maintained that in light of these challenges and major trends, the future of AI in education might take one of the following forms:

1- Relative change: keeping the current teaching methods and employing training for AI, so that learners can acquire the necessary skills to enter the job markets of the future;

2- Smart dominance hypothesis, which is the undesirable future where the machine dominates the human;

3- Balance and good governance hypothesis, which is the best formula where there is balance between education for AI and AI for education, and good governance to integrate AI in the educational system is adopted.

The Director-General concluded that being aware of these matters, and in light with its new vision that keeps up with future changes, ICESCO:

1- Started conducting a study on the role of AI in education in the Member States;

2- Conducted a study on AI rules;

3- Created an AI center at ICESCO;

4- Assisted Member States in anchoring AI applications.

ICESCO Webinar: Use of information technology and AI key to improving education quality

Posted on 11 June 2020 by aqeil aqeil

Participants in the educational webinar held by the Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ICESCO), under the theme “Technology in Service of the Continuity of the Educational Process” called for joint actions among the ICESCO Member States to develop inclusive institutionalization of distance learning in regulatory and legislative frameworks. They also called for promoting research works and studies in the field of educational technology, establishing educational institutions on the gains of the technological revolution and prospects of the knowledge-based economy, and supporting the transition to becoming digital institutions.

The webinar discussed the current situation on the use of technology and its prospects in education during and after the pandemic. It saw the participation of the respective Ministers of Education of Palestine and Côte d’Ivoire, ICESCO Director General, 20 educational professionals, university professors, and other experts in the field of education science and educational technology concerned with the continuity of the educational process during and after the pandemic in the ICESCO Member States.

In his address at the webinar’s opening session, Dr. Marwan Awartani, Minister of Education of the State of Palestine, addressed the experiment of the development of the educational system in the State of Palestine, discussing the obstacles and challenges that faced the educational officials to ensure the continuity of the educational process during this pandemic. For her part, Dr. Kandia Camara, Minister of National Education, Technical Education and Vocational Training of Côte d’Ivoire, stated that despite the negative impact of the pandemic, it had been a good opportunity to support educational systems to address crises, disasters and states of emergency.

Moreover, Dr. Salim M. AlMalik, ICESCO Director General, stated in his address that school curricula need urgent development through the use of information and communication technology in service of the continuity of the educational process. He also stressed the need to look for effective tools to link education with artificial intelligence, which advanced tremendously in term of its techniques, underscoring that technological advancement will be a major step towards developing education and will lead the way to improve the quality of education in a way that achieves Sustainable Development Goal 4, “Ensure inclusive and equitable quality.”
The webinar’s first session discussed the theme “E-learning: opportunities and challenges during and after COVID-19”. Speakers during this session included Dr. Majed Abdullah Alosaimi, General Director of Manarat Al-Fikr International Foundation for Humanities and Social Sciences, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, who talked about the topic “COVID-19 crisis and the school of the future: from theory to practice”; and Dr. Assaad Mahmoud El Sahmarani, Professor at Al-Imam Al-Ouzai University, Expert in education from the Republic of Lebanon, who addressed the issue of “E-learning and how to make it attractive to students.”

Moreover, Dr. Boutaina El Ghalbzouri, Professor at the Faculty of Letters and Humanities in Kingdom of Morocco, discussed the advantages of distance e-learning in university in comparison to conventional education. For his part, Dr. Rachid Albakali, Professor of curricula and teaching in the Kingdom of Morocco, talked about some of the Arab world’s leading experiences in e-learning, which has become in need of institutionalization in all its aspects through re-drafting a new curriculum and training teachers. At the same time, Dr. Radouane Rhenimi, Professor at Ibn Zohr University, Kingdom of Morocco, reaffirmed the need to work on achieving meaningful distance education capable of scoring positive outcomes.

The second session discussed the theme, “Post-COVID-19 world: fast transition to the digital school”, during which Dr. Khalid Samadi, Ex-Secretary of State in Charge of Higher Education and Scientific Research, Kingdom of Morocco, called for looking at the current global situation as an opportunity to foresee the future rather than a crisis and reflect on the major changes witnessed by the educational systems. In the same vein, Dr. Abdellatif Kidai, Dean of the Faculty of Education Sciences, Rabat, Kingdom of Morocco, stated that the University of the Future contributes to building a knowledge-based economy because it nurtures innovation in a way that helps to integrate into the AI society.

Furthermore, Dr. Ahmed Ouzzi, Professor of Psychology at Mohammed V University, stated that educational systems need a comprehensive upgrade that is mindful of the changes and challenges of the future. Discussing the same theme, Dr. Abdelrhani Moundib, Professor at Mohammed V University, Rabat, Kingdom of Morocco, maintained that we need major changes but be aware of the implications revamping the educational system; while Dr. Mohammed Derrij, Professor of education science at Mohammed V University, Rabat, Kingdom of Morocco, presented the rotation model as an offshoot from the idea of distance attendance that combines virtual education and face-to-face learning in classes.
The webinar concluded with several recommendations, including intensifying meetings, coordinating with the competent parties in the ICESCO Member States, and taking advantage of societies’ timely awareness due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Also, preparing integrated rehabilitation programmes for educational professionals to achieve concrete change in teaching methods and tools and building new models and processes for school assessment.
The webinar saw wide views through its live broadcasting on ICESCO’s Facebook page. The full webinar is available on the following link: https://www.facebook.com/ICESCO.Ar/videos/1630702797104720/

ICESCO Director-General reaffirms the importance of curricula development to fit schools of the future

Posted on 10 June 2020 by aqeil aqeil

Dr. Salim M. AlMalik, Director General of the Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ICESCO), reaffirmed that the post-COVID-19 world requires us to anticipate the future of education and prepare for addressing the challenges of the upcoming period. The Director-General explained that such a goal could be achieved through the development of innovative curricula, alternative educational programmes to expeditiously make the transition towards the future digital school, adding that the traditional school will definitely change and will be replaced by the future virtual schools.

Dr. AlMalik’s highlighted this issue in his address at the Extraordinary Virtual Meeting of the General Conference of the Ministers of Education of the Member States of the Arab Bureau of Education for Gulf States (ABEGS), held today under the presidency of the Sultanate of Oman. The Conference’s agenda featured many topics on education and Member States’ efforts to mitigate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the educational process.

In the same vein, Dr. AlMalik stated that the enormous investments in distance education would not be the magic wand that achieves all the desired outcomes. He maintained that advancing this field entails overcoming the many obstacles to its efficiency, most notably the weak educational data collection system and the slowdown in students’ progress o the official curricula. “The abrupt closure of the educational institutions did not leave enough time to prepare any appropriate transition strategies to adopt to distance education,” the Director-General stated. Moreover, Dr. AlMalik underscored that the current curricula are incompatible with this exigent phase and are in dire need of an upgrade, saying that countries should pay due attention to school wastage, which has mostly deteriorated as a result of the closure of the educational institutions.

Likewise, ICESCO Director-General said that, during the crisis, the Organization provided support to its Member States most affected by the pandemic by identifying its impact on the educational systems and intervening according to criteria and participatory approach. “Aware of the likelihood of the persistence of the pandemic and the risk of a second spike of the virus, particularly in the most affected countries, ICESCO continues to be vigilant of any emergency undermining the right to education in these countries,” he maintained. Along this line, the Director-General stated that the Organization prepared a comprehensive guide on the reopening of educational institutions, which provides practical recommendations and field mechanisms to ensure a safe and stable return to schools.

Furthermore, Dr. AlMalik stated that to prepare for education’s future, ICESCO launched an initiative to standardize the curricula of sciences and mathematics in the Islamic world, which was welcomed by the Conference’s participants. He added that ICESCO is also developing a strategy to integrate Artificial Intelligence (AI) in the fields of education and will present two studies at the virtual symposium it will hold on 18 June 2020. “The first study will be on the use of AI in education while the second study focuses on its ethics and regulations,” he further explained.

In closing, Dr. AlMalik called for increasing scientific research’s share in the national output to reach 3% in Muslim countries, which will promote these countries’ efforts towards leadership and excellence.

ICESCO Director-General explores cooperation prospects with Grand mufti of Azerbaijan and Caucasus

Posted on 4 June 2020 by aqeil aqeil

Today, the Director-General of the Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ICESCO), Dr. Salim M. AlMalik, met with the Grand mufti of Azerbaijan and Caucasus, Mr. Allahshükür Pashazade via videoconferencing. Together they explored prospects of cooperation between ICESCO and the Spiritual Administration of Muslims of the Caucasus.

At the outset, Dr. AlMalik thanked the Grand Mufti for hosting the meeting, requesting him to convey his greetings to His Excellency, the President of Azerbaijan, Mr. Ilham Aliyev, and Mrs. Mehriban Aliyev, First Vice President and First Lady of Azerbaijan, and President of Heydar Aliyev Foundation.

Moreover, the Director-General reviewed the major projects and initiatives launched by the Organization, as part of its new strategic vision, including the Comprehensive Humanitarian Coalition. Dr. AlMalik underscored that this Coalition aims to support developing countries as well as the countries most affected by the COVID-19 pandemic through the implementation of concrete projects and field programmes, noting that the Republic of Azerbaijan joined the Coalition and supported it financially.

Likewise, Dr. AlMalik talked about ICESCO’s efforts to open up to non-Member States, noting that the Organization drafted a new Charter including new regulations for ICESCO Observer Status and invites all states to become Observer States with the goal of more cooperation in the fields of education, science, culture, and communication.

For his part, Mr. Allahshükür Pashazade commended ICESCO’s initiatives in the area of dialogue and cultural diversity, as well as its efforts to spread the values of moderation, middle stance, and coexistence; keenness to support Islamic solidarity, and sustained interest in support for cultural heritage in the Islamic world.

The President of the Spiritual Administration for the Muslims of the Caucasus reaffirmed the interest and desire of the Republic of Azerbaijan and its specialized institutions in supporting and promoting cooperation with ICESCO, reiterating his Administration’s keenness to work on achieving the noble goals sought by the two parties.
Moreover, Mr. Allahshükür Pashazade invited Dr. AlMalik to visit Azerbaijan and sign a cooperation programme between ICESCO and the Spiritual Administration for the Muslims of the Caucasus, an invitation that ICESCO Director-General welcomed, promising to visit Azerbaijan at the earliest convenience.

The two parties also agreed on coordinating to hold a high-level virtual meeting for leaders of religious institutions to explore ways to promote cooperation, coordination, and consultation, and to hold later an international conference on anchoring the values of peace, tolerance, and coexistence.

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