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Dr. Salim M. AlMalik, Director-General of the Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ICESCO), and Mr. Mondher Belaid, Tunisian Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research, discussed cooperation between their institutions to enhance the university education system and strengthen collaboration between academic institutions and research centers.

During the meeting, held at the Ministry’s headquarters in Tunis on Tuesday, January 28, 2025, Dr. AlMalik reviewed the main thrusts of the Organization’s vision and strategic orientations, as well as the programs and projects it is implementing, particularly in the areas of capacity building for youth and women, promotion of scientific research and innovation, and investment in technology and AI.

ICESCO Director-General underlined the Organization’s great interest in cooperating with universities as centers of cultural and civilizational influence, stressing the need to work towards the inclusion of Islamic world universities in international rankings that serve as criteria for facilitating cooperation between universities and research institutions, and expressed his keenness to cooperate with Tunisian universities in research fields that fall within ICESCO’s areas of competence and to establish several research chairs within these universities.

For his part, Mr. Belaid presented key indicators of the quality of Tunisian university education, noting that Tunisia is the only Arab and African partner country participating in “Horizon Europe,” the European Union’s primary program for research and innovation. He also expressed Tunisia’s commitment to attracting international students.

The meeting was attended by Dr. Mohamed Zine El Abidine, Head of the Culture and Communication Sector; Mr. Osama Heikal, Head of the Media and Communication Sector; Dr. Salim Al Habsi, Director of the General Secretariat for National Commissions and Conferences; Dr. Kais Hammami, Head of ICESCO’s Foresight and Artificial Intelligence Centre; and Mr. Mohamed Hedi Shili, Director of the Legal Affairs and International Standards Department.

Dr. Salim M. AlMalik, Director-General of the Islamic World Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (ICESCO), met with Dr. Mohamed Ould Amar, Director-General of the Arab League Educational, Cultural, and Scientific Organization (ALECSO), to discuss prospects for strengthening cooperation and partnership between the two organizations, particularly in education and scientific research.

The meeting took place on Tuesday, 28 January 2025, at ALECSO headquarters in Tunis. Dr. Mohamed Ould Amar welcomed Dr. AlMalik and his accompanying delegation during their official visit to Tunisia.
Dr. AlMalik expressed his pleasure at visiting ALECSO headquarters, describing it as a hub of expertise for the Arab world. He highlighted the synergy between the missions of the two organizations in the Islamic world.

Moreover, Dr. AlMalik reaffirmed ICESCO’s commitment to collaborating with ALECSO, emphasizing the importance of fostering trust-based cooperation to achieve shared objectives. He also stressed the need for both organizations to exchange expertise and knowledge in their respective fields.
For his part, Dr. Mohamed Ould Amar underscored the strong ties between ALECSO and ICESCO, which enable them to tackle common challenges in pursuit of their shared goals. These include advancing education, enhancing scientific research, building high-quality educational systems, and improving curricula. He also highlighted broader efforts to promote culture, science, and education across the Arab and Islamic worlds.

At the end of the meeting, ALECSO presented Dr. AlMalik with its Shield of Excellence in recognition of his contributions to education, culture, and science, as well as his efforts in strengthening the bond between the two organizations.

Dr. Salim M. AlMalik, Director-General of the Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ICESCO), has reaffirmed the Organization’s full support for the International Center for Calligraphy Arts’ “Iqraa” project. This initiative was generously launched by H.E. Kaïs Saïed, President of the Republic of Tunisia. Dr. AlMalik highlighted that ICESCO places significant emphasis on manuscripts and is working to establish its own specialized center for calligraphy and manuscripts.

The Statement followed a meeting on Tuesday 28 January 2025, between the ICESCO delegation, led by Dr. AlMalik, and Ms. Amina Srarfi, Tunisia’s Minister of Cultural Affairs. Discussions centered on potential cooperation for securing international funding for the “Iqraa” project, registering Tunisian archaeological sites on ICESCO’s heritage lists, and expanding partnerships in literature and the arts.

For her part, the Minister praised ICESCO’s role in advancing cultural development among its Member States and preserving Islamic heritage by inscribing it on heritage lists and training professionals in the Field. She also reviewed her ministry’s efforts and projects, especially the “Iqraa” project, which involves building an integrated educational heritage city to highlight the cultural and historical significance of the Arabic language and raise awareness of various styles of Arabic calligraphy. Additionally, she emphasized the Ministry’s commitment to safeguarding Tunisia’s heritage, restituting its cultural assets and heritage elements, and digitizing historical documents and manuscripts for future generations.

The ICESCO delegation included Dr. Mohamed Zine El Abidine, Head of the Culture Sector; Mr. Osama Heikal, Head of the Media and Communication Sector; Dr. Salim Al Habsi, Director of the General Secretariat of National Commissions and Conferences; Dr. Kais Hammami, Director of the Center for Foresight and Artificial Intelligence; and Mr. Mohamed Hedi Shili, Head of the Department of Legal Affairs and International Standards.

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.

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.