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The Saudi Ministry of Culture hosted the 19th Consultative Council for Cultural Development in the Islamic World on Monday, 10 February 2025, in Jeddah. The meeting, organized by the Islamic World Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (ICESCO) in partnership with the Saudi Ministry of Culture, focused on discussing the agenda, draft resolutions, and documents to be presented at the 13th Conference of Ministers of Culture in the Islamic World, scheduled for February 12–13 in Jeddah.

The opening session began with a recitation of verses from the Holy Quran, followed by ICESCO’s address delivered by Dr. Mohamed Zine El Abidine, Head of the Culture Sector. He emphasized the organization’s efforts to cultivate excellence and innovation in the Islamic world as foundations for research and renewal in scientific, artistic, technical, and communication fields. He also highlighted ICESCO’s achievements in cultural development and the initiatives and documents to be presented at the upcoming conference.

Dr. Zine El Abidine further noted that ICESCO is establishing specialized centers for calligraphy, manuscripts, poetry, and literature, stressing that the organization collaborates with its member states to develop strategic action plans that elevate culture to a central and foundational role in the Islamic world.

Afterward, Dr. Talal bin Saud Al-Ruwais, Chairman of the Consultative Council for Cultural Development in the Islamic World, discussed the contributions of Islamic civilization to cultural advancement and stressed that the meeting serves as a preparatory step for the 13th Conference of Ministers of Culture in the Islamic World, which aims to enhance cultural cooperation among ICESCO member states and review key resolutions on preserving tangible and intangible heritage.

The opening session also included the approval of the new Council Bureau for its 19th session, with Saudi Arabia assuming the presidency from Qatar, which now serves as rapporteur, while Palestine and Senegal were appointed as vice presidents.

Following the opening, the Council proceeded with two working sessions. The first session focused on approving the meeting’s agenda and reviewing several executive reports to be presented at the 13th Ministerial Conference, including arrangements for electing new Consultative Council members, the draft internal regulations of the Ministerial Conference, ICESCO’s cultural achievements report, and the report of the Islamic World Heritage Committee.

In the second session, the Council examined key policy documents, including:

​•​ICESCO’s Initiative on Cultural Rights and the Right to Culture in Islamic World Countries

​•​A document on strengthening efforts to recover cultural properties in the Islamic world

​•​An analytical report on the list of world heritage sites in danger in the Islamic world

​•​A document on digitizing bilingual dictionaries in Islamic countries

​•​A document on the historical illustrated dictionary of Arabic calligraphy, presented by Saudi Arabia

The meeting concluded with the adoption of the agenda, schedule, and documents for the 13th Conference of Ministers of Culture in the Islamic World. Members of the Consultative Council praised ICESCO’s efforts in strengthening collaborative cultural initiatives across the Islamic world and acknowledged its achievements under its new strategic vision, underscoring the need for continued support of its endeavors.

The Islamic World Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (ICESCO) and the Hamdan Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Foundation for Medical and Educational Sciences have announced the winners of the 4th Hamdan-ICESCO Prize for Voluntary Development of Educational Facilities in the Islamic World. The prize honors outstanding voluntary initiatives that support and develop educational environments in countries of the Islamic world.

The Hamdan-ICESCO Prize aims to achieve several strategic objectives, including encouraging and rewarding voluntary initiatives in education, promoting sustainable development efforts to create new and lasting educational environments, and supporting educational infrastructure in the Muslim world. These efforts contribute to improving education quality and ensuring equal access to educational opportunities.

Announced in December 2023, the fourth edition of the prize attracted applications from both organizations and individuals across various Islamic countries. This year, nine educational initiatives from seven countries participated, reflecting the growing interest in voluntary action within the education sector.

Dr. Salim M. AlMalik, Director-General of ICESCO, commended the prize’s role in fostering voluntary action in education and highlighted the importance of developing educational facilities as a cornerstone for societal advancement.

“Ensuring sustainable and inclusive education requires continuous support for voluntary efforts and philanthropic initiatives, which is the essence of this prize, organized in partnership with Hamdan Foundation. This edition’s winning projects reflect a real commitment to achieving positive change in beneficiary communities and provide pioneering models that can inspire further initiatives in the future. ICESCO remains committed to strengthening this initiative by collaborating with organizations that support education, contributing to the overall advancement of the sector,” Dr. AlMalik stated.

H.E. Humaid Mohammed Al Qatami, Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Hamdan Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Foundation for Medical and Educational Sciences, emphasized that the prize reflects the foundation’s vision of fostering an advanced educational environment that supports sustainable development in Islamic countries.

“Investment in education is key to the future of societies. This prize honors and recognizes voluntary efforts that contribute to improving the educational environment. This edition’s winners have provided exceptional examples of projects with real impact, helping to build modern and sustainable learning environments and opening new horizons for students in beneficiary communities. We are proud of our partnership with ICESCO and look forward to supporting more inspiring projects that enhance the quality of education in the Muslim world,” H.E. Al Qatami added.

The Prize Jury selected three outstanding institutions for their pioneering projects in developing educational facilities:
• Hadramawt Foundation – Human Development (Yemen): Awarded for its “Pilot High Schools” project (Models), which aims to establish and develop modern pilot high schools in Hadramawt Governorate, enhancing the region’s education quality.
• Heydar Aliyev Foundation (Azerbaijan): Recognized for its “Educational and Social Support Project,” which focuses on building and rehabilitating schools in multiple countries, both within and beyond the Islamic world.
• Moroccan Foundation for Primary Education (Morocco): Honored for its initiative to equip primary education departments in rural, semi-rural, and urban areas across the Kingdom, ensuring an integrated learning environment for children in remote regions.

This edition of the prize reinforces its commitment to encouraging voluntary initiatives that improve educational environments by recognizing innovative solutions to infrastructure challenges in the education sector. The strong participation numbers further establish the Hamdan-ICESCO Prize as one of the leading programs supporting voluntary action in education and contributing to the sustainable development of the sector across the Islamic world.

The winners will be honored at an upcoming official award ceremony, where each will receive the prize shield and a financial award to support their projects and benefit their target communities.

Dr. Salim AlMalik, Director-General of the Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ICESCO), met with Mr. Sayed Habibullah Agha, Minister of Education of Afghanistan, on Tuesday, February 5, 2025, and explored ways to enhance cooperation in the field of girls’ online education, teacher capacity building programs, curriculum development and early childhood care.

At the beginning of the meeting, which was held via videoconference, Dr. AlMalik reaffirmed the Organization’s keenness to develop programs to benefit youth, women and girls in the fields of education, science and culture in Afghanistan, pointing out that the Organization is ready to cooperate with the Afghan competent authorities to provide learning opportunities for girls while taking into account the characteristics of Afghan society, by developing programs enabling girls to continue their studies remotely, noting that the Organization fully respects the specificities, values and traditions of societies of its Member States.

For his part, the Mr. Habibullah Agha praised ICESCO’s roles in developing the fields of education, science and culture in the Islamic world, and invited ICESCO to send a delegation to Afghanistan as soon as possible to discuss the needs of developing the educational process and the ministry’s priorities in this field.

The meeting was attended by Dr. Haddy Jatou Sey, Head of the Education Sector, Mr. Anar Karimov, Head of the Partnerships and International Cooperation Sector, Ms. Faizah Alaoui and Mr. Waqas Afridi, experts at the Education Sector.

This Monday, February 3, 2025, the first International Conference on Language Competence in Teaching Arabic to Non-Arabic Speakers commenced under the theme “Challenges of Reality and Prospects for Development.” Co-hosted by the Islamic World Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (ICESCO), Bursa Uludağ University in Türkiye, its Faculty of Theology, and its Waqf Organization, the conference brings together 50 researchers from 20 countries to examine the major challenges in teaching Arabic to non-Arabic speakers and assess initiatives, innovations, and projects aimed at addressing these challenges.

The opening session of the three-day conference featured speeches by Dr. Jefar Çevçir, Vice President of Bursa Uludağ University, and Dr. Adam Abak, Dean of the Faculty of Theology, who both praised ICESCO’s collaboration with Turkish universities in supporting the Arabic language in Türkiye and promoting specialized scientific research in this field.

ICESCO is represented at the conference by Dr. Anas Hussam Saeed Al-Nuaimi, an expert at the Arabic Language Center for Non-Arabic Speakers, who delivered the Organization’s speech during the opening session. In his address, he highlighted ICESCO’s role in disseminating the Arabic language, strengthening scientific research, and publishing specialized studies on Arabic for non-Arabic speakers. He also chaired one of the conference sessions and presented a scientific paper titled: “The Importance of Arabic Poetry in the Acquisition of Language Skills for Non-Arabic Speakers.”

Throughout its sessions, the conference will address several topics during its sessions, namely: problems of teaching language skills; analysis of language skills in textbooks for teaching Arabic to non-Arabic speakers; successful teaching strategies in learning and teaching language skills; assessment of language skills; and modern techniques for teaching language skills.

The Center of Arabic for Non-Arabic Speakers at the Islamic World Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (ICESCO) participated in the meeting of the scientific committee members for the project to establish a Unified Reference Framework for the Arabic language in teaching, learning, and assessment. The Project is supervised by the Arab League Educational, Cultural, and Scientific Organization (ALECSO) in Tunisia and is funded by the Islamic Development Bank.

The first scientific session of the meeting, held on Tuesday, 28 January 2025, via videoconference, was attended by Dr. Mohamed Ould Amar, ALECSO Director-General, along with several officials from relevant Arab and international institutions.

In his remarks, Dr. Ould Amar outlined the motivations for establishing a shared Reference Framework for the Arabic Language, encompassing cultural, developmental, civilizational, and scientific aspects. He noted that the initiative ultimately aims to secure a bright future for the Arabic language and strengthen its global standing.

ICESCO was represented in the meeting by Dr. Majdi Haji Ibrahim, Head of ICESCO Center of Arabic for Non-Arabic Speakers. He expressed his agreement for the Center to lead a specialized working group tasked with evaluating Arabic language teaching curricula in terms of content and methodology, both within the Arab world and beyond.

Additionally, the group will formulate key indicators and standards for educational curricula at various levels and provide educational guidelines on curriculum development, instructional design, and pedagogical frameworks.