The Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ICESCO), in collaboration with the World Bank, organized a webinar titled “Exploring the Demand for Green and Digital Skills in the MENA Region: A New Pathway for Youth Employment.” The event focused on emerging transformations in green skills aimed at achieving environmental sustainability, transitioning to a green economy, reducing pollution, preserving natural resources, and addressing urgent climate challenges.
Held on Tuesday, 14 January 2025, via virtual conferencing, the webinar brought together prominent experts and officials to exchange insights on the opportunities available for youth in the MENA region and ways to enhance their capabilities by leveraging modern digital technologies.
ICESCO was represented at the webinar by Dr Haddy Jatou Sey, Head of the Education Sector, and Dr. Raheel Qamar, Head of the Science and Environment Sector.
Dr. Qamar highlighted the organization’s numerous initiatives in the field, including:
Developing smart agricultural practices through modern technology and data analysis to enhance food security and sustainability.
Building the capacities of youth and women by providing digital skills training through software technology workshops.
Dr. Haddy Jatou Sey emphasized the organization’s prioritization of education and artificial intelligence, underlining the need for Member States to integrate technology and digital skills into education systems. This integration aims to maximize the quality of learning outcomes and empower youth by providing them with essential digital skills. She also presented examples of open and remote learning fields as practical approaches to achieve these goals.
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.
The Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ICESCO) announced the appointment of Mr. Osama Heikal as the Head of the Sector of Media and Communication. This appointment aligns with the Organization’s vision to strengthen its media presence and develop a communication strategy that reflects its significant achievements over the past five years.
Mr. Osama Heikal brings extensive experience in media and culture, having held prominent positions, including Minister of State for Information, Chairman and Managing Director of the Egyptian Media Production City (EMPC), and Chairman of the Committee for Media, Culture, and Antiquities in the Egyptian House of Representatives. He also served as the editor-in-chief of the daily newspaper Al Wafd and regularly contributed as a columnist in various Egyptian newspapers.
In addition to his professional career, Mr. Heikal represented Egypt at numerous international conferences and has had a significant impact on the Arab media landscape through his books and publications, notably 150 Days in the History of Egypt and Fourth Generation Wars: Media and the Fragmentation of Societies.
Mr. Heikal has received several honors both nationally and internationally, including the 2020 Best CEO Award from the Egyptian Union of Administrative Associations, as well as recognition from the Emirates Center for Strategic Studies and Research, along with numerous accolades from prestigious academic and media institutions.
It is anticipated that Mr. Osama Heikal will significantly contribute to advancing ICESCO’s media and communication efforts in an ever-evolving field. Mr. Heikal will oversee the development of a focused strategy designed to achieve measurable outcomes that align with ICESCO’s new vision and goals and serve the interests of its Member States across the Islamic world.
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.
Dr. Abdelilah Benarafa, Deputy Director-General (DG) of the Islamic World Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (ICESCO), welcomed Dr. Habib El Mallouki, Dean of the Faculty of Educational and Cultural Studies at Osnabrück University in Germany, to ICESCO’s headquarters today, Thursday, January 9, 2025.
The Meeting explored avenues of collaboration between ICESCO and Osnabrück University in scientific and cultural fields. Discussions also focused on preparations for establishing the ICESCO Chair for Quranic Studies, which will be hosted by the University. The Initiative aims to fast-track the necessary steps to ensure the chair is launched in 2025, reflecting Osnabrück University’s growing commitment to fostering promising projects that promote global intercultural dialogue.
The Meeting was attended by Ambassador Khalid Fathalrahman, Head of ICESCO’s Center for Civilizational Dialogue, and Dr. Abdelmalek Hibawi, Secretary-General of the German Institute for Dialogue and Understanding (Mouatana).
The Islamic World Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (ICESCO) invites researchers, specialists, and postgraduate students to submit academic papers for publication in a collective work entitled “Peace and Socio-Cultural Heritage: Overview of the Endogenous Resources of a Culture Of Peace.” This volume, set to be published in December 2025, is an initiative of ICESCO’s Network of Experts in Human and Social Sciences, aiming to support the Organization’s efforts in promoting peace, coexistence, and intercultural dialogue. Submissions should address one of the following themes:
Culture of peace: A Concept Endogenous to Traditional non-Western Societies?
Culture of Peace and Oral Literature, Customary Practices/Uses/ Restrictions;
Culture of Peace and Endogenous Mechanisms for Conflict Transformation;
Culture of Peace, Traditional Ecological Knowledge, and Institutions Managing Endogenous Cultural Resources. All submissions will undergo a rigorous review by a panel of experts from within and beyond ICESCO to ensure scientific quality and integrity. Submissions should be sent in one of ICESCO’s working languages, Arabic, English, or French, to the following email: shs@icesco.org. Submitted papers must adhere to the following requirements:
The abstract should not exceed 300 words;
Deadline for abstract submission: 28 February 2025;
Announcement of approved abstracts: 30 April 2025.
Deadline for full paper submission: 31 July 2025. For further details on participation requirements, kindly visit: https://icesco.org/8wam
The Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ICESCO), in partnership with the Ministry of Youth, Culture and Communication in the Kingdom of Morocco, published the graphic-story, “Show Me Your Smile”. The graphic story is part of the activities of ICESCO’s, “StopBully Program”, which aims at raising awareness of school bullying, casting light on its negative impact on students, and discussing ways to address it.
Published in Arabic, English and French, the story is part of the educational tools comprised in the StopBully Program and serves as a guidebook in a literary and creative form, designed to help children, teachers, education officials and families find practical and realistic solutions to countering school bullying and redressing bullies’ behavior. The story is available for download via the link: https://icesco.org/tz9d
The publishing of this story was the culmination of two contests organized to support and highlight the artistic abilities and creations of young men and women, namely Contest for Best Graphic-Story to Fight School Bullying, won by writer, Hegra Mahmoud Al-Sawi Ahmad from the Arabi Republic, and the Contest for Story illustration, won by Badr Rahawi from the Kingdom of Morocco.
Through this initiative, ICESCO aims to help educational stakeholders ensure a prompt, coordinated and effective response to stop bullies, while strengthening child protection and resilience mechanisms to guarantee their well-being and good mental health.
In observance of World Arabic Language Day, celebrated annually on December 18, ICESCO Centers, Training Poles and University Chairs organized a large number of activities to celebrate the Arabic language, highlight its educational and cultural roles and promote its international presence. These institutions included ICESCO’s Regional Educational Center in Chad, ICESCO’s Educational Center in Malaysia, ICESCO’s Training Poles for Excellence in the Arabic Language in Nigeria and Benin, ICESCO Chair for Research and Pedagogical Innovation in the Arabic Language in Guinea and ICESCO’s Chair for Arabic in Service of Coexistence in the Russian Federation.
On this occasion, ICESCO’s Regional Educational Center of Chad, in cooperation with the country’s International Federation of Arabic Support Institutions, organized a number of activities as part of the 12th National Week of the Arabic Language, notably those held at the Center’s headquarters in N’djamena. These included the “International Scientific Conference: Arabic Language Challenges in Africa and Prospects of Civilizational Communication”, on 19-20 December, and two training sessions on “Academic Leadership” and “Teaching and Academic Guidance Skills”, on 21-23 December.
Similar activities were held at General Lansana Conté University in Conakry, where ICESCO Chair for Research and Pedagogical Innovation in the Arabic Language in Guinea held the Arabic Language Week, on 11-18 December, under the theme, “Contributions of the Arabic Language in Human Civilization and Culture”. The activities were organized in cooperation with Julius Nyerere University in Kankan, the University of Labé, the International University of Guinea, Al-Eamar University, the National Bureau of Arab-French Pre-University Education.
The Arabic Language Week featured a number of workshops and training sessions for Arabic teachers in Guinea, along with lectures, a poetry contest and a symposium on Arabic manuscripts and local languages manuscripts written in Arabic script. It also featured a ceremony to present the first issue of the journal of the ICESCO Chair for Research and Pedagogical Innovation in Arabic-French Education in Guinea, an annual peer-reviewed journal that publishes scientific articles and research in Arabic on various topics related to education and culture. Likewise, in Porto Novo, Benin, the Ibn Battuta African University Institute, which hosts the ICESCO Arabic Language Training Pole in Benin, adopted December as Arabic Language Month, with a number of celebratory events, including an exhibition of Arabic books and a competition for students to read Arabic literature. It also featured an intensive training session for teachers, and cultural exhibitions in both Yoruba (a major language in Benin) and Arabic to promote comparative studies between the two languages.
In the same vein, the ICESCO Chair for Arabic Language in the Service of Dialogue and Coexistence at the Russian Islamic University in Ufa, Russian Federation, organized on December 18 a competition for Arabic language students in Bashkortostan in the field of Arabic public speaking, where students gave visual presentations on the roles of the Arabic language in Muslim life and its international status as a world language.
On the same day in Malaysia, the ICESCO Education Center in Malaysia organized an award ceremony for the winners of the student competition on producing short Arabic-language educational and awareness films. The ceremony was attended by the President of the Islamic University of Selangor, Malaysia, and an official from the Malaysian Ministry of Education.
In the same context, the ICESCO Training Pole for Excellence in Arabic Language, hosted by the Arabic Language Village Ngala in Nigeria, organized a major celebration on December 18, under the patronage of the Executive Governor of Borno State. The celebration included various activities, notably a scientific conference titled, “Arabic Language and Artificial Intelligence: Fostering Innovation while Preserving Cultural Heritage”. Awards of appreciation were also presented to a number of high-ranking officials in recognition of their efforts to support the Arabic language in Nigeria.
The Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ICESCO) and the Azerbaijan Space Agency (Azercosmos) are holding a three-day training workshop on the fundamentals of space medicine, particularly the health care of astronauts during their missions.
The workshop, which kicked off on December 19, 2024 in Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan, will tackle the critical challenges facing astronauts, including the negative effects of weightlessness, exposure to radiation, and physiological and psychological effects, especially during long-term space missions.
In his speech, Dr. Mohamed Sharif, Advisor in the Science and Environment Sector, who represented ICESCO virtually at the opening session, stressed the importance of space medicine in shaping the future of human space exploration. He also pointed out the importance of benefiting from space science applications to achieve sustainable development, praising the constructive cooperation between ICESCO and Azercosmos in enhancing the capacities of space industry professionals and using space sciences in addressing global challenges.
For his part, Mr. Samaddin Asadov, Azercosmos Board Chairman, stressed the importance of scientific research in the field of space medicine to develop innovative solutions and technologies to protect astronauts from the risks they face, emphasizing the role of scientific research and innovation in the field of space medicine in developing health care on planet Earth.
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.
