Category: Front Page

On 31 October of every year, the world celebrates the World Cities Day, which is observed this year under the theme ‘Financing sustainable urban future for all’. This Day is an opportunity to highlight the importance of enhancing investment in building resilient cities and urban areas that keep pace with the future requirements by leveraging modern technologies to achieve sustainable development, and encourage decentralization of administration with a view to enhancing response to the special needs of cities.

The Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ICESCO) takes this opportunity to call on its Member States and the world to give priority to investing in digital infrastructure and benefit from modern technology applications, especially remote sensing and artificial intelligence, in order to achieve a technological leap that contributes to enhancing resource management, meeting the needs of urban residents, and ensuring cooperation between countries, organizations and international bodies to preserve the environment in cities by strengthening development policies and exchanging experiences in the field of smart cities.

Aware of the importance of developing cities to ensure the sustainability of communities, the Organization issued its report on the “Strategy for Smart and Sustainable Cities in the Islamic World,” which was adopted during its ninth Conference of Environment Ministers in the Islamic World, hosted by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia; in Jeddah, on October 19, 2023, to support the efforts of Member States in improving their national policies and plans, and the Action Plan on Smart, Sustainable and Resilient Cities in the Countries of the Islamic World, in addition to developing standards and indicators to measure the performance of smart, sustainable and resilient cities in line with the needs of each country.

In contribution to improving living conditions, within the framework of its vision and strategic orientations, ICESCO reaffirms its commitment to strengthening the efforts of its Member States in developing green cities, preserving the environment, and benefiting from renewable energies by holding a number of activities, conferences and training sessions to promote these concepts.

The Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ICESCO) held a meeting of experts in Arabic language, themed “Building Youth Capacities in Teaching Arabic for Non-Arabic Speakers” with the participation of a host of experts and education officers in presence and via videoconferencing from the Kingdom of Morocco, Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, French Republic, Republic of Türkiye, Republic of Chad, Federal Republic of Nigeria, Malaysia, Republic of Kazakhstan, Russian Federation, Socialist Republic of Vietnam, Republic of Guinea and the Republic of Benin.

In his address at the meeting, held on Thursday, 26 October 2023, at Mishkat Arabic Hall, at the Organisation’s headquarters, Mr. Adel Bouraoui, Advisor to ICESCO Director-General for External Centres and Academic Chairs on Arabic Language, stated that this meeting is part of celebrating ICESCO Year of Youth, and mentioned that the 2023-2024 edition of Mishkat programme will aim to build youth capacities in teaching Arabic for Non-Arabic speakers. He further announced that the ICESCO-Hamdan bin Rashid Platform, “Mishkat”, plans to launch an upcoming program called “Future Experts” to prepare youth from ICESCO Member States, especially those with Arabic as a foreign language, to take on leadership roles in pedagogical training of teachers of Arabic for non-Arabic speakers.

The participating experts touched on a variety of topics, including “Building Scientific and Pedagogical Skillset for Young Teachers”, “Harmonizing Training Programmes with Youth Trainers’ Needs”, “Cross-generational Teachers’ Communication for the Transfer of Expertise and Renewal of Working Methods”, stressing that the preparation of youth to take on leadership roles in teaching Arabic for non-Arabic speakers will catalyse their innovation and bring about innovation and development to the field.

At the end of the meeting, the present experts received certificates of participation in the 2022-2023 first edition of Mishkat Arabic Language programme.

A delegation from the Islamic World Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (ICESCO), headed by Mr. Anar Karimov, Head of Partnerships and International Cooperation Sector, visited the Chinese Embassy in Rabat, where they met Mr. Li Changlin, Ambassador of the People’s Republic of China to the Kingdom of Morocco.

During the meeting, held on Wednesday 25 October 2023, Mr. Karimov affirmed ICESCO’s commitment, within its vision and strategic orientations, to an inclusive approach to ensure that everyone contributes to consolidating peace and security, developing innovation, supporting education, and empowering youth. Moreover, he noted that the Organization allows non-Member States to join as observers to serve Muslim communities worldwide and foster cooperation between these states and the Islamic world.

On his part, the Chinese Ambassador expressed his keenness to enhance cooperation with ICESCO, aiming to bring China closer to the Islamic world, emphasizing his country’s openness to promoting tolerance and supporting innovation through youth and cultural exchanges.
The two parties agreed to maintain ongoing communication and coordination to organize an international conference on Silk Road, at ICESCO headquarters, in Rabat, in partnership with Shanghai International Studies University China (SISU), in early December 2023. The conference will bring together a large number of experts and researchers from China and other countries to present research papers and academic studies on the historical significance of the Silk Road, and address issues pertaining to the present and future of Silk Road that has bridged China to the rest of the world for centuries.

The meeting also brought together Dr. Muhammad Yusuf, expert at the Partnerships and International Cooperation Sector, and Dr. Min jie, expert at the Federation of the Universities of the Islamic World (FUIW), which is affiliated with the Organization.

The Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ICESCO) held a training on strategic foresight for decision-making in partnership with the Tunisian National Commission for Education, Science and Culture, the Ministry of Cultural Affairs and the Ministry of Youth and Sports in the Republic of Tunisia, for the benefit of 100 youth and members of ICESCO’s Young Professionals Programme.

The launch of the training, held as part of ICESCO Year of Youth, in Tunis, on Friday, 20 October 2023, saw the participation of Dr. Mohamed Ali Boughdiri, Tunisian Minister of Education, President of the Tunisian National Commission; Dr. Kamal Deguiche, Tunisian Minister of Youth and Sports; Foued Aouni, General Director of Tunisia National Observatory for Youth; Dr. Kais Hammami, Director of ICESCO Centre of Strategic Foresight; Dr. Nidal Abuzuhri, ICESCO Head of Administrative Affairs and Mr. Mohamed Hedi Shili, Head of the Legal Affairs and International Standards at the Organisation.

In his address, Dr. Hammami stated that the training will serve to determine future trends and their impact on the professions of tomorrow. At the same time, Dr. Boughdiri lauded ICESCO’s valuable services to build and strengthen youth capacities.

For his part, Dr. Daqish expressed his pleasure in holding this training, representing a collective action initiative aimed at drawing the ideas and ambitious vision of participating youth.

The two-day training comprises various activities such as scenario planning and trends, future thinking methodologies, and reality checks of some global cases to build participants’ practical skills necessary for strategic thinking and future analysis.

The Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ICESCO) holds a regional-level workshop in Kuwait City on developing technical and vocational education (TVE) in partnership with the Kuwaiti National Commission for Education, Science and Culture, to train human resources to meet the needs of the labour market and improve employment opportunities for young people.

The two-day workshop, which kicked off on Monday, 16 October 2023, saw the participation of a host of officials, experts and specialists in the field of technical and vocational education in the State of Kuwait, the Kingdom of Bahrain, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the Sultanate of Oman and the State of Qatar.

At the outset of the workshop, Mr. Saud Al-Juwaiser, Undersecretary of the Kuwaiti Ministry of Education, reaffirmed the significance and the need for such a workshop, hoping it would contribute to developing technical education. For his part, Mr. Hussein Ali Dashti, Secretary-General of the Kuwaiti National Commission for Education, Science and Culture, lauded ICESCO’s efforts in developing educational systems and its unwavering support for its Member States. ICESCO was represented by Dr. Ahmed El Zonfoli, Program Manager in the Education Sector, who stressed the need for this workshop in line with the international trends of pitching technical and vocational training toward the labour market.

The sessions of the workshop touch on a variety of topics, including the efforts and insights of regional and international organizations, centers and institutes in education development and linkage to the labour market, the status quo of TVE in the Gulf States, the suitability of its outputs to the needs of the labour market and the international best practices and successful experiences in the field of technical education to improve youth’s employment opportunities.

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, represented by the Ministry of Environment, Water and Agriculture, hosts the 9th Conference of Environment Ministers in the Islamic World, on Thursday (October 19, 2023), in Jeddah, organized by the Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ICESCO), in the presence of environment ministers of ICESCO Member States and the representatives of regional and international environment organizations to discuss avenues of strengthening joint Islamic action and addressing the effects of climate change and the environmental challenges facing Earth.

The agenda of the Conference, held under the theme, “Toward Achieving Green Transformation in the Islamic World,” features the discussion and adoption of several documents submitted by the ICESCO General Directorate, including the Executive Work Plan for Natural Disaster Risk Reduction and Management, the Draft Guidance Document on the Best Practices for Green Transformation in the Islamic World and the Draft Strategy for Smart Sustainable Cities in the Islamic World. The Conference will issue a Declaration on Environmental Matters at its close.

Furthermore, the Conference of Environment Ministers in the Islamic World will elect the Members of its Bureau and decide on the date and venue of its forthcoming session.

Prior to the Conference, the Executive Bureau for the Environment in the Islamic World will hold its Sixth Meeting, in Jeddah, on 18 October 2023, bringing together the nine Member States of the Executive Bureau and many regional and international organizations. Moreover, an exhibition will be organized on the sidelines of the Conference.

The conference also features the awards ceremony of the 3rd edition of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Award for Environmental Management in the Islamic World for 21 winners from 18 Muslim countries in these categories: Successful Research Works, Achievements and Practices, Leading Practices and Activities of Public Benefit Associations and NGOs in the Member States, Women’s leading activities in environmental action, and the Environmentally Friendly and Green Cities.