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ICESCO Educational Center in Malaysia organized a training session on “use of electronic assessment tools for measuring the performance of Arabic language students,” at Kedah Darul Aman, North of Malaysia, in collaboration with the Ministry of Education of Malaysia, Selangor International Islamic University College, and the International Islamic University Malaysia. The training started yesterday, March 28, 2021, face-to-face and through videoconference.

Mr. Adel Bouraoui, Adviser to ICESCO Director-General (DG) for External Centers and University Chairs on Arabic Language, represented ICESCO at the opening ceremony, which saw the participation of Mr. Muhammad Fawzi Abdul, representative of the Ministry of Education of Malaysia, and Dr. Abdul Razeq bin Zaini, Director of ICESCO Educational Center in Malaysia.

Mr. Bouraoui reviewed the orientations and efforts of ICESCO in supporting the comprehensive use of educational systems in the Member States, including educational technology and the digital software and products developed for educational purposes. He also commended the intensive participation of female teachers in the session and underscored the important roles that Malaysian women play in spreading and developing Arabic language skills among young people. Mr. Bouraoui also recalled ICESCO’s proclamation of 2021 as the Year for Women through the launch of several initiatives and programmes to highlight the roles of women in various fields and promote their position.

The training session brings together 76 participants from among Arabic language teachers in the States of Kedah, Penang Island, Perak and Perlis (North of Malaysia), including 45 attendees and 31 participants through videoconference. Over two days, they will benefit from three workshops on “Computer-assisted educational assessment,” “Electronic assessment tools for measuring students’ reading skills,” and “Methods for assessing writing skills through technology.”

Dr. Muhammad Sabri bin Shahrir, lecturer at the International Islamic University in Malaysia, moderates the training session while Dr. Abdul Razeq bin Zaini, Director of ICESCO Educational Center in Malaysia, oversees its organizational aspects, in coordination with ICESCO Center of Arabic Language for Non-Arabic Speakers.

The training workshop, co-organized between the Organization of the Islamic World Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (ICESCO) and the Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development of Niger, on capacity building in bankable project preparation for 15 experts of the Ministry, closed in Niamey, Niger.

During the four-day workshop, the beneficiaries received the theoretical bases for preparing viable projects and their application to four project concepts that the Ministry identified, which will be submitted to the Ministry’s technical and financial partners.

Mr. Souley Aboubacar, Secretary-General of the Ministry, and Mr. Ismaila Diallo, Expert at ICESCO’s Science and Technology Sector, chaired and supervised the workshop, respectively, as part of the efforts aimed at addressing the lack of expertise in project feasibility preparation in all areas in Africa.

The Islamic World Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (ICESCO) will launch its training program for women and youth in leadership for peace and security, at an international ceremony it will hold on March 25, 2021, face-to-face at its headquarters in Rabat and via videoconference, under the theme: “Women and Youth: Agents of Peace.”

The celebration, which will begin at 10:00 GMT, is part of ICESCO’s programs celebrating Year of Women 2021, under the high patronage of His Majesty King Mohammed VI, and will witness the participation of senior officials, experts and young people from all over the Islamic world.

For this year’s ceremony, 30 young leaders, including 17 women and 13 men, will be trained through a series of webinars that will cover 10 modules related to peace issues. These young people will form the first group of the ICESCO Network of Youth and Women for Peace.

The program aims to train and mobilize young people as a lever for change to achieve peace, citizenship and resilience, and build the societies we want. It also aims to make these actors real ambassadors of peace in their societies, by providing them with the tools of knowledge and leadership, through exchanges with inspiring leaders and expert trainers for a peaceful world.

The program also implements ICESCO’s vision of peace, which is characterized by its holistic approach and takes into account, both in research and action, all the dimensions aiming at establishing peace, as well as the development of multi-level initiatives for synergies that produce peace and resilience within communities.

It should be noted that the LTIPS / FELPS program is launched in partnership with the Maghreb Office of UNESCO, the Permanent Secretariat of the G5 Sahel, the Conference of Ministers of Youth and Sports of La Francophonie (CONFEJES), and the Conference of Ministers of Education of La Francophonie (CONFEMEN), to promote synergy on peace issues.

The ceremony activities can be followed live on the official ICESCO Facebook page, via the link: https://www.facebook.com/ICESCO.EN/live

The Islamic World Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (ICESCO) mourned the passing of His Highness Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Deputy Ruler of Dubai, Minister of Finance of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), may Allah have mercy on him, who passed away today 24 March 2021.

ICESCO commends the great role that the late Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum fulfilled in supporting culture, literature, and scientific developments, as well as his interest in humanitarian action and keenness for sustainable human development.

The Organization commended the long-standing interest of the late Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid in supporting ICESCO and its civilizational mission by sponsoring many of its programmes and activities, particularly those relevant to education. The list includes the Sheikh Hamdan-ICESCO Award for Volunteering in the Development of Educational Facilities in the Islamic World, which aims at motivating and honoring people involved in voluntary initiatives and charitable work in the field of education.

On this sad occasion, Dr. Salim M. AlMalik, ICESCO Director-General, on behalf of all the staff members of the Organization, expressed his sincere condolences to the bereaved family, the people and government of the UAE and the Arab and Islamic nations on the passing of H.H. Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum, stating that he learned of his death with great sorrow and beseeching Allah almighty to rest his soul in peace and grant him the highest level of Paradise.

ICESCO participated today in the first international academic symposium on the Arabic language, under the theme: “Contributions of academic institutions to teaching Arabic to non-Arabic speakers: experiences and aspirations.” The Sultan Abdul Halim Muadzam Shah International Islamic University in Malaysia organized the event remotely, in cooperation with the Faculty of Languages of Al-Madinah International University, with the participation of researchers and specialists in teaching Arabic to non-Arabic speakers.

Dr. Magdy Haj Ibrahim, President of the Arabic Language Center for Non-Arabic Speakers, represented ICESCO at the symposium, where he gave a lecture on the Centre’s contributions to the advancement of Arabic, as well as an overview of the Center established under the new organizational structure of ICESCO.

The President talked about the main objectives and tasks of the Center, including the provision of educational and academic services and technical advice for the benefit of the competent authorities, institutions and personnel in the field of the Arabic language for non-Arabic speakers inside and outside the Islamic world.

Dr. Magdy also reviewed the main programs and activities of the Center, as well as its digital achievements launched as part of the global « ICESCO Digital Home » initiative. It includes the initiative of the open digital program “Learn Arabic, master it at home,” for the benefit of non-Arabic speaking Arab students, the “Languages of Africa, bridges of culture and history” initiative, aiming at raising awareness of the use of the languages of African peoples written with Arabic character, and the “Zidni ‘Ilman” initiative for the benefit of teachers and pedagogical managers working in the teaching of Arabic, as well as the “Bayan” competition for expressive creativity in Arabic.

There is no doubt that the COVID-19 pandemic we are facing today has shown the importance of safe access to water and sanitation.  Yet, even basic practices such as washing hands with soap to avoid the spread of the virus are not available in most households. This precarious situation highlights the importance of investing in innovative water technologies and solutions, water supply systems, sanitation, and hygiene services.

The international community is celebrating the 22 March of each year, the World Water Day. The theme of this year is “Valuing Water.” The Islamic World Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (ICESCO) takes the opportunity to reiterate its commitment to support its Member States to achieve SDG 6 and all water-related SDGs.

Indeed, Integrated management of water resources, improving access to drinking water and sanitation, as well as facing the challenges of water scarcity, remain among the main problems of ICESCO’s Member States. The situation is becoming increasingly difficult when considering the effects of climate change on the water sector. Many countries are in arid regions, vulnerable to climate change and experiencing acute water shortage and frequent drought.

This situation is no longer tolerable. We need to act URGENTLY. Through its strategy on integrated water resource management, our action plans have set up several programs. In 2020, ICESCO has launched the ambitious Programme for Improving Water Sanitation and Hygiene Services in 1000 rural schools in the Islamic World. The programme targets to improve access to water, sanitation, and hygiene by helping the Member States implement their projects in remote areas as well as provide safe and clean water to schools to enhance youth, girls’ health and education conditions. It will rely on using innovative technologies and solutions adapted to remote areas.

Furthermore, ICESCO is supporting the 9th World Water Forum Under the theme “Water Security for Peace and Development”, which will be held next year in Dakar, in collaboration with its partners, a comprehensive capacity building Programme for Transferring Sustainable Water Management Solutions in the Islamic World. This Programme will consolidate knowledge on sustainable solutions transfer of water management techniques and technologies, address water scarcity challenges, and assist Member States to develop financial planning and priority tools to implement relevant water management programmes to address the global agenda in the sector (SDGs).

Dr. Salim M. AlMalik, Director-General (DG) of the Islamic World Educational, Scienctific, and Cultural Organization (ICESCO), participated virtually, today, March 20, 2021, in the international celebration that the “Museum of Black Civilizations” in Senegal held in honor of Dr. Ahmadou-Mahtar M’Bow, former DG of UNESCO, Goodwill Ambassador for ICESCO, on the occasion of his 100th birthday. High-level African Heads of State and several leaders of international organizations attended the ceremony.

During his address at the opening session, Dr. AlMalik praised Dr. M’Bow’s cultural and intellectual legacy to human civilization, as well as the distinguished work he had done while he was ambassador of goodwill for ICESCO. Dr. M’Bow’s contributions included his proposal to establish ICESCO’s Regional Center for Education on the Culture of Peace, which was founded in Yamoussoukro, Côte d’Ivoire to teach tomorrow’s youth and women leaders to preserve peace.

ICESCO DG praised the achievements of Dr. M’Bow during his tenure at UNESCO, including the convention on the protection of the cultural and natural heritage in the world and its entry into force after a large number of countries ratified it, as well as his efforts to enhance the protection of neglected heritage sites at risk.

In his speech, Dr. AlMalik expressed thanks and appreciation, on behalf of ICESCO, to Dr. M’Bow as one of the few who had worked hard to make our world better. He added that the former UNESCO DG had received many international awards and honors, all of which, however, are not enough to appreciate his role.

Dr. Ahmadou-Mahtar M’Bow held several positions in the field of education in Senegal, before becoming Minister of Education and Culture in 1957, then he ran several ministries until 1970, and was elected to the UNESCO Executive Council in 1966, before being appointed as Assistant DG then DG of the Organization, respectively in 1970 and from 1974 to 1987.