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The Islamic World Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (ICESCO) and the National Commission for UNESCO and ICESCO in Burkina Faso signed an agreement to launch the “Project of the Fight against COVID-19 through Supporting Innovation and Entrepreneurship of Women and Youth in Burkina Faso,” as part of the ICESCO-Alwaleed Philanthropies partnership to support the efforts of 10 African countries to counter the adverse repercussions of the pandemic.

The signing ceremony was held today by videoconference in the presence of H.E. Dr. Salim M. AlMalik, ICESCO Director-General (DG), and Mr. Alkassoum Maiga, Minister of Higher Education, Scientific Research, and Innovation of Burkina Faso, President of the National Commission for UNESCO and ICESCO.

In his address at the ceremony, Dr. AlMalik reaffirmed that ICESCO will sustain its support to Member States’ efforts aimed at addressing the negative effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. The measure is part of the Organization’s new vision that adopts enhanced communication with countries to identify their respective needs and priorities to foster sustainable comprehensive development and enhance the capacities of the beneficiary countries to manage their social transformations.

ICESCO DG expressed his sincere thanks and deep appreciation to Alwaleed Philanthropies, ICESCO’s permanent partner whose Board of Directors that H.R.H. Prince Alwaleed bin Talal Al Saud chairs, for the generous support to ICESCO’s humanitarian and social initiatives to assist 10 African countries, including Burkina Faso.

Mr. Maiga commended ICESCO’s excellent initiatives, programs, projects, and activities the Organization launched and implemented during COVID-19 aimed at strengthening the efforts of Member States to address the negative impacts of the pandemic. He also appreciated Alwaleed Philanthropies’ assistance to Burkina Faso through its partnership with ICESCO.

At the end of the ceremony, the two parties signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on the implementation of the project. The MoU provides for developing a sense of innovation and entrepreneurship among women and youth in the private sector especially in rural areas in Burkina Faso through the establishment of local units for manufacturing hygiene products and protective equipment; encouraging youth and women to embrace innovation and entrepreneurship; and spreading the practice of good hygiene to foster public health and ensure smooth transition to structured economic activities in Burkina Faso.

For four decades, Alwaleed Philanthropies has supported and spent more than 15 billion Saudi Riyals (SAR) and carried out more than 1000 projects in over 189 countries that 10 Saudi female members manage, reaching out to more than 1 billion beneficiaries around the world, regardless of gender, race, or religion. Alwaleed Philanthropies collaborates with a range of philanthropic, governmental, and educational organizations to combat poverty, empower women and youth, develop communities, provide disaster relief, and create cultural understanding through education. It seeks to build bridges for a more compassionate, tolerant, and accepting world.

The delegation from the Islamic World Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (ICESCO) held two separate meetings with the management of the Egyptian Cultural Center in Rabat and “Villa of Arts” to explore cooperation prospects, as part of ICESCO’s activities in promoting cultural diversity and civilizational dialogue.

Dr. Sidra Tariq Jamil, Communication Expert at the Department of Dialogue and Cultural Diversity, and Mr. Mehdi Sebbar, Specialist at the Department ICESCO represented ICESCO in the two meetings. Ms. Heba Bahaa El Din, Administrative and Cultural Attaché, Director of the Cultural Center at the Embassy of Egypt in Morocco, represented the Egyptian Cultural Center and Ms. Naïma Slimi, Cultural Activities Officer, was the representative of the Villa of Arts.

During the two meetings, ICESCO’s delegation reviewed the Organization’s new vision and open-door policy, examined the activities in the field of civilizational dialogue to be organized at the world level. The delegation also discussed the broad lines of cooperation between the Organization, the Egyptian Cultural Center and the Villa of Arts.

The representatives of the Egyptian Cultural Center and the Villa of the Arts reaffirmed their willingness to cooperate with ICESCO through the organization of future activities and programs.

A delegation from the Islamic World Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (ICESCO) held in Rabat two separate meetings with the administrations of the German Goethe Institute in Morocco and the Moroccan Center for Cross-Cultural Learning (CCCL) to explore cooperation in the field of civilizational dialogue.

ICESCO’s delegation comprised Dr. Sidra Tariq Jamil, Communication expert at the Department of Dialogue and Cultural Diversity; and Mr. Mehdi Sebbar, Specialist at the Department. In attendance from the Goethe Institute were Dr. Susanne Baumgart, Director of Goethe Morocco, and Ms. Friederike Frost, Cultural Programme Officer. Dr. Farah Cherif d’Ouezzan, CCCL Director, and Dr. Abdelhay Moudden, CCCL Academic Director and founder, represented CCCL.

During the two meetings, Dr. Tariq Jamil reviewed ICESCO’s vision founded on an open-door policy, communication, and the promotion of the values of civilizational and cultural dialogue, tolerance, and coexistence. She provided a brief overview of the Department of Dialogue and Cultural Diversity, its main plans, and future activities.

The representatives of Goethe and the CCCL reaffirmed their willingness to cooperate with ICESCO through organizing future activities and programs that will form the agenda of upcoming meetings.

The Islamic World Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (ICESCO) held yesterday a coordination meeting with Jordan-based Kaleela, a foundation specialized in Arabic language learning applications, to explore cooperation prospects in Arabic language learning for non-Arabic speakers.

Dr. Majdi Haji Ibrahim, Head of the Arabic Language Center for Non-Arabic Speakers, and Dr. Youssef Ismaili, an expert at the Center, represented ICESCO at the meeting, while Ms. Ruba Hatamleh, Director of the Kaleela Arabic language learning app program, and Mr. Mohammad Abdullah, responsible for linguistic checking and enrichment of the app, represented Kaleela.

During the meeting, Ms. Hatamleh elaborated on the content of the Kaleela application, its levels and skills, and the wide range of its courses, while Mr. Abdullah presented the language checking tool and the tests provided to Arabic language learners.

ICESCO’s representatives examined the application’s technical, linguistic, cultural, and skills contents, they also reviewed the services the application provides to learners along with other languages for learning the Arabic language.

At the close of the meeting, the two parties agreed to examine ways and means of cooperation to enhance the e-learning of Arabic for non-Arabic speaking learners in the Islamic world and beyond.

Al Faisal Without Borders Foundation, in collaboration with the Faculty of Education of Qatar University, extended the nomination deadline for Sheikh Faisal Bin Qassim Al Thani Award for Education Research, for the academic year 2020/2021, until February 15, 2021. The annual award is dedicated to distinguished scientific researchers and includes four categories: academics, higher education students, school principals and teachers, and the best educational research.

The Award aims at encouraging educational research among students and teaching staff, motivating the educational staff to produce adequate educational knowledge that responds to the nature of the educational system in the Arab world. The initiative also seeks to promote the dissemination of educational knowledge at the regional and international levels, from academic research teams and educational professionals from all the Arab countries, and promote comparative studies.

The nominations for the award must submit research works published in Arabic or English. The candidates in the categories of academics, teachers, or school principals must be from one of the Arab world universities, schools, or educational institutions. In the case of joint research works, only the main researcher in the academics category is required to meet the abovementioned requirement. The Award’s Board of Trustees will oversee approving the shortlisted entries.

The candidates cannot submit research works that have already been submitted to other awards. The main researcher, who should be proficient in Arabic for all the categories, may not submit more than one nomination. The winners of the last three annual awards cannot present their nominations. In the higher education category, the principal researcher must be a student.

The candidates must also fill in and submit the nomination form before the deadline along with a full electronic copy of the research work via the nomination link on the Award’s website (www.alf-era.org/era), as well as a copy of a valid ID card or passport. The candidate must write his full name in Arabic as indicated in the passport.  

The Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ICESCO) calls upon all people interested in the fields of Sheikh Faisal Bin Qassim Al Thani Award to participate in the ongoing annual competition (2020-2021) and wishes every success for all.

In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful;

“O tranquil soul! Return to your Lord, well pleased with Him and well pleasing to Him, so join My servants and enter My Paradise.”  (Allah Almighty is Truthful).   

The General Directorate of the Islamic World Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (ICESCO), represented by H.E. Director-General, the heads of Sectors, Centers and Departments and staff of ICESCO, extend its sincere condolences and deep sympathy to H.E. Ambassador Khalid Fathalrahman, Supervisor of the Partnerships and International Cooperation Sector, Head of the Department of Civilizational Dialogue at ICESCO, on the death of his father Professor Doctor Fathalrahman Omar who passed away on Thursday afternoon January 28, 2021, at the age of 84.

Late Fathalrahman graduated from the Faculty of Da’wa and Fundamentals of Religion (Usul Al-Ddeen) at Al-Azhar University and taught at the Faculty of Da’wa and Fundamentals of Religion at the Islamic University in Al Madinah Al Munawwarah in Saudi Arabia for more than 20 years. Throughout his professional life, May Allah bless his soul, he issued significant contributions to thought and Islamic studies.

On this sad occasion, we pray Almighty Allah to shower the deceased with His infinite mercy, and grant his bereaved family strength and solace.

“We surely belong to Allah and to Him we shall return”.