Category: Front Page

The Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ICESCO) has launched its poetry award “Culture Capital as Seen by Poets,” which comprises two categories, the poem of Rabat, the capital of lights, and the poem of Cairo, the city of a thousand minarets. This award falls within the framework of the activities of the celebrations of Rabat and Cairo, Culture Capitals in the Islamic World for 2022, which are part of ICESCO’s Programme of Culture Capitals in the Islamic World.
The award, which is overseen by the ICESCO Center of Arabic for Non-Arabic Speakers, aims at promoting the cultural, civilizational and historical heritage of Rabat and Cairo, enhancing their efforts geared toward promoting the Islamic culture worldwide, providing opportunities for cultural rapprochement and openness, stimulating eloquent poetic creativity in describing Arab cities, and raising awareness of the aesthetics of Arabic, its historical treasures and authentic heritage.

ICESCO will form a specialized committee made up of distinguished poets to evaluate the nominated poems and select three winners in each category. The first winner will receive US$2000, the second winner will receive US$1500 while the third winner will receive US$1000, in addition to appreciation certificates. ICESCO will also publish the best-nominated poems in a special poetry collection.

The nomination requirements include the following:
• The entrant must submit only one poem;
• The poem must address only one capital city (Rabat or Cairo);
• The poem must be written in classical Arabic in rhymed or prose style;
• The poem must not be less than twenty (20) rhymed verses or thirty (30) free verses;
• The poem must not have been published, on paper or electronically, previously, or participated in other competitions;
Poems must be sent in (PDF) and (WORD) formats, together with a resume of the entrant, before 30 September 2022, to ICESCO via e-mail (arabicpoetry@icesco.org). The name of the winners will be announced on ICESCO’s website and through official letters to the entrant concerned.

The Science and Technology Sector at the Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ICESCO), in cooperation with the Senegalese National Commission for Education, Science and Culture, held a training workshop for the benefit of several farmers and gum producers in the Republic of Senegal on the use of modern technologies in their work, to contribute to achieving human development and preserving natural resources.
The three-day Workshop, which kicked off on Tuesday, June 28, 2022, aims at building farmers’ capacities in using sustainable techniques for cutting trees, harvesting and packaging gum.

The workshop saw the participation of several specialists and experts in the field, who highlighted the importance of raising awareness on the need to use environmentally friendly means and mechanisms to produce gum Arabic and to prevent damaging trees and natural resources, stressing the need to strengthen international and local cooperation and partnerships to protect the environment, build capacities and publicize best practices.

Dr. Muhammad Sharif, Advisor at ICESCO Science and Technology Sector, along with Dr. Foued El-Ayni, Dr. Adel Smeda, and Dr. Ismaila Diallo, Experts in the Sector, represented ICESCO in the virtual Workshop.

The Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ICESCO) participated in the 4th International Symposium on Alternatives to Penalties Involving Deprivation of Liberty, organized by the Presidency of the Moroccan Public Prosecution, in Rabat, in cooperation with Naif Arab University for Security Sciences, to discuss topics related to alternatives to penalties and measures involving deprivation of liberty in Arab countries’ legislations.

The opening of the symposium, on Tuesday (June 28, 2022), saw the presence of Mr. Abdellatif Wahbi, Moroccan Minister of Justice, Mr. Moulay El Hassan Daki, Attorney-General of the King at the Court of Cassation, Head of Public Prosecution, and Dr. Abdelmajid bin Abdullah Al-Banyan, President of Naif Arab University for Sciences.
The two-day symposium explores alternatives to penalties and measures involving deprivation of liberty from the perspective of comparative criminal law and relevant human sciences. It also reviews Arab judicial applications of alternatives to penalties involving deprivation of liberty and civil society efforts to expand their application and discusses the phenomena of prison overcrowding and recidivism.

Mr. Mohammed Hedi Shili, Director of the Department of Legal Affairs and International Standards, represented ICESCO at this symposium, which also brought together a group of representatives of the Public Prosecution and high-ranking judges from several Arab countries. The first session reviewed the experiences of Arab countries in the field of alternatives to penalties and highlighted the challenges facing penal policies in these countries.

The Center of Arabic for Non-Arabic Speakers of the Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ICESCO) held a Workshop on developing the competencies of Arabic language teachers in teaching Arabic literature in Turkish universities, on Monday, June 27, 2022, via “Mishkat” platform for educational competencies in the field of Arabic language for non-Arabic speakers, in cooperation with Yozgat Bozok University and with the participation of nine other Turkish universities.

During the opening ceremony of the virtual Workshop, Dr. Magdi Haji Ibrahim, Head of ICESCO Center of Arabic for Non-Arabic Speakers and Dr. Abdul Qadir Dundar, Dean of the Faculty of Theology at Yozgat Bozok University both delivered their addresses.

The two-day training Workshop, led by Dr. Anas H. Saeed, Expert at of ICESCO Center of Arabic for Non-Arabic Speakers, aims to develop the skills of teaching Arabic literature, introduce its curricula and how to use it in teaching Arabic to non-Arabic speakers, empower the target beneficiaries to develop lesson planning skills and their implementation, as well as to training the participating professors on diversifying educational methods and making use of modern software in teaching Arabic literature to non-Arabic speakers and Turkish students in particular.

20 professors of Arabic language and literature will benefit from this Workshop from 10 Turkish universities: Yozgat Bozok University, Marmara University, Çankırı Karatekin University, Kahramanmaraş Sütçüimam University, Burdur Mehmet Akif Ersoy University, Pamukkale University, Necmettin Erbakan University, Dokuz Eylül University, Gümüşhane University, and Karatay University.

The Education Sector of the Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ICESCO), in cooperation with the UNESCO Global Education Monitoring Report (GEM Report), held a symposium on Leadership, Religious Schools and Gender Equality, with the participation of educational policymakers, educational staff, heads of religious institutions and stakeholders in the field of girls’ education.

The Symposium, which was held on Thursday, June 23, 2022, via videoconference, aimed at deepening the discussion on out-of-school children and youth, examining the gender dimensions of non-governmental activism in education, including religion-based education, as well as investigating the effects of religious education on gender relations and whether religious schools encourage or hinder gender equality in education.

Mr. David Moinina Sengeh, Minister of Basic and Senior Secondary Education and Chief Innovation Officer of the Republic of Sierra Leone and Chair of the GEM Report Advisory Board, delivered the opening speech of the Symposium, which took place in conjunction with the launch of UNESCO’s 11th Gender Report.

In her speech, Dr. Barry Koumbou, Head of ICESCO Education Sector, explained that the Organization accords high priority to education as it is the most effective way to achieve peace, progress and prosperity, reviewing ICESCO’s initiatives in the field of development, equality and the dissemination of human values, including the “The Societies We Want” initiative.

She reaffirmed ICESCO’s eagerness to protect and respect the right to education for all, especially girls and women, through educational programs and projects that focus on guaranteeing the right to education, empowering girls and women and educating and rehabilitating them while respecting diversity. Moreover, the Organization is keen on supporting its Member States in developing their educational systems and investing information and communication technology in the educational process, as well as its interest in scientific and applied research, mainly ICESCO Scientific Chairs at universities and specialized academic institutions.

Dr. Koumbou concluded her speech by emphasizing that the focus should not only be on challenges but also on capacities, mainly investing in girls’ and women’s energies and capabilities.

Dr. Salim M. AlMalik, Director-General of the Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ICESCO), and his accompanying delegation will participate in “Transforming Education Pre-Summit,” on 28-30 June, at UNESCO headquarters, in Paris, to promote the debate on transforming education and develop the initial contents of the Transforming Education Summit, due to be held next September, at the United Nations headquarters, in New York, during the 77th Session of the General Assembly.

Transforming Education Pre‐Summit will be organized in Paris on 28‐30 June 2022. A Global Engagement Day on 28 June will include technical meetings on Thematic Action Tracks and engagements with key stakeholders. The high‐level segment consists of Ministerial and Stakeholder engagement to ensure greater momentum for the Summit in September.
The overall objective of the Pre‐Summit consists of mobilizing political leaders, promoting action, finding solutions and fostering solidarity to transform education in order to assess the efforts geared towards overcoming the learning losses due to the Covid-19 pandemic, redesigning the educational systems for today and tomorrow, and revitalize national and global efforts to achieve the fourth Sustainable Development Goal.

On the sidelines of this participation, Dr. AlMalik will hold a series of meetings with the heads of delegation of ICESCO Member States participating in the Pre-Summit to develop a practical vision and reach a consensus on educational issues to be presented as a proposal for discussion in the Transforming Education Summit, next September, and explore the initiatives that can be launched at the Summit to be part of the Global Action Programme (GAP) on Education.

The Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ICESCO) participated in the Intergenerational Dialogue Forum on the Role of Youth in Preventing Violent Extremism through Sport, within the frame of the “Global Programme on Security of Major Sporting Events and the Promotion of Sport and its Values as a Tool to Prevent Violent Extremism,” led by the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations (UNAOC) in partnership with the United Nations Interregional Crime and Justice Research Institute (UNICRI), the United Nations Office of Counter-Terrorism (UNOCT), and the International Center for Sports Security (ICSS).

In her speech, Ms. Mbaye commended the Forum’s efforts in promoting peace and preventing violent extremism through sport, noting that it is in line with ICESCO’s vision and programs that put youth at the forefront of its priorities, stressing the need to involve them in building peace and addressing the challenges of societies as they have great potential and qualifications.

Ms. Ramata Almamy Mbaye, Head of the Human and Social Sciences Sector, and Mr. Alioune Ndiaye, Program Manager in the Sector, represented ICESCO at the Forum on Thursday, June 23, 2022, which provided an opportunity to exchange views and ideas among the participating young leaders from the Middle East and North African region on the role of sport in combating and preventing extremism among youth.

She reviewed ICESCO’s programs and activities in the field of peacebuilding and combating violent extremism, mainly the Leadership Training Program in Peace and Security (LTIPS), which aims to train young men and women to enhance security and exchange experiences with inspiring leaders in the field.

Ms. Mbaye concluded her speech by noting that sport is an important means of respecting religious diversity, and at the same time, a tool for uniting peoples, breaking down barriers of hatred and strengthening bonds of friendship and brotherhood among nations to build the societies we want and bring about positive change for safe and sound future.

Mr. Alioune Ndiaye, stressed the importance ICESCO accords in promoting leadership among youth in the field of peace and security, based on sport to build resilient societies free from extremism and violence.