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Dr Salim M. Al-Malik, Director(General of the Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ICESCO), met Mr. Sergio Mujica, Secretary-General of the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), to explore cooperation in the field of quality standards and their widespread use in the Islamic world.

During this meeting, held on November 12, 2022, as part of the participation of the two officials in COP27 in Sharm El-Sheikh, Dr. AlMalik stressed that ICESCO is proud to have obtained ISO certification, in 2021, in accordance with the international standards (ISO 9001: 2015) related to quality management systems, adding that the Organization is looking forward to obtaining the certification of Information Security Management System (ISO 27001).

In addition to the possibility of signing an agreement between ICESCO and ISO, the meeting focused on the importance of promoting the adoption of quality standards by institutions in the ICESCO Member States, in coordination with their respective National Commissions for Education, Science and Culture, as ICESCO is keen to provide outstanding and innovative services to its Member States in these three fields.

At the end of the meeting, the two parties agreed to work together to develop the educational systems in the Islamic world by promoting quality education to ensure inclusive and quality education for all.

In the presence of Dr. Salim M. AlMalik, Director-General of the Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ICESCO), Dr. Mahmoud Al-Matini, President of Ain Shams University in Egypt, and Dr. Ghada Wali, Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations, Executive Director of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and Director of the United Nations Office at Vienna (UNOV), a simulation with several young people was held at ICESCO’s pavilion at COP27 in Sharm el-Sheikh, to raise awareness of the importance of involving them in the efforts aimed at preserving and protecting heritage from the impact of climate change.

During the activity, which was held on Saturday, 12 November 2022, Dr. Al-Malik highlighted ICESCO, as a beacon of civilizational and scientific outreach, which aims to provide 3D imaging of heritage sites on its heritage lists in the Islamic world, using virtual reality technology, to enable youth in the Islamic world to explore Member States’ culture and history, enhancing pride in their cultural heritage.

For his part, Dr. Al-Matini stressed the need to develop young people’s skills through strengthening cooperation based on concrete initiatives and programs between a number of organizations, universities and international institutions, including ICESCO, to involve them in the efforts of preserving heritage, protecting the environment, and technological, technical and cultural innovation.

Dr. Ghada Wali, on her part, talked about the importance of equal opportunities between young men and women in the fields of education, science and culture, to help them achieve their ambitions and strengthen their creative abilities.

During the simulation activity, many young people participated in the discussion, shared their ideas and asked many questions about the dangers of climate change on heritage, which were answered by Dr. AlMalik, Dr. Al-Matini, Dr. Ghada Wali, ICESCO experts and professors from Ain Shams University.

The Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ICESCO), in partnership with the Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities, on Friday 11 November 2022, in Sharm El-Sheikh, launched an initiative to establish a fund for safeguarding heritage sites and museums in Egypt and the Islamic world from the effects of climate change.

The launch of this initiative saw the participation of high-level figures, including HRH Princess Dana Firas, UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador for Cultural Heritage, President of the Petra National Trust (PNT) in the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, Dr. Ayman Ashour, Egyptian Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research, Chairman of the Egyptian National Commission for Education Science and Culture, as well as Dr. Mostafa Waziri, Secretary General of the Supreme Council of Antiquities, and Dr. Mohamed Bayoumi, Deputy Resident Representative of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), Head of the Climate Change Team, in addition to a large number of COP 27 leaders from around the world.In his address, Dr. Salim M. AlMalik, Director-General of ICESCO, pointed out that climate change and its impacts have become one of the major challenges facing humanity, adding that the world is witnessing new phenomena related to climate change that threaten plans and policies and contradicts anticipations and aspirations.

Dr. AlMalik underscored that climate change has become a tangible threat to human heritage, stating that it has caused damage to about 33% of the world’s natural heritage and about 31 cultural heritage sites in 29 countries, a number which is expected to increase due to the acceleration of these changes.

The Director-General explained that ICESCO’s initiative, launched in cooperation with the Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities, reaffirms the Organization’s commitment and efforts with Member States in establishing effective partnerships to better anticipate the future, based on common visions and the spirit of sharing.For his part, Dr. Ayman Ashour stressed that this initiative represents a real translation of the recommendations into a tangible reality and that the related programmes will contribute to the protection of heritage sites against climate change damage. He added that this initiative reaffirms the commitment of Egypt in the fight against climate change in accordance with international standards given their great importance for humanity. He also commended ICESCO’s efforts in protecting the heritage of its Member States through the inscription of historical sites and heritage items on its Islamic World Heritage List.

Dr. Mostafa Waziri emphasized the role played by ancient Egypt in facing environmental challenges, most notably flood barriers and torrents. He called for a better understanding of the heritage and history of civilizations in order to learn from the experiences of ancient civilizations in adapting to unexpected climate change.

For his part, Dr. Mohamed Bayoumi stressed the need to protect heritage areas from the effects of climate and sea level rise, despite the high cost of their protection, the goal is to preserve the world’s heritage from disappearance.

It should be noted that the establishment of this Fund aims to study the impact of climate change on heritage sites and museums to provide the necessary funding for the development of plans for their protection, encourage ICESCO Member States to adopt green transition initiatives and use clean energy in heritage sites and museums, to preserve the heritage environment and face the challenges that heritage and actors in this field are facing because of climate change.

As part of holding the 27th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP27), and with high-level attendance at the Egypt Pavilion in the Blue Region, a memorandum of understanding (MoU) was signed between the Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities, ICESCO, UNESCO, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Industrial Modernization Center (IMC) in Cairo, Egypt, on Friday, November 11, 2022, to support the green transformation project and the use of clean energy, represented in converting heritage sites and museums in Egypt to the use of solar energy as a sustainable alternative that does not affect the environment and contributes to achieving sustainable development goals.

The signing ceremony witnessed a high-caliber presence of princes, ministers and officials of the MoU participating parties and the Member States, mainly HRH Princess Dana Firas, UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador for Cultural Heritage, President of the Petra National Trust in the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, and from the Arab Republic of Egypt.

Dr. Ayman Ashour, Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research and Chairman of the Egyptian National Commission, Dr. Ahmed Issa, Minister of Tourism and Antiquities, Dr. Ahmed Samir, Minister of Trade and Industry, and Dr. Mostafa Waziri, Secretary-General of the Supreme Council of Antiquities of Egypt.

Dr. Mohamed Zine El Abidine, Head of the Culture and Communication Sector, signed the MoU on behalf of ICESCO. During the signing ceremony, Dr. Salim M AlMalik, ICESCO Director-General, delivered an address in which he explained that the cultural and natural heritage is among the most precious treasures of human history and the responsibility to preserve it is a collective task that requires a lot of planning, action and perseverance to achieve success.

Dr. AlMalik pointed out that climate changes increase the deterioration of several natural heritage sites, as the number of sites affected by climate changes increased from 35 to 62 sites in just three years, and the number of sites degraded due to the severity of climate changes increased to 16 sites since 2017, noting that this alarming situation requires all stakeholders to redouble efforts and build bridges of communication for greater cooperation to protect and preserve heritage sites of all kinds from deterioration.

The MoU comes in implementation of ICESCO’s vision and strategic orientations in adopting and supporting green transformation initiatives, in order to preserve the environment and address the damages caused by climate changes that affect all aspects of life on the planet, especially heritage that ICESCO accords special attention to and places its protection, safeguarding and sustainability at the forefront of its strategic objectives.

By participating in this agreement, ICESCO aims to use clean energy in heritage sites and museums to provide sustainable protection for heritage sites from the effects of using unclean energy sources that negatively affect heritage sites, museums and their collections.

ICESCO also aims to encourage and motivate its Member States to adopt and implement green transformation initiatives with all their components based on the use of clean solar energy. ICESCO contributes to converting several heritage sites and museums to use solar energy with the Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities.

It started with the Museum of Islamic Art and another site that does not belong to the Islamic historical era, as a confirmation that ICESCO’s interest in heritage does not distinguish between one era and another or its connection to a particular religion as human heritage represents the identity of peoples and is a cultural and civilizational diversity.

In this connection, ICESCO calls on Member States to participate in signing an international agreement, to be adopted by ICESCO, to convert all heritage sites and museums in the Islamic world to use clean energy through relying on green transformation initiatives.

Dr. Salim M. AlMalik, Director-General of the Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ICESCO), met with Mr. Jerome C. Glenn, CEO of the Millennium Project, where they discussed cooperation prospects for developing think tanks in the Islamic world.

During the meeting, held on Thursday (November 10, 2022) before the kick-off of the ICESCO Think Tank Forum “Towards a New Vision for Time,” at the Organization’s headquarters, in Rabat, Dr. Al-Malik reaffirmed that ICESCO strives through its foresight vision to establish the first network of intellectual centers aimed at building a safe world for future generations, pointing out that the Organization will launch its think tank “Fatima al-Fihriya,” in honor of this great figure, who had a major impact on the cultural and scientific history of humanity by building the University of al-Qarawiyyin in Fez, Kingdom of Morocco.

Moreover, he reviewed the efforts of ICESCO and its Center of Strategic Foresight for consolidating the culture of foresight and addressing future challenges.
For his part, Mr. Glenn commended ICESCO’s efforts and plans to advance the fields of thought and foresight in the Islamic world, stressing the need to enhance and elevate the international status of think tanks.

At the end of the meeting, the two parties agreed to cooperate for the development of think tanks in the Islamic world through the promotion of networking between experts from different countries and knowledge sharing.