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Dr. Salim M. AlMalik, Director-General of the Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ICESCO), received Amb. Nazim Samadov, Ambassador of the Republic of Azerbaijan to the Kingdom of Morocco, who presented his credentials as Permanent Delegate of his country to ICESCO.

During the meeting, held on Thursday, March 16, 2023, at ICESCO Headquarters in Rabat, Dr. Al-Malik stressed the Organization’s keenness to develop its strategic partnership with Azerbaijan, which is reflected in the implementation of a number of joint projects and programs. The Director-General also commended Azerbaijan’s support for many of ICESCO’s initiatives.

Moreover, the two parties discussed a number of ideas and proposals to strengthen partnership relations between ICESCO and Azerbaijan in the upcoming period, within the framework of the action plan between the two parties.

For his part, Ambassador Samadov reaffirmed that his country’s keenness to appoint him as Permanent Delegate to ICESCO confirms the importance Azerbaijan attaches to partnership with the Organization, stating that he will strive to develop this relationship in support of ICESCO’s great role in promoting the fields of education, science and culture.

Dr. Salim M. AlMalik, Director General (DG) of the Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ICESCO), received Dr. Samir Belfkih, Director of the National Higher School of Arts and Crafts (ENSAM) affiliated with Mohammed V University in the Kingdom of Morocco, to examine prospects for cooperation between ICESCO and the School in the fields of scientific research and granting Scholarships for the youth of the Islamic world.

At the outset of the meeting, which took place on Wednesday, March 15, 2023, at ICESCO headquarters in Rabat, Dr. AlMalik congratulated Dr. Belfkih on assuming the position of ENSAM’s Director, wishing him success in his new mission.

ICESCO DG reviewed the Organization’s vision and strategic orientations, which adopt an open door policy to universities, develop mechanisms of scientific and academic communication and cooperation with them, implement several programmes and projects to build the capacities of women and youth, promote innovation and scientific research and invest in the applications of modern technologies and artificial intelligence to contribute to the development of educational systems in the Member States.

The meeting touched upon proposals for cooperation between ICESCO and ENSAM in the fields of developing scientific research and the possibility of providing scholarships for youths from ICESCO Member States to study at the School.

For his part, Dr. Belfkih commended ICESCO’s efforts to support its Member States in the fields of education, science and culture and reaffirmed the School’s eagerness to build fruitful cooperation with the Organization.

At the close of the meeting, ENSAM Director presented the School’s Shield to ICESCO DG, in appreciation of his efforts in the fields of education, science and culture.

The Coordinating Committee of the International Professional Teaching Certificates Project in the Arab Republic of Egypt, composed of representatives of the Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ICESCO), the Egyptian National Commission for Education, Science and Culture and King Saud University, held a meeting in Cairo to study the executive plan of the first phase of the project in accordance with the Memorandum of Understanding signed between ICESCO, the Egyptian Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research, and the Saleh Kamel Humanitarian Foundation.

ICESCO was represented in this meeting, held on Tuesday (March 14, 2023), at the headquarters of the Egyptian National Commission, Mr. Mohamed Hedi Shili, Director of Legal Affairs and International Standards Department, Chairman of the Coordination Committee, and Ms. Sally Mabrouk, Director of the Office of ICESCO Director-General, member of the Committee, as well as the representatives of the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research, the Ministry of Education and Technical Education of Egypt, King Saud University, the academic sponsor of the project, in addition to members of the Egyptian National Commission for Education, Science and Culture.

The meeting discussed the tasks of each partner for implementing the first phase of the project, which will benefit 2000 male and female teachers in Egypt by providing professional international certificates in the field of teaching to provide educational practitioners with the necessary competencies in their various disciplines to achieve the goals of educational curricula.

The participants in the meeting emphasized that the advantages of international professional teaching certificates consist in improving the outputs of academic institutions, especially in the practical aspects, and contributing to the development of educational knowledge and skills.

After the meeting, the Coordinating Committee visited the headquarters of the Professional Academy of Teachers, affiliated with the Egyptian Ministry of Education and Technical Education, which will host the training activities of the project.

The Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ICESCO), in partnership with Mali’s Institute of Rural Economy (IER), the Malian National Commission for UNESCO and ICESCO, is holding a regional symposium on the medicinal, therapeutic and cultural value of Arab camel products in the African continent. The event is aimed at enhancing the breeding skills of camel breeders and subject matter experts in Mali.

Dr. Ismaila Diallo, Expert at ICESCO’s Science and Technology Sector represented the Organization at the three-day symposium which kicked off on Tuesday, 14 March 2023, in Bamako. During his intervention at the event, Dr. Diallo highlighted ICESCO’s commitment to supporting the natural resource management efforts of its Member States. He noted that camels are crucial to achieving food security, particularly in rural areas which are deteriorating due to climate change.

The ICESCO representative emphasized that young people and women are the productive human capital that should be trained in camel breeding through workshops and training sessions on agriculture and modern technologies.

The training session on strategic foresight in the service of decision-making that the Center for Strategic Foresight of the Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ICESCO) held, as part of the celebration of Nouakchott as the Culture Capital in the Islamic World for 2023, in cooperation with the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research of the Islamic Republic of Mauritania and the German Konrad Adenauer Foundation, concluded its proceedings.

More than forty senior officials and advisors from a number of Mauritanian ministries and institutions benefited from the training session, which was held at the headquarters of the Modern University of Nouakchott in Mauritania, on March 12-13, 2023, to enhance their decision-making capacities and introduce them to strategic foresight tools and modern planning mechanisms.During the opening of the session, Dr. Kais Hammami, Director of ICESCO Center for Strategic Foresight, reviewed the Center’s objectives and programs, stressing the importance of promoting the culture of foresight to introduce the desired change.

The opening of the session saw the presence of Mr. Mohamed Ould Sidi Abdallah, Secretary General of the Mauritanian National Commission for Education, Culture and Science, Mr. Sidi Mohamed Ould Dadi, Acting Secretary-General of the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research, Ms. Hana Bounaama, Advisor in charge of international cooperation at the Ministry, Dr. Mohamed Ould Aawa, Secretary General of the Modern University of Nouakchott, Mr. Stephen Kruger, Representative of Konrad Adenauer Stiftung in the Kingdom of Morocco, and Ms. Rime Jalloul, from ICESCO Center for Strategic Foresight.

Afterward, ICESCO representatives held a meeting with the Mauritanian National Commission for Education, Culture and Science to discuss cooperation prospects in the fields of artificial intelligence, entrepreneurship and the jobs of tomorrow.

The training session on devising climate change mitigation and adaptation solutions for biodiversity conservation and community rehabilitation kicked off on Tuesday, 14 March 2023 in Indonesia.

The three-day session is held by the Science and Technology Sector of the Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ICESCO), in partnership with the National Research and Innovation Agency, and Indonesia’s Man and Biosphere Society, and will benefit over 200 environmental protection professionals.

During the opening session of the event, which is held in person in the city of Semarang, Indonesia, and via videoconference, Dr. Foued El Ayni, Program Manager at the Sector, reviewed the ICESCO’s efforts to support the environmental policies of its Member States, stressing the importance of enhancing the capacities of professionals in strengthening mechanisms for coping with natural disasters and adapting to the negative effects of climate change.

The training session features an exhibition of local products for the benefit of youth and women to encourage projects geared towards adapting to climate change, and the planting of 200 trees in Mount Merbabu National Park in Indonesia.

The Third International Forum of the Teachers of Arabic for Non-Arabic Speakers in Southeast Asia, which is being held by the Building the Future Foundation in Indonesia, in partnership with the Center of Arabic for Non-Arabic Speakers of the Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ICESCO), in cooperation with MS Asia Foundation for Educational Services and Human Development in Malaysia, kicked off on Monday (March 13, 2023), in Bakassi, Indonesia, in the presence of more than 100 teachers and specialized researchers representing 16 Asian and African countries.

The opening session included addresses delivered by Sheikh Aslam Mohsen Abdeen, Director of the Association of Indonesian Islamic Da’wah and Educational Bodies, Director of the Building the Future Foundation; Dr. Mutawakil Abdul Latif Al-Fadni, Director of MS Asia Training Foundation in Kuala Lumpur; and Dr. Yasser Muhammad Ali, Ambassador of the Republic of Sudan in Indonesia.

Dr. Majdi Haj Ibrahim, Head of Arabic Language Center for Non-Native Speakers, represents ICESCO in the four-day forum. In his speech, he reviewed ICESCO’s efforts and experiences in supporting national projects and international initiatives in the field of serving the Arabic language and its dissemination in Member and non-Member States, including the project to establish specialized national educational centers and poles, and the project to launch “Mishkat Al-Arabiya” platform for training in the field of Arabic for non-Arabic speakers.

The forum includes a range of programs and activities, including training sessions on the skills of teaching Arabic to non-Arabic speakers, panel discussions for curricula experts to discuss the challenges of designing curricula for teaching Arabic, and a symposium on the major efforts and successful experiences of institutions and individuals in teaching Arabic to non-Arabic speakers in Southeast Asia.

Today, Saturday, March 11, 2023, Dr. Salim M AlMalik, Director-General (DG) of the Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ICESCO), visited the Grand Egyptian Museum in Giza, which is to be Inaugurated as the largest museum in the world for one single civilization.

Major General Atef Moftah, General Supervisor of the project of the Grand Egyptian Museum and the surrounding area, received ICESCO DG and explained the latest work developments in the museum and the surrounding area, noting that the project, which will be the largest covered open-air museum in the world for humanity, is built on a total land area of ​​more than half a million square meters and a total construction area exceeding 300 thousand square meters.

Following the tour of the Museum Project, ICESCO DG commended the great work in this huge project appropriate for the Egyptian civilization and its treasures of knowledge and invaluable human antiquities, which embodies human civilization over the centuries.

He pointed out that ICESCO cooperates with its Member States, as part of its vision and strategic orientations, to valorize and safeguard heritage that reflects the identity and culture of these countries, stressing that building the future requires us to understand our past and our civilization and be proud of the achievements of our ancestors.

The Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ICESCO) participated in the panel discussion on bridging the gap between science and society, which was held on the second day of the “Future of Education, Culture and Science Organizations” Conference. Themed “Together Towards Change in the 21st Century,” the event is organized by the Arab League Educational, Cultural and Scientific Organization (ALECSO) and the Saudi National Commission for Education, Culture and Science, with the participation of UNESCO and ICESCO, in Riyadh.

In his intervention during the session of March 9, 2023, Dr. Mohamed Zinelabidine, Head of ICESCO’s Culture and Communication Sector, gave a presentation that addressed three main axes. The first shed light on cultural policies in Member States and reviewed the reasons that could be preventing some countries from considering culture as a strategic sector of comprehensive and sustainable development, noting that ICESCO endeavors to devise effective solutions to this challenge.

The second axis explored ICESCO’s approach to setting culture as a stand-alone sustainable development goal (SDG) given its importance in shaping international economic, social, creative and digital policies. The third presented the Organization’s proposals for reinforcing the cultural dimension of development in comprehensive and sustainable national policies through scientific research and capacity-building programs in several Member States.

The ICESCO official concluded his intervention by reviewing different initiatives implemented by the Organization in this regard, notably the elaboration of statistical and quantitative studies on cultural indicators in the Member States and the development of a methodology for defining the domestic cultural product, as well as the mainstreaming of cultural rights and empowerment of countries where access to culture is constrained through education and training in arts, crafts, heritage and innovation.

Dr. Abdelilah Benarafa, Deputy Director-General of the Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ICESCO), received a delegation from the Spanish Foundation “Las Fuentes” and its affiliated European Islamic Heritage Institute (IPIE), led by Ms. Isabel Romero Arias, President of the Foundation, and discussed the prospects for cooperation between ICESCO and the Foundation in the promotion of modern technology, scientific research and halal industries, as well as the celebration of one of the Spanish cities with Islamic history, within the framework of ICESCO’s Culture Capitals in the Islamic World Programme.

During the meeting, held on Wednesday, March 8, 2023, at ICESCO’s Headquarters, in Rabat, advisors, programme managers and experts from Science and Technology Sector, Culture and Communication Sector and the FUIW reviewed ICESCO’s efforts for promoting the exchange of knowledge and expertise within and outside the Islamic world through the consolidation of the values of coexistence and civilizational dialogue among its different communities and the implementation of a series of initiatives, programmes and projects, including ICESCO’s Culture Capitals in the Islamic World Programme, which aims at building bridges of rapprochement and communication between cultures, and the Programme for the Promotion of Smart, Resilient and Sustainable Cities.

For their part, the Foundation’s delegation stressed the importance of establishing fruitful cooperation and international partnerships to contribute to the achievement of sustainable development and the qualification of youth and women in education, science and culture.