Category: Front Page|News

The activities of the Youth Climate Leadership Training Camp, held by the Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ICESCO) in partnership with the Climate Reality Project – Indonesia, under the theme “Youth leadership, a solution to the climate crisis”, have kicked off this Wednesday, 12 June 2024 in Bogor, Indonesia, with the participation of 50 young men and women from 18 countries inside and outside the Islamic world, selected among 400 applicants.

The three-day Camp, which marks the start of a series of camps to be organized by ICESCO in several of its Member States, aims to build the capacity of young people to develop and implement innovative projects in climate action, and contribute to shaping a generation of young leaders capable of addressing the climate challenges that threaten the world’s future. The Camp is part of ICESCO’s commitment to strengthening international efforts to tackle climate issues.

Dr. Fahman Fathurrahman, expert at ICESCO’s Science and Environment Sector, who represents ICESCO and oversees the Camp, stressed in his speech at the opening session the importance of involving young people in the search for sustainable and innovative solutions to protect the environment and reduce the effects of climate change, by investing in the creative energies of young people. He reviewed ICESCO’s efforts in preserving the environment and combating food waste, through the use of modern technology, including a competition to develop the transformation of organic waste into food bars, as well as programs to promote smart agriculture and the transition to flexible, smart and sustainable cities.

The opening session of the Camp was attended by a number of officials from the Ministry of the Environment of the Republic of Indonesia and experts in the environment, climate change and technology, who all hailed the importance of the Camp.

Every year on June 12th, the world marks World Day Against Child Labor to cast light on one of the most damaging social issues affecting children globally, which has been exacerbated by conflicts and crises. This day serves as a crucial reminder of the need for international cooperation to end child labor, aligning with this year’s theme: ” Act Now: End Child Labor.”

On this occasion, the Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ICESCO) reaffirms its commitment to contributing to the eradication of child labor and enhancing the welfare of children worldwide. The Organization strives to provide a healthy, safe, and inclusive environment for all children, adolescents, and youth through various practical programs and projects.

In this context, ICESCO has launched the Child and Adolescent Protection, Rehabilitation, and Leadership Initiative, which includes several programs. The main programs are the ICESCO Award for Child Protection, capacity building in mental and psychological health, Children for Peace Festival, educational and communicative programs to help reduce child labor, and rehabilitating street children through football.

ICESCO underscores the importance of education and family support in combating child labor. The Organization is dedicated to protecting children from exploitation and ensuring safe environments where they can learn, play, and grow. ICESCO calls on Governments, National Commissions for education, science, and culture, and stakeholders to join hands to end child labor and work towards an atmosphere where every child can achieve their dreams in nurturing environments.

The International Exhibition and Museum of the Prophet’s Seerah and Islamic Civilization, currently housed at the headquarters of the Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ICESCO) in Rabat, will reopen its doors to visitors on Wednesday, June 19, 2024, after the Eid al-Adha holiday (from Saturday, June 15 to Tuesday, June 18, 2024).

Following this holiday, the Exhibition and Museum will continue to welcome visitors every day of the week except Monday, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Rabat time.

Since its opening to the public on November 28, 2022, under the high patronage of His Majesty King Mohammed VI, may Allah assist him, and following its official inauguration graced by the presence of HRH Prince Moulay El Hassan, Crown Prince of the Kingdom of Morocco, the Exhibition and Museum has seen large numbers of visitors from all age groups, attracting Moroccan citizens, residents and visitors to the Kingdom, with the total number of visitors approaching six million to date.

The Exhibition and Museum is the outcome of a strategic trilateral partnership among ICESCO, the Muslim World League and the Mohammedia League of Scholars, in its first stop outside the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, which is based in Al-Madinah Al-Munawwarah. It seeks to disseminate a message of justice, peace, compassion, tolerance, coexistence and moderation, drawing on the teachings of the Holy Quran, Sunnah and the glorious Islamic history, using cutting-edge technology.

Free of charge, visitors may book their visits to the Exhibition and Museum via the following links: http://tickets.ma.salamfairs.com.sa (individuals) and https://forms.gle/YhNbfRAUzo9Cg4Rd9 (groups).

The Mishkat Hall at the headquarters of the Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ICESCO) hosted a training workshop on “Teaching Poetry, Short Stories, and Novels to advanced Arabic learners.” The workshop benefited 196 teachers of Arabic as a foreign language in 13 countries. This workshop is the tenth and final session in the series of workshops organized by ICESCO as part of its international program, “Mishkat for Arabic Educational Training,” held in collaboration with Hamdan Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Foundation for Medical and Educational Sciences.

The workshop was held by Dr. Habib Maghraoui, an educational trainer and expert in literary criticism and rhetoric, on 5-6 June 2024. The theoretical part aimed to familiarize the participants with the basics of teaching literature and its principles for non-Arabic speakers, emphasizing the importance of methodological reading and its fundamental phases. The practical sessions focused on developing teachers’ skills in methodological reading of literary texts, including preparation, planning, implementation and evaluation.

The third edition of the “MasterClass,” organized by the Education Sector of the Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ICESCO) at the Ecole Normale Supérieure, kicked off on Tuesday, 4 June 2024, to benefit over 90 Ph.D. students and researchers and professors in Cadi Ayyad University. This MasterClass is part of “ICESCO Open Education Chair: Towards Equitable Access to Inclusive and Quality Education,” at Mohammed V University in Rabat, which is held in partnership with several Moroccan and international universities, under the auspices of the Ministry of Higher Education, Scientific Research and Innovation of the Kingdom of Morocco.

This three-day edition, held in-person and via videoconference, is part of the activities to celebrate Marrakech as the Capital of Culture in the Islamic World for 2024. This edition reflects ICESCO’s efforts to contribute to the development of scientific research among its Member States and to enhance scientific and educational skills in open education, open educational resources, copyrights and authorship, licensing, open data, and personal data protection.

The opening ceremony was attended by high-level officials from the parties involved and representatives of the participating universities. It included artistic and musical performances by a group of students from Mohammed V University and an artistic workshop on arabesque.

On Monday, 3 June 2024, the International Entrepreneurs Summit and the final of the ICESCO Youth Training Program on how to create and develop small projects in the field of technology and innovation concluded their second session. The events were organized by the Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ICESCO) in partnership with the Azerbaijani Ministry of Culture and several other partners in the Republic of Azerbaijan, where five teams were announced as winners among 33 participating teams from 11 ICESCO Member States.

The closing day of the Summit and the final of the Program in Shusha, Culture Capital of the Islamic world in 2024, were attended by high-level officials, investors, entrepreneurs and international experts in technology and digital economy. Mr. Rashad Azizov, Head of the Department on Creative Industries and Digital Transformation at the Azerbaijani Ministry of Culture, highlighted, at the opening session, the Ministry’s efforts to promote entrepreneurship in the creative industries. Moreover, he expressed his appreciation for ICESCO’s ongoing support in enhancing youth capacities. Dr. Elchin Babayev, Rector of Baku State University, discussed the University’s initiatives to establish scientific chairs and contribute to the promotion of knowledge in Azerbaijan. Ms. Lidia Borrell Damian, Secretary General of Science Europe, reviewed the roles of various scientific and creative fields and explored mechanisms to support entrepreneurs.

This was followed by a high-level session on the importance of startups and inclusive future technology, a panel discussion on empowering women through entrepreneurship in the digital age, and a second session on decentralized artificial intelligence: Investor Perspectives on How to Qualify Startups through Innovation and Collaboration.

The jury then announced the winners of the second edition of ICESCO’s Program to train youth on how to create and develop small projects in the field of technology and innovation. The “Snack Pack” team from Azerbaijan won first place, with a prize of $10,000, for their project to reduce food waste in hotels. The second place, with a prize of $8,000, was won by “ReSkill” from Tajikistan, for their platform project for acquiring programming skills. “Biopols” from Turkey won third place, with a prize of $6,000, for their project to develop a new generation food storage technology with antioxidant and antibacterial properties. Fourth place, with a prize of $3,000, went to “Caredify” from Tunisia, for a smart watch project that allows real-time and remote monitoring of vital signs in cardiac patients, and “High Value”, from Djibouti, for a high-quality goat cheese export project.

Recognition awards went to: “Ecofoni”, from Turkey, for its carbon footprint calculation, reporting, and management platform; “Documood”, from Azerbaijan, for its cloud platform for creating and signing legal contracts; and “SE+ O3 Eggs Functional Foods”, from Sudan, for its project to produce high selenium and high Omega-3 poultry eggs, through designed feeds for hen that passes minerals organically to the eggs.

Under the theme: “Our land. Our future. We are #GenerationRestoration”, the world celebrates World Environment Day on June 5, which marks this year the 30th anniversary of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification. The aim is to raise awareness of the need to strengthen environmental protection means and mechanisms, and to promote efforts to preserve and rationalize natural resources.
The Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ICESCO) seizes this opportunity to call for capitalizing on young people’s capabilities, helping them to find innovative solutions to the environmental challenges facing the world, using modern technology to limit the impact of climate change, and investing in scientific research to develop smart, sustainable strategies and practices, thereby enforcing the resilience of ecosystems.

Faced with the threat posed by desertification to food security and social peace, ICESCO stresses the importance of mobilizing the international community’s efforts to preserve the environment and biodiversity, especially as 40% of the world’s arable land is suffering from degradation, and some 12 million hectares of soil are lost every year to coastal erosion, deforestation and mining. All of this urges us to adopt alternative and sustainable agricultural models to combat desertification, given that 70% of the world’s water resources are used to meet agricultural needs.

In this context, ICESCO is working to promote the culture of intelligent and sustainable agriculture, and to support its Member States in developing reforestation initiatives and the use of innovative technologies to protect the environment and combat desertification, namely by developing its programs for seedling production and cultivation in several countries, and by organizing training sessions to build the capacities of young people in the countries of the Islamic world in the field of circular, green and blue economies. The aim is also to promote entrepreneurship in these fields, and to organize training sessions to raise awareness of the rational use of natural resources and the rehabilitation of degraded land, in order to contribute to sustainable development for future generations.

The 3rd Annual Scientific and Educational Exhibition was held on Saturday, 1 June 2024 at the headquarters of the Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ICESCO) in Rabat. The exhibition is organized by the Collège Scientifique Agdal-Rabat, in the Kingdom of Morocco, in cooperation with ICESCO’s Education Sector, with the participation of 200 students, a large number of parents and officials from the institution, as well as the members of the project and innovation assessment committee.

The Exhibition aims to develop students‘ talent, creativity and scientific thinking, to achieve excellence in education and science, and to translate theoretical knowledge into practical and technical applications, through scientific competitions and the showcasing of students’ knowledge and skills.

In her Address at the exhibition’s opening, Dr. Koumbou Boly Barry, Head of ICESCO’s Education Sector, stressed the Organization’s commitment to encouraging creativity and innovation among students to build a generation capable of contributing to global and sustainable development.

For his part, Dr. Aiman Abdul Karim, Director of the Collège Scientifique Agdal-Rabat, stressed the importance of the exhibition and emphasized ICESCO’s role in encouraging educational institutions and improving their performance in delivering innovation and scientific creativity.

Following the opening remarks, the exhibition began with the presentation of the members of the scientific committee, composed of inventors, professors, scientific researchers and experts. This was followed by the evaluation tour, during which the scientific committee assessed the projects and met for deliberations to announce the results and award the prizes to the winners.

The International Summit on Entrepreneurship and the final of ICESCO’s 2nd edition program for training young people in creating and developing small-scale technology and innovation projects kicked off on Sunday, 2 June 2024, in Baku, Azerbaijan. The two events are organized by the Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ICESCO) in partnership with the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Azerbaijan and several other institutions, with a high-level presence of international leaders, entrepreneurs and experts in the field of technology, innovation and economics.

The opening session of the Summit and the Final commenced with a video address by Dr. Salim M. AlMalik, Director General of ICESCO, who lauded the significance of the topics of the Summit, which tackle financial technology, digital media, tourism, food technology, agriculture, entertainment, gaming, space technology and green technology.

Dr. AlMalik pointed out the success of ICESCO’s program for training young people in creating and developing small-scale technology and innovation projects, due to the number of applicants from 20 countries. Dr. AlMalik added that ICESCO aims, through this program, to support the creation of more than 150 innovative start-ups by 2025, covering the 53 Member States, and to build the capacities of more than 500 entrepreneurs.

Dr. AlMalik ended his speech by thanking the jury and calling on the participants of the Program to be creative and inspirational when presenting their ideas and projects.

Moreover, Mr. Farid Jafarov, Azerbaijan’s Deputy Minister of Culture, expressed his delight at the opportunity to host the final of ICESCO’s 2nd edition program. Mr. Jafarov believed that this event is an opportunity to highlight the innovative spirit of young people in the Islamic world and to consolidate the strategic partnership between the Republic of Azerbaijan and ICESCO.

For his part, Dr. Muhammad Sharif, Advisor in ICESCO’s Science and Environment Sector, stressed the creative spirit of youth and their contribution to developing innovative solutions to the challenges facing the world in general and the Islamic world in particular, thanks to their efforts to develop and acquire new skills. Dr. Sharif thanked the members of the jury for assessing the participants’ projects.

Following, the 33 teams that qualified for the final from Tajikistan, Senegal, Tunisia, Libya, Türkiye, Mali, Sudan, Djibouti, Somalia, Egypt and Azerbaijan presented their projects to a jury of experts and specialists in entrepreneurship and technology. The jury will announce the three winning teams and award them the prizes.

The Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ICESCO) and the Arab Information and Communication Technologies Organization (AICTO), affiliated with the League of Arab States, signed a cooperation agreement to enhance digital governance through developing policies and strategies and coordinating with Member States to set joint mechanisms to find solutions to improve smart and proactive e-services, raise young people’s awareness about innovation mechanisms and future jobs’ digital requirements, and highlight the opportunities pertaining to digital transformation applications.

The agreement was signed on Tuesday, 28 May 2024, by Ms. Sally Mabrouk, Director of the Office of ICESCO Director General, and Eng. Mohamed Ben Omar, AICTO Director General, in the presence of several high-level officials, experts and researchers, on the sidelines of the 21st General Assembly of the Organization and IPv6 Gala 2024 Forum, held in Marrakesh, Kingdom of Morocco.

In a video speech shared during the opening session, Dr. Salim M. AlMalik, ICESCO Director General, stressed that the Internet is no longer limited to digital infrastructure and applications, but rather encompasses a network of social, economic, cultural and educational interactions crossing the boundaries of technology and providing opportunities for upgrading people and society.

He also explained that the agreement aims at consolidating the concept of digital governance, cybersecurity and personal data protection, and enhancing the use of technology to achieve sustainable development by supporting technology projects likely to achieve economic growth and improve the quality of life in the Islamic world.

For his part, Eng. Mohamed Ben Omar called for intensifying efforts among workers in the communications and Internet sector, given its paramount importance in achieving Sustainable Development Goals and ensuring societal development, commending ICESCO’s efforts geared towards bridging the digital gaps in its Member States.

The signed agreement sets forth the joint organization of fora and activities on areas of common interest, preparation of joint studies in the areas of technological development, training and supporting young people with innovative projects and exchanging expertise and experiences in digital development with Member States.