Category: News update

The Center for Heritage in the Islamic World, under the aegis of the Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ICESCO), launched a series of digital seminars aimed at discussing the challenges facing cultural heritage in the Islamic world and providing an open platform for experts and specialized international organizations to exchange expertise and build bridges of cooperation in this field.

The seminars will be held periodically every three months. The ICESCO Center for Heritage in the Islamic World organized the first of these seminars on Friday 10 October 2025, under the theme“Risk and Disaster Management for Cultural Heritage Sites.” The session was inaugurated by Dr. Lazare Eloundou Assomo, Director of the World Heritage Centre at UNESCO, who praised ICESCO’s role in supporting global efforts to protect cultural heritage. He emphasized the need to discuss current challenges and the importance of digital spaces in facilitating the exchange of knowledge among experts worldwide.

For his part, Dr. Webber Ndoro, Director of the ICESCO Center for Heritage in the Islamic World, noted that these seminars contribute to capacity building and to creating a network of communication among Member States. He added that the series provides a vital platform for strengthening cooperation between institutions working in the field of cultural heritage preservation.

The first seminar, moderated by Mr. Mohamed Al-Absi, Expert at ICESCO’s Center for Heritage, featured a distinguished group of international experts from UNESCO, the International Centre for the Study of the Preservation and Restoration of Cultural Property (ICCROM), and the Moroccan Ministry of Youth, Culture, and Communication.

The Gulf Forum for Empowering Vocational Training Institutions in Innovation, Entrepreneurship, and Incubator Management concluded in Muscat, the capital of Oman, on 15 October 2025. The Forum was organized from 13 to 15 October by the Omani Ministry of Labor, in cooperation with the Omani National Commission for Education, Culture and Science, and the Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ICESCO). It aimed to promote scientific research, intellectual property, and digital transformation, and to develop the incubator ecosystem to empower and enhance staff competencies in the labor market.

During the opening session, Mr. Waqas Afridi, expert at ICESCO’s Education Sector, emphasized that the Organization’s initiatives in education and innovation have benefited hundreds of thousands of students, teachers, and policymakers across Member States. He noted that the Forum reflects the strategic orientations of ICESCO’s Education Sector for 2025–2030, stressing the importance of integrating skills learning from early school stages to foster youth competencies, confidence, and creativity.

Mr. Afridi added that ICESCO’s Education Sector will present the first draft of the “Strategy for Skills, Technical and Vocational Education and Training” at the Regional Conference on Education and Vocational Training (Middle East and Arab World), scheduled for early 2026 at Doha University of Science and Technology, in cooperation with UNESCO’s Regional Office in Qatar. The strategy aims to align skill development with labor market needs and prepare youth for a rapidly evolving work environment.

For his part, Dr. Khalid Ambusaidi, Director General of Vocational Colleges at the Ministry of Labor, reaffirmed Oman’s and ICESCO’s commitment to strengthening the role of education and vocational training in development, in line with Oman Vision 2040. Dr. Mahmood Al-Abri, Secretary-General of the Omani National Commission for Education, Culture and Science, explained that the Ministry of Education in Oman has integrated technical and vocational education into the school education system, aligning with ICESCO’s approach to making vocational education a tool for achieving sustainable development goals.

The Forum brought together over 100 experts and representatives from Oman and Gulf Cooperation Council countries, along with several international organizations. It featured workshops on the role of training institutions in supporting entrepreneurship, establishing and operating incubators, developing their programs and services, and discussions on teaching methods that foster entrepreneurial mindsets, impact assessment, and ways to enhance regional and international cooperation.

The Center of Arabic for Non-Arabic Speakers of the Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ICESCO) has published the book entitled “Research Papers of the First International Conference: Language Skills in Teaching Arabic to Non-Arabic Speakers – Challenges of Reality and Prospects for Development,” featuring the contributions of 47 researchers, representing 20 countries, who participated in the conference that ICESCO organized, in cooperation with Bursa State University, in Bursa, Türkiye, in February 2025.

The two-volume publication, comprising 1,050 pages, includes 40 peer-reviewed academic papers authored by experts and university professors. It is a valuable reference in Arabic language teaching and skills for non-Arabic speakers. It aims at enriching scientific research in the field of teaching Arabic to non-Arabic speakers and keeping pace with global trends in the development of curricula and teaching methods.

The new book covers the following topics:

• Successful strategies for teaching and learning language skills;
• Analysis of language skills in Arabic textbooks for non-Arabic speakers;
• Assessment of language skills;
• Modern technologies in language skills teaching;
• Problems related to language skills teaching.

ICESCO provides the book for free download on its website at: https://icesco.org/bfk1

The Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ICESCO), in cooperation with the Hamdan Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Foundation for Medical and Educational Sciences, has launched a new annual training program entitled “Mishkat Educational Leadership in Arabic Language for Non-Arabic Speakers” to train a select group of educational leaders in 14 African and Asian countries.

The program was launched on Thursday, 9 October 2025, at ICESCO headquarters, during a preparatory meeting bringing together the program’s experts and coordinators, in the presence of Mr. Adel Bouraoui, Advisor to ICESCO’s Director-General and Supervisor of the “Mishkat Al-Arabia” platform, and Dr. Mohammed Ismail Alaoui, Director of the University Center for Teaching Arabic to Non-Arabic Speakers at Sultan Moulay Slimane University in Morocco, with the participation of 22 experts and educational officials from a number of countries.

The new “Educational Leadership” program consists of 10 specialized training workshops spanning from October 2025 to June 2026. The first workshop is scheduled for Wednesday, 15 October 2025. A team of 10 international experts will train the program beneficiaries using modern practical methods.

Dr. Salim M. AlMalik, Director-General of the Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ICESCO), met with H.E. Mrs. Sabida Thaiseth, Minister of Culture of the Kingdom of Thailand, on Thursday 9 October Bangkok, Thailand, on the sidelines of the Third International Conference on “Contemporary Arabic Language: Knowledge, Prospects, and Challenges.”

During the meeting, the ICESCO Director-General reviewed the Organization’s flagship programs and initiatives in the cultural field, particularly pertaining to cultural indicators, creative industries, and cultural economies. These are fields in which ICESCO has achieved remarkable success and contributed to strengthening culture’s role as a cornerstone of sustainable development.

Dr. AlMalik expressed ICESCO’s readiness to provide technical and professional support for training Thai specialists in the areas of documenting, preserving, and restoring cultural heritage. He also proposed the inclusion of Islamic heritage sites in Thailand in ICESCO’s Heritage List in the Islamic World.

For her part, the Minister of Culture commended ICESCO’s role in promoting culture and fostering civilizational dialogue, affirming her country’s interest in developing cultural cooperation with the Organization and its commitment to participating in ICESCO’s international conferences and forums.

She also expressed the Ministry’s desire to review the cultural indicators adopted by ICESCO and to benefit from its programs for training youth and national cadres in the protection and inscription of heritage.

At the close of the meeting, Dr. AlMalik extended an official invitation to the Minister to visit ICESCO’s headquarters in Rabat, reaffirming the shared commitment to expand the horizons of cultural cooperation between the two sides.

The Regional Forum on Media and Information Literacy wrapped up in Muscat, Oman, following three days of discussions held from October 6 to 8, 2025, under the theme: Empowering Minds in the Age of Artificial Intelligence. The event was organized by the Omani Ministry of Education, represented by the Omani National Commission for Education, Culture and Science, and the UNESCO Regional Office in Doha, in cooperation with the Omani Ministry of Information, and in partnership with the Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ICESCO) and the Arab League Educational, Cultural and Scientific Organization (ALECSO).

The Forum aimed to raise awareness of the concept of Media and Information Literacy (MIL), highlight the role of international organizations in empowering users to understand their digital rights, and promote responsible and ethical media behavior. It also addressed current digital challenges and underscored the importance of national and regional policies in supporting media awareness.

The opening ceremony was attended by Dr. Abdullah bin Nasser Al-Harrasi, Omani Minister of Information; Dr. Madiha bint Ahmed Al Shaibaniyah, Minister of Education and Chairperson of the Omani National Commission for Education, Culture and Science; and Mr. Abdullah bin Hamad Al Harthi, Chairperson of the Media Committee at the Shura Council.

During the event, Dr. Zaid Abu Shama’a, Supervisor of the Media Department at ICESCO’s Media and Communication Sector, outlined ICESCO’s strategy for promoting media education. He explained that the Organization’s approach is participatory, respects the specific contexts of Member States, and focuses on providing practical solutions tailored to their needs and cultural and social settings.

Dr. Abu Shama’a emphasized that ICESCO’s Media and Communication Sector views media education as a strategic gateway to empowering individuals and communities to address emerging challenges such as misinformation, hate speech, and the digital divide. He also stressed the Organization’s efforts in this field and its upcoming initiatives, most notably the preparation of a specialized guide on media education that is attuned to the particularities of the Islamic world.

As part of the Forum’s activities, ICESCO’s representative conducted a workshop titled: Discover the Truth Yourself, which aimed to equip participants with skills to verify news and images using simple digital tools. He also delivered an address during the Forum’s closing session on the ethics of using AI in research, academia, and journalism.

The Forum targeted teachers, supervisors, curriculum designers, academics, and students in media-related fields, as well as journalists and editors from various media outlets, and communication and media professionals from public, private, and civil society institutions.