Category: News update

42nd Session of ICESCO Executive Council to kick off in Egypt, on December 6, 2021

Under the patronage of President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, the Arab Republic of Egypt will host the 14th Session of the General Conference of the Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ICESCO), on December 8 and 9, 2021, with the participation of 49 delegations out of the 51 ICESCO Member States. Egypt will also host the 42nd Session of the Organization’s Executive Council on December 6, 2021.

As part of its new vision, ICESCO follows a new approach in holding the 14th Session of the General Conference, which is completely different from the previous sessions and aims to yield practical outcomes with field impact.  

Held every three years, ICESCO General Conference is the Organization’s highest legislative authority entrusted with the mission of setting ICESCO’s general policies and overseeing its activities. the General Conference is composed of ministers and presidents of National Commissions for education, science and culture, who are appointed by their respective Member States. As for the Organization’s Executive Council, it consists of the Secretaries-General of Member States’ National Commissions. During its annual sessions, the Council examines and adopts reports and draft action plans of the Organization, and its budgets and submits them to the General Conference for approval.

The agenda of ICESCO’s 14th Session of General Conference in Cairo includes an opening ceremony, in conjunction with the organization of the Global Forum on Higher Education and Scientific Research, held by the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research in the Arab Republic of Egypt, under the patronage of President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi. Afterward, the General Conference will hold its opening session, followed by a procedural session to examine the credentials and the list of delegations, the Conference Draft Agenda and Draft Programme, and compose the General Conference Bureau.

The first working session revolves around ICESCO’s achievements and prospects, including the Organization’s report on its activities between 2019-2021 and the Organization’s revised vision. This session, like all the others, will include statements of the Heads of Delegations who will highlight the activities of the respective countries in the fields of education, science and culture. The second working session will address educational challenges, featuring a lecture by Mr. Kailash Satyarthi, founder of Kailash Satyarthi Children’s Foundation and Nobel Peace Laureate, 2014. 

The third working session, which will be held on the second day of the Conference, will focus on space science and its role in sustainable development and will be marked with a lecture by Ms. Kathryn Thornton, Chairwoman of the US Space Foundation. The General Conference will conclude its proceedings with a plenary session, followed by a closing session to approve Members of ICESCO’s 43rd Executive Council, announce the date and venue of the 15th Session of the General Conference and adopt the Conference resolutions.

Concurrently with the General Conference’s working sessions, several committees will hold meetings to examine the Organization’s reports and plans and discuss them with the Delegations taking part in the Conference. These committees include the Strategies and Action Plans Committee and the Administrative, Financial and Legal Affairs Committee.

The 42nd Session of ICESCO’s Executive Council will kick off on December 6, 2021, and will examine a number of key documents including ICESCO’s Activity Reports for 2021, the Organization’s Financial Reports for 2020, the Draft Strategic Orientations by 2025, the Draft of the Two-Year Action Plan and Budget for 2022-2023, in addition to many administrative and legal documents and proposals.

The Social and Human Sciences Sector of the Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ICESCO) held a workshop to exchange experiences learned from the project, implemented in partnership with Alwaleed Philanthropies in 10 African countries, to counter the negative effects of Covid-19 by supporting innovation and promoting entrepreneurship among women and young people.

The workshop, which was held on Thursday, November 25, 2021, both at ICESCO headquarters, in Rabat, and via videoconference, aimed to exchange experiences about the project and determine the extent of achievement of its objectives while highlighting the factors contributing to their accomplishment and the lessons learned, and exploring ways to expand the scope of the beneficiary countries and ensuring its continuity.

In his address at the opening of the workshop, delivered on his behalf by Ambassador Khaled Fath Al-Rahman, Director of ICESCO Center for Civilizational Dialogue, Supervisor of Partnerships and International Cooperation Sector, Dr. Salim Al-Malik, ICESCO Director-General, thanked Alwaleed Philanthropies, hoping that this program has strengthened cooperation as ICESCO is convinced that the African countries can overcome the pandemic only through the rehabilitation of women, youth and vulnerable groups, stressing that the beneficiary countries were able to produce the specified quantities of sanitizers, prevention materials and protective masks to face the repercussions of the pandemic.

For her part, Ms. Abeer Al Fouti, Executive Manager of Global Initiatives at Alwaleed Philanthropies, praised the efforts of ICESCO and the National Commissions concerned throughout all the phases of the project, stressing that Alwaleed Philanthropies supports initiatives aimed at improving the conditions of vulnerable groups in a sustainable manner.

Ms. Ramata Almami Mbaye, Head of Social and Human Sciences Sector at ICESCO, reviewed the phases of the project, expressing her thanks to Alwaleed Philanthropies and commending the cooperation of the National Commissions as well as the beneficiary women and youth associations in implementing the set strategy. She also stated that the project has strengthened cooperation and coordination between ICESCO and the authorities concerned in the beneficiary countries towards achieving sustainable development through a holistic approach.

The representatives of the National Commissions of the beneficiary countries provided information on the outcomes of the beneficiary projects, the selection criteria of the beneficiary associations, commending the leading governance model adopted to support innovation and entrepreneurship for youth and women. They also addressed the difficulties, which faced various projects, the adopted strategies and the mechanisms for replicating successful experiences.

The training workshop on “Building the Capacities of Teachers of Arabic to Non-Arabic Speakers and Developing their Language Skills” concluded its proceedings in Libreville, Republic of Gabon. The four-day event was held by the Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ICESCO), in cooperation with Hamdan Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Foundation for Distinguished Academic Performance, the Gabonese Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs, and the Gabonese National Commission for Education, Science and Culture.

On the closing day, held yesterday 25 November 2021, Dr. Youssef Ismaili, ICESCO representative, moderated a model workshop, which was attended by Mr. Abdellah Sbihi, Ambassador of the Kingdom of Morocco to the Republic of Gabon, Sheikh Ismael Oceni Usa, President of the  Gabonese Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs, and Mr. Moeti Mabika, Vice Secretary-General of the Ministry of Education in Gabon.

In his closing remarks, Dr. Ismaili stressed the need to promote cooperation and concerted efforts to address the challenges and obstacles facing the Gabonese institutions of teaching Arabic for non-Arabic speakers, noting that the Organization accords great interest to developing the work of these institutions as part of its new vision. 

Mr. Sbihi, commended ICESCO’s efforts to promote Arabic and foster its status in non-Arabic speaking African countries, highlighting the remarkable relations between Gabon and Morocco.
 
Sheikh Ismael Oceni Usa, expressed his thanks and appreciation to ICESCO for holding this workshop for the benefit of Arabic teachers, expressing his hope for more activities targeting Arabic education teachers and inspectors, while Mr. Mabika talked about the significance of the language skills addressed in this workshop. 

At the close of the workshop, participation certificates were distributed to the beneficiaries of this event, which brought together 25 educational officials and Arabic teachers from different parts of Gabon.

The Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ICESCO) held the first workshop on visual and contemporary arts for the students of the School of Architecture, Design and Town Planning, on Wednesday, November 24, 2021, at Euromed University of Fez (UEMF), as part of the second phase of ICESCO International Open Days, within the framework of ICESCO Chair for Arts, Science and Civilizations, and in partnership with Konrad Adenauer Foundation.

Ms. Madiha Sabani, a Moroccan artist, supervised the workshop. She touched upon the repercussions of the Covid-19 pandemic on the artistic community, especially the precautionary measures that required social distancing and the suspension of all artistic activities, relying on her intellectual and creative approach to interactive digital technologies.

Ms. Sabani stated that she aspires to redefine contemporary arts, questioning the artistic medium and expression associated with the plastic gesture.

She added that the performance begins when the artist presents an interactive or even solo concept. She also highlighted the role of monologue in Moroccan society, particularly its contribution as a basic material for contemporary visual expression in recent years and the interaction it creates in artistic and cultural institutions as it focuses only on the presence of an artist, citing some previous artworks inside and outside Morocco.

The Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ICESCO) held in Fez, Morocco, the edition of ICESCO International Open Days, in cooperation with Konrad Adenauer Stiftung and the Network of ICESCO International Chairs for Thought, Letters and Arts. The second edition features a series of lectures in observance of the International Day of Islamic Art, an annual celebration on 18 November, which was adopted by UNESCO upon the proposal of the Kingdom of Bahrain.

Dr. Abdelilah Benarafa, ICESCO Deputy Director-General (DG), opened the lecture series, held at the headquarters of the Euro-Mediterranean University on Wednesday, November 24, 2021, and addressed the sense of loss and anxiety about the future, especially in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. He added that the suspension of cultural activities further exacerbated the pandemic’s impact and brought to light the major role of culture in regaining trust and helping face the challenges of the future.  

Dr. Mohamed Zinelabidine, Head of ICESCO’s Culture and Communication Sector, gave a lecture in which he highlighted the role of young people in expressing the value of culture in the Islamic world to publicize its specificities at the international level, develop minds, sciences and creativity. He stated that the aim is to move from the consumer status to that of active contributors to the advancement of thought and employment of modern technology to make culture a true lever of human development.

Taking the floor next was Dr. Omar Halli, Advisor to ICESCO DG for the Federation of the Universities of the Islamic World (FUIW), who stressed the need to promote the presence of culture in societies, stating that promoting culture among university students is a means to reforming and developing higher education training. 

In his address, Dr. Abderrahman Tankoul, Supervisor of ICESCO Chair for Arts, Sciences and Civilizations at the Euro-Mediterranean University, talked about the fruitful cooperation between ICESCO and the University through the Chair he supervises, which plays a role in understanding social change through arts, culture and sciences. As for Dr. Mostapha Bousmina, President of the Euro-Mediterranean University, he underlined the necessity of opening higher education training to culture and arts to train a generation of intellectuals, reaffirming the importance of cultural diversity in building a prosperous society.

At the close of the lecture series, the university’s students and professors asked many questions on the issues addressed in the lectures to which the lecturers provided detailed answers.

ICESCO International Open Days are part of the activities of the  ICESCO Roads for the Future, a year-long event to be held in the universities, research centers and cultural institutions of several countries. ICESCO Roads for the Future kicked off on 14 October 2021 under the theme “Culture for Rethinking the World.” 

The Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ICESCO) participated in the meeting of the Strategic Vision Group “Russia and the Islamic World”, being held under the patronage of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, in Jeddah, under the theme “Dialogue and prospects for cooperation.” His Royal Highness Prince Khalid Al-Faisal, Adviser to the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, Governor of Makkah Al-Mukarramah Region, opened the meeting, on Thursday, November 24, 2021, in the presence of H.E. Rustam Minnikhanov, President of Tatarstan, Chairman of the Strategic Vision Group, as well as several ministers, officials and scholars from the Russian Federation and the Muslim countries.

In his intervention during the three-day meeting, Dr. Kais Hammami, Director of ICESCO Center of Strategic Foresight, stressed that ensuring a sustainable future, in the context of the rapid pace of change worldwide, requires considering the possible scenarios, avoiding the past mistakes and setting the future trends that will shape the future of the Islamic world.

He also indicated that ICESCO is mobilizing its expertise and resources to support its Member States and has made great efforts since the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic to mitigate its repercussions, help the Member States overcome this crisis, and enhance their efforts to achieve sustainable development and build prosperous societies.

He added that ICESCO, within the framework of its new vision, adopted a proactive and anticipatory approach, from foresight to strategic planning, to promote a culture of foresight and support the efforts of Muslim countries in developing their various systems. This further stresses that foresight goes beyond the conventional development models to consider any signals, the emerging trends and the potential development paths as foresight’s ultimate objective consists in guiding decision-making by exploring future trends and potential challenges.

Dr. Hammami underlined that the forward-looking and flexible policies aim to develop new development models to achieve further development in the Islamic world.