Category: News update

Dr. Abdelilah Benarfa, Deputy Director-General of the Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ICESCO), Mr. Najib Riati, Cultural Adviser to ICESCO Director-General and General Coordinator of the celebration of Rabat as Culture Capital in the Islamic world for 2022, visited the headquarters of the institution of Archives of Morocco in Rabat, to discuss the Institution’s contribution to the general programme of celebrating Rabat as Culture Capital in the Islamic world, under the high patronage of His Majesty King Mohammed VI, may Allah protect him.

During the visit, on Friday, April 15, 2022, Dr. Jamaa Baida, Director of the Archives of Morocco, expressed his full eagerness to place the Institution at the disposal of ICESCO, to contribute to highlighting the history of the city of Rabat, and its scholars and institutions to the civilizational radiation of Morocco.

At the close of the visit, Dr. Benarfa signed the Golden Book of the Archives of Moroccan, expressing ICESCO’S gratitude for the Institution’s efforts in contributing to the success of the celebration of Rabat as Culture Capital in the Islamic world for 2022.

The Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ICESCO), the Muslim World League (MWL), and the Mohammedia League of Scholars in the Kingdom of Morocco will hold a major international celebration to launch the “International Day of Mercy” initiative, on Thursday, April 21, 2022. This celebration came following the adoption of the resolution on the annual commemoration of this day by the 48th Session of the Council of Foreign Ministers of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) held last March in Islamabad, the Islamic Republic of Pakistan.

The proclamation of this day reflects the centuries-long relentless human efforts toward promoting the values of grace, benevolence and mercy among all nations, peoples and cultures. It was recommended in the declaration of the International Conference on the Civilizational Values in the Prophet’s Seerah, held by ICESCO in cooperation with MWL and the Mohammedia League of Scholars in May 2021, under the high patronage of His Majesty King Mohammed VI of the Kingdom of Morocco.

The celebration will take place both in-person at ICESCO Headquarters in Rabat, and via videoconference, at 2 p.m. (UTC), and will bring together high-level scholars, religious leaders and representatives of international organizations and institutions. It aims at highlighting mercy as a core value in human history that should serve as a parameter for civilized behavior between nations, peoples, countries and individuals.

The celebration program begins with a recitation of verses from the Holy Quran, then introductory remarks by Dr. Abdelilah Benarafa, Deputy Director-General (DG) of ICESCO, followed, respectively, by the addresses of Dr. Salim M. AlMalik, ICESCO DG, Dr. Muhammad bin Abdul Karim Issa, Secretary-General of MWL, and Dr. Ahmed Abbadi, Secretary-General of the Mohammadia League of Scholars. The event also features the screening of a video summarizing the proceedings of the International Conference on the Civilizational Values in the Prophet’s Seerah and another ICESCO video on the Prophet’s lineage.

The Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ICESCO) announces the extension of the nomination deadline for the first edition of the Young Professionals Programme until April 30, 2022.
This decision came in response to the phone calls and emails that young people from the Islamic world have sent the Programme Management, requesting more time to prepare the required documents and fulfill the Programme’s conditions of participation. Given this strong turnout, ICESCO decided to extend the nomination period until the end of April instead of April 15.

ICESCO’s Young Professionals Programme falls within the framework of the Organization’s new vision and action strategy, which are based on adopting the visions of young people, building their capacities and developing their leadership and professional skills to contribute to building a generation characterized by the sense of responsibility and professionalism envisioning to modernize the fields of education, science and culture in Muslim countries.
The nominees desiring to participate in ICESCO Young Professionals Programme for 2022 must:

• Hold the nationality of one of ICESCO Member States;
• Be less than 35 years old at the date of the announcement of nomination;
• Hold at least a BA degree, or its equivalent, in the fields of education, science and culture, and fields related to ICESCO’s action.
• Be proficient in at least one of the three working languages of ICESCO (Arabic, English and French).
  To join the Programme, nominees must fill in and send the registration form to ICESCO before April 30, 2022, along with their CVs either in Arabic, English or French; copies of their academic diplomas (at least a BA degree); a copy of the ID card or passport; a copy of the birth certificate and a personal photo. Candidates will be invited to conduct remote written tests and interviews.

For more information on how to apply for the Programme as well as its conditions, benefits and privileges, and the registration form, please visit the link below: http://www.icesco.org/?p=29534
Those interested can also send their inquiries to the following e-mail: hr@icesco.org

On Tuesday (April 12, 2022) a training session on the use of modern technologies and artificial intelligence applications in documenting heritage kicked off in Cairo. The session is organized by the Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ICESCO), in cooperation with Ain Shams University in the Arab Republic of Egypt.

The training session, which is supervised by experts in this field, is organized as part of the celebration of Cairo as Culture Capital in the Islamic World and ICESCO’s vision and strategic orientation to benefit from modern technologies in all its activities and following the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding between ICESCO, Ain Shams University and the German Philipps University of Marburg for cooperation in the protection of heritage
The training aims to build the capacities of heritage professionals, including architects, archeologists and restorers working in the specialized institutions in Egypt, as well as masters and doctoral researchers in heritage.

During the session, the trainees will document a heritage building using the latest digital technologies in the field, such as photogrammetry, laser scanning devices, virtual reality, augmented reality, and mixed reality.

ICESCO was represented in the session by Dr. Osama Al Nahhas, heritage expert in the Culture and Communication sector, who prepared the session and participated in its implementation.

The Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ICESCO) and the Egyptian Ministry of Culture, represented by the National Organization for Civilization Coordination, announced the launch of the “Turathy Photography Competition” intending to encourage photographers in the Islamic world to creatively monitor and document heritage buildings and areas in Cairo and other cities in the ICESCO Member States.

The Competition, which is part of the activities of the Celebration of Cairo, Culture Capital in the Islamic World, is divided into two sections; the first is the heritage of Cairo, which is open to photographers and all those interested from the Arab Republic of Egypt. The second section is the heritage of the cities of the Islamic world, which is open to photographers from the other ICESCO Member States. In each section, the prize money of the competition is set as follows:
First winner: one thousand five hundred dollars,
Second winner: one thousand dollars,
Third winner: seven hundred and fifty dollars,
Fourth winner: five hundred dollars.

The competition aims to rediscover the architectural heritage and shed light on the aesthetic value of architecture. It encourages photographers to aim their lenses at the architectural heritage of the Organization’s Member States and capture its splendor and details to create artistic photographs that highlight its civilizational dimension. Photographers are encouraged to lay particular emphasis on heritage sites and areas that reflect the distinguished architectural styles of a particular era, spontaneous architecture in a local environment or one that is unique and rare, buildings and sites relating to national history, historical milestones and personalities, as well as unique urban areas of outstanding value.

The conditions of participation in the competition are as follows:

• The entry must be relevant to the competition’s theme and sections.
• Each entrant is allowed to submit a maximum of three photographs.
• Members of the organizing parties or jury are not allowed to participate in the competition.
• Submitted photographs must not have already won this or any other competition.
• The submitted photograph must be in high-quality resolution of no less than 300 PPI, in JPG format, with a 12 quality, in RGB colors, using an sRGB profile, with a size of no less than 20 cm x 30 cm, and with each photograph size not exceeding 25 MB.
• Photographs may be technically improved by resetting their contrast, colors or lighting to ensure without introducing any changes to their content.
• Photographs containing written text or signatures cannot be accepted.
• Each entrant is allowed to participate in just one of the competition’s sections.

For participation, entrants must fill in the special registration and participation form via the link below:
www.urbanharmony.org/turathy2022.html
Entries must be attached to an email and directed to the following email addresses: turathy@urbanharmony.org turathy444@gmail.com
The entrant will receive a confirmation of receipt in their email.