A training session on the mechanisms for integrating environmental and health concepts in school program and curricula kicked off today, Monday, October 9, 2023, in Yaoundé, Republic of Cameroon. The session is held by the Sector of Education at the Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ICESCO), in cooperation with the Cameroonian National Commission for UNESCO, and targets several school counselors and inspectors.
The four-day session aims to contribute to the development of national policies for the integration of environmental and health concepts in school programs and curricula, build officials’ technical and educational capacities in this field and capitalize on information and communication technology in teaching methods. It also aims to produce the necessary digital resources, share successful experiences and promote efforts in the field.
A number of Cameroonian officials spoke during the opening session, and commended the key role ICESCO assumes in promoting the educational process, and supporting its Member States, including Cameroon.
Also speaking at the opening session were Dr. Abdelaziz Yauba, Secretary General of the Cameroonian National Commission for UNESCO, and Dr. Youssef Abou Dakka, Program Director at ICESCO’s Education Center, who highlighted the significance of the session, expressing their wishes that it achieves its goals to activate the role of educational institutions in protecting the environment and health and anchoring sound environmental and health conduct among students.
The session focuses on the situation of environmental and health concepts in school programs and curricula, the prospects of their integration and ways to capitalize on ICT in teaching these concepts in Cameroon. It also focuses on highlighting the role of technology in promoting the quality of programs and curricula that integrate these concepts, the best educational practices in the field, e-training and learning and the importance of open-source educational material in fostering environmental and health education.
Dr. Salim M. AlMalik, Director General of the Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ICESCO), and Dr. Reda Hegazy, Minister of Education and Technical Education of the Arab Republic of Egypt, discussed enhancing cooperation between ICESCO and the Ministry for building teachers’ capacities and developing their skills to capitalize on new technology developments intending to develop the educational process.
During the meeting, held on Sunday (October 8, 2023), at the Ministry’s headquarters, in the New Administrative Capital, in Egypt, the two parties reaffirmed their keenness to enhance cooperation and discussed the implementation phases and the opening of nominations for the training program of international certificates for young teachers, in light of the major international celebration “ICESCO Year of Youth,” held in cooperation with the Ministry of Education, Higher education and scientific research, under the patronage of His Excellency President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi.
Dr. Al-Malik stressed ICESCO’s keenness to continue fruitful cooperation with Egypt in the fields of education, science and culture, noting the key position of Egypt among the countries of the Islamic world, announcing that the implementation of this ambitious program to build teachers’ capacities will kick off in Egypt. For his part, Dr. Hegazy explained that the project basically aims at providing teachers with the necessary teaching and learning skills, adding that the program will include 15 training packages. During the meeting, the two parties agreed to provide grants to the top ten distinguished teachers, continue coordination to establish mechanisms for implementing the project and implement more cooperation projects.
The meeting also brought together Mr. Assayed Al-Absi, Assistant Secretary-General of the Egyptian National Commission for Education, Science and Culture, and Ms. Sally Mabrouk, Director of the Office of ICESCO Director-General, as well as several officials from the Egyptian Ministry of Education and Technical Education.
Dr. Salim M. AlMalik, Director-General of the Islamic Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ICESCO), concluded his visit to the Republic of Egypt by meeting Dr. Mohamed Ayman Ashour, Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research, President of the Egyptian National Commission, President of ICESCO General Conference, to discuss the latest developments in the special partnership between ICESCO and the Arab Republic of Egypt in areas of common interest.
At the beginning of the meeting, held on Sunday 8 October 2023, Dr. AlMalik extended his sincerest thanks and profound gratitude to the Arab Republic of Egypt for hosting ICESCO Youth Year, and to His Excellency Abdel Fattah El-Sisi for his generous patronage of this event, which will feature a myriad of programs and projects for the benefit of youth in the Islamic world.
Dr. AlMalik also expressed his great appreciation for Dr. Moustafa Madbouli, Egyptian Prime Minister, for his presence at the launch ceremony on behalf of His Excellency Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, and to Dr. Mohamed Ayman Ashour and his team for their remarkable efforts to ensure the success of the launch ceremony of the ICESCO Year of Youth.
For his part, Dr. Ashour stated that Egypt’s hosting of this major event is part of its new vision for building youth capacities and enabling them to assume their role in achieving sustainable development, noting that the Ministry seeks to support young talents and innovators. The meeting discussed the latest developments in the partnership between ICESCO and Egypt in the fields of education, science and culture and key programs and projects to be implemented during ICESCO Year of Youth.
The end of the meeting, the two parties agreed to sustain coordination and expert-level meetings to develop executive plans and follow-up on joint initiatives.
Under the patronage of His Excellency President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, the ICESCO Year of Youth was officially launched in a major international ceremony held in the new administrative capital of the Arab Republic of Egypt. The ceremony was attended by Dr. Mostafa Madbouly, Egyptian Prime Minister, on behalf of the President, and saw the participation of members of the Egyptian Government, senior officials, ministers, ambassadors and youth delegations from the Member States of the Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ICESCO).
The ceremony opened with the recitation of verses from the Holy Quran, during a mock conference simulating ICESCO’s General Conference, presented by young representatives of the Organization’s Member States, in the presence of the Egyptian Prime Minister; the Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research, President of the Egyptian National Commission, President of ICESCO’s General Conference, Dr. Mohamed Ayman Ashour; and ICESCO Director-General, Dr. Salim M. AlMalik.
The mock conference featured discussions on the major challenges facing the Islamic world in the fields of education, science, culture, communication and humanities, which was an opportunity for the young participants to present recommendations on the subject. The activity also focused on the outputs of the ICESCO Innovation Hubs for the youth of the Islamic world and beyond, which were hosted by the Creativity and Innovation Center at Ain Shams University, and yielded a set of ideas and proposals with the aim of contributing to developing strategies to improve educational and social conditions and safeguard and promote heritage in the countries of the Islamic world.
Following the youth mock conference, Dr. Madbouly gave an address where he conveyed the greetings of His Excellency President El-Sisi to the participants, wishing success for the ICESCO Year of Youth initiative. He also highlighted the great interest that the Egyptian President pays to youth issues as well as to training them to be action takers, stressing their pivotal role in the development movements the country is witnessing.
Moreover, the Egyptian Prime Minister announced the launch of a number of initiatives, to be implemented as part of the ICESCO Year of Youth, in coordination between the Member States to adopt youth ideas. He stated that these initiatives include setting up a youth council in the Islamic world to serve as a platform for creating promising leaderships, creating opportunities for partnership between talented people and funding bodies, and providing presidential grants to support young talents in the Islamic world, in addition to launching a fund to support talented and innovative people, sponsoring and financing projects to build young people’s capacities, and organizing a number of competitions.
In his address at the ceremony, Dr. Al-Malik, expressed his thanks to the Arab Republic of Egypt for hosting the launch ceremony, and to His Excellency President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi for granting his patronage to the ICESCO Year of Youth, commending Egypt’s efforts to accord due attention to its youth and build their creative and innovative capacities.
The Director-General also expressed ICESCO’s pride to be named, “The Young Organization,” stating that the Organization spares no effort in creating programs to build the capacities of young people and holding conferences and seminars for them in the fields of tomorrow’s professions, artificial intelligence, space sciences, heritage preservation, among others.
In addition, Dr. Al-Malik explained that celebrating the Year of Youth stands witness to the Organization’s faith in the potential of youth, and its determination to design impactful projects and initiatives that support them and prepare them for the future. He added that the Islamic world counts on its youth to achieve progress, calling on the new generations to overcome differences and embrace growth and prosperity.
For his part, Dr. Mohamed Ayman Ashour, Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research, President of the Egyptian National Commission for Education, Science and Culture, President of ICESCO’s General Conference, highlighted Egypt’s achievements since assuming the presidency of the Organization’s General Conference. He reviewed the key principles of the scholarship initiative in Egyptian universities, which His Excellency President El- Sisi offered to students from countries of the Islamic world.
The Minister stressed the need to promote scientific research and invest in youth, as they represent the majority of the population of the Islamic world, stating that hosting of ICESCO’s Year of Youth reflects Egypt’s keenness to support young people as builders of the future, who will lead the way for their countries to join the ranks of developed nations in the coming years.
During the ceremony, a number of videos were screened which focused on a variety of topics, notably ICESCO’s vision on youth issues, Egypt’s efforts to build young capacities and the opportunities it provides to young people across the world to study in Egyptian universities, in addition to the work carried by young people at the Innovation Hubs workshops, which were held prior to the launch of the ICESCO Year of Youth.
The ceremony concluded with an art performance by a choir of young people from the Islamic world in Arabic, English and French, which reflected pride in youth and their ability to defy difficulties in order to build a bright and prosperous future for all.
The Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ICESCO) held a conference themed “Translation and Artificial Intelligence Technology: Translation from and into Arabic as example” on 4 October 2023, in cooperation with the Association of Court Certified Translators of Morocco (ATAJ) in the presence of an elite group of international experts, students and researchers in the field of translation to discuss avenues of fostering the aesthetic and creative dimensions of Arabic translations in digital and non-digital environments, capacity building of young translators, training professionals on machine translation in addition to exchanging experiences in creative translation to improve translation quality.
The opening session initiated with the recitation of verses from the Holy Quran, followed by the address of Dr. Salim M. AlMalik, ICESCO Director-General, which was delivered on his behalf by Dr. Abdelillah Benarafa, ICESCO Deputy Director-General, stressing the conference’s endeavours to outline the challenges of using AI tools to translate from and into Arabic amid ethical concerns about AI’s distortions of meaning.
He further expounded the role of translation in lying bridges of communication between diverse nations and cultures, reiterated the ever-growing need for translation, and highlighted ICESCO’s efforts in translating books and articles in various disciplines related to the Islamic world to convey its civilizational message worldwide.
Afterward, the first session kicked off with an intervention made by Diego Cresceri, CEO of Creative Words, on “Machine Translation and AI: Reality and Challenges”, in which he stressed the need to master AI tools and deal with its limitations. Following, Mohamed Ougamadan, Head of the UN Arabic Department in Geneva, argued that AI helps with quality checking and consistency of translations and comes in handy for languages with low resources and references.
Speaking next, Mr. Smail Ajbaili, Head of ICESCO Translation Centre, reviewed the history and advantages of machine translation in Arabic and attributed its drawbacks to the rich and polysemous nature of Arabic vocabulary. Mr. Abdel-Fattah Al-Hajmari, Director of the Arabization Coordination Bureau, affiliated with the Arab League Educational, Cultural and Scientific Organization, made an intervention entitled “Arabic and the much-needed Human Intelligence”. The subsequent intervention, delivered by Muwafaq Faeq Tawfiq, the first interpreter in Al Jazeera News, stressed that translation is not a mere word-for-word process but bears the intended meaning and context and abides by cultural nuances specific to each language.
The second session, led by experts from the Kingdom of Morocco, the Republic of Lebanon and Malaysia, witnessed rich interventions on the future of simultaneous translation amidst the technological evolution. The panelists were unanimous in their view that machine translation is evolving in terms of speed, quality and accessibility and that it will approach human-level accuracy but is less likely to fully replace translators.
This International Conference culminated with a workshop on machine translation, delivered by Mr. Diego Cresceri, CEO of Creative Words, for the benefit of students and researchers.
A delegation from the Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ICESCO) held several meetings in the capital of Sultanate of Oman, Muscat, with a host of Omani officials to discuss arrangements for establishing ICESCO Chair for Artificial Intelligence Ethics, which will be hosted by the University of Technology and Applied Sciences in the Sultanate of Oman.
ICESCO delegation, consisting of Mr. Mohamed Hedi Shili, Head of ICESCO Legal Affairs and International Standards Department and Dr. Salim Al-Habsi, Programs Manager at the Secretariat of National Commissions and Conferences, initiated its visit to Muscat by holding a meeting with Dr. Saeed Al-Rubaie, President of the University of Technology and Applied Sciences, and a number of officials in the University to discuss the importance of establishing ICESCO Chair for Artificial Intelligence Ethics, and its potential contributions to capacity building, knowledge transfer, skills development, and strengthening linkages between universities and research and innovation institutions.
ICESCO delegation met a team of AI development, affiliated to the Ministry of Transport, Communications and Information Technology of the Sultanate of Oman, to discuss the importance of ICESCO chair and its prospected outcomes of cooperation in the field of ethics in the use of artificial intelligence.
ICESCO’s delegation visit culminated with a visit to Ms. Amna Al Balushi, Secretary-General of the Omani National Commission for Education, Culture and Science, in which the delegation thanked the Committee for its efforts and for acting as a link between ICESCO, stakeholders and institutions in the Sultanate of Oman.
The Science and Technology Sector at the Islamic World Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (ICESCO), in partnership with the Intergen Genetic and Rare Disease Diagnosis Center in Turkey along with several universities from Pakistan, organized ICESCO’s first international workshop on next-Generation sequencing data analysis. The workshop aimed to reinforce capacities in the field of human genome data analysis, utilizing modern and innovative technology, and developing the skills of healthcare professionals in ICESCO Member States in this area.
The workshop, held today, Thursday 28 September 2023, through video conferencing under the theme “Building Tomorrow’s Global Genomic Workforce,” saw the participation of more than 500 participants, including doctors, laboratory technicians, medical university students, and researchers interested in understanding how to process genomic data.
The workshop aimed to provide participants with a solid understanding of next-Generation sequencing data analysis as it represents the future of the medical field and the key to making genomic data practical and readily accessible for utilization in healthcare. Analyzing big datasets in genomic medicine enables researchers and geneticists to dissect the human genome of patients, not only for diagnosing genetic factors causing diseases but also for researching the best approaches to treat them.
In his remark during the opening session, Dr. Raheel Qamar, Head of the Science and Technology Sector at ICESCO, emphasized the importance of supporting “Building Tomorrow’s Global Genomic Workforce” in the era of advanced genomic technologies. Furthermore, he stressed the need to integrate this workforce into precision genomics medicine and scientific research in this field. Dr. Qamar commended the efforts of ICESCO Member States in promoting collaboration in this domain.
On his part, Dr. Serdar Ceylaner from the Intergen Center highlighted the importance of training the workforce in the field of big data analysis for next-Generation sequencing and employing it in healthcare within ICESCO Member States.
Following the opening session, Dr. Haldun Dogan from the Intergen Center led an intensive workshop for the participants, aimed at imparting the knowledge and skills essential for achieving an advanced level of proficiency in next-Generation sequencing data analysis.
Dr. Salim M. AlMalik, Director-General of the Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ICESCO), met Ms. Irina Bokova, former UNESCO Director-General, following their participation in the 12th Conference of Ministers of Culture in the Islamic World, organized by ICESCO, and hosted by the State of Qatar, in Doha, on 25-26 September 2023, with the rallying call “Towards the Renewal of Cultural Action in the Islamic World.”
Dr. Salim M. AlMalik began the meeting by extending his thanks and appreciation to Ms. Bokova for attending as the guest of honor, addressing the Conference’s opening session, and lauding ICESCO’s vision of modernization and openness. Dr. AlMalik reiterated ICESCO’s openness, as part of its new vision and strategic orientations, to cooperate with all stakeholders to serve humanity and contribute to overcoming global challenges in all aspects.
For her part, Ms. Bokova thanked ICESCO Director-General for the invitation to participate in the work of the Conference to get deep insights into the cultural actions of ICESCO and its Member States and stressed her appreciation of the topics discussed during the Conference and the papers submitted by ICESCO General Directorate, which reflect ICESCO’s development and comprehensive future vision.
ICESCO Director-General highlighted key initiatives, programs and projects implemented by ICESCO, in conjunction with the competent authorities in its Member States and in full coordination with the National Commissions for Education, Science and Culture, in the field of building youth’s capacities in technology and innovation, training in leadership for peace and security, supporting women, combatting girls’ school dropout, instilling the values of coexistence and civilizational dialogue as well as ICESCO’s efforts in valorizing and preserving heritage.
Dr. Salim M. AlMalik, Director-General of the Islamic World Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (ICESCO), held a series of meetings with ministers of culture and heads of delegations from several Member States taking part in the 12th Conference of Ministers of Culture in the Islamic World, which was organized by ICESCO and hosted by the State of Qatar, represented in its Ministry of Culture, on 25-26 September 2023, under the theme “Towards the Renewal of Cultural Action in the Islamic World.”
During these meetings, Dr. AlMalik reaffirmed the Organization’s keenness to promote communication with the relevant authorities in its Member States, to take stock of their needs and priorities to devise suitable plans and programs, adding that ICESCO works to strengthen cooperation among its Member States in the cultural field.
On their part, the ministers of culture and heads of delegations lauded the progress, modernization, and openness that ICESCO has embraced, commending its programs and projects aimed at empowering youth and women, training them in leadership for peace and security, capacity-building in innovation, entrepreneurship and modern technology. They also noted with appreciation the cultural strategies that the Organization seeks to implement in collaboration with its Member States, and its efforts to promote the heritage of Islamic world countries.
The Meetings also discussed bilateral cooperation between ICESCO and the Member States and strengthening partnerships for cultural action renewal. During these meetings, Dr. AlMalik received the following officials: Ms. Haifa Najjar, Minister of Culture of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan; Mr. Moammar Al-Eryani, Minister of Information, Culture and Tourism of the Republic of Yemen; Judge Mohammad Wissam Adnan El-Mortada, Minister of Culture of the Lebanese Republic; Mr. K. M. Khalid, Minister of Cultural Affairs of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh; Mr. Atef Abu Saif, Minister of Culture of the State of Palestine; and Mr. Ahmed Abdel-Rahman Mohamed Hassan Siwar Al Dahab, Ambassador of Sudan to the State of Qatar and head of the Sudanese delegation to the Conference.
Additionally, Dr. Mohamed Zinelabidine, Head of the Sector of Culture and Communication at ICESCO, held a meeting with Mr. Hamat Bah, Minister of Tourism and Culture of the Republic of The Gambia, to discuss strengthening cooperation between ICESCO and The Gambia in various cultural fields.
During the closing session of the 12th Conference of Ministers of Culture in the Islamic World, organized by the Islamic World Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (ICESCO) and hosted by the State of Qatar, represented by the Ministry of Culture, ICESCO honored Mr. Najib Rhiati, Cultural Advisor to ICESCO Director-General (DG), and Dr. Ahmed Said Bah, Advisor to the Director-General for Partnerships and International Cooperation and Supervisor of the General Secretariat of National Commissions and Conferences, in recognition and appreciation of their contributions during their tenure with the Organization.
Each honoree received the ICESCO Honorary Shield and a Certificate of Appreciation from Dr. Salim M. AlMalik, ICESCO (DG), Sheikh Abdulrahman bin Hamad Al Thani, the Minister of Culture of the State of Qatar, President of the Conference, and Dr. Hayat Qatat Al-Qarmazi, the Minister of Cultural Affairs of the Republic of Tunisia, the Conference Rapporteur.
Dr. AlMalik underscored that the recognition is an expression of gratitude from the ICESCO General Directorate and all its staff for the outstanding contributions of Mr. Rhiati and Dr. Ahmed Said Bah over the past decades. He noted that their contributions will remain a landmark in the history of ICESCO and cultural action in the Islamic World.
Mr. Najib Rhiati was honored for his dedicated and exemplary efforts over four decades, during which he oversaw several sectors and departments at ICESCO and eventually served as the Cultural Advisor to the ICESCO Director-General.
Dr. Ahmed Said Bah was also honored for his tireless work within ICESCO, which began in the mid-1990s. During this time, he presided over and supervised numerous sectors and departments within the Organization, becoming a role model for enlightened leadership and dedicated work.