Category: News update

The Director-General (DG) of the Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ICESCO) called for allocating resources to support Member States’ efforts to recover from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, especially with regard to education, science, culture and development. He also called for supporting their efforts to fight poverty, anchor the values of moderation and middle stance, support the youth and women, protect children, provide educational opportunities for refugees and displaced persons, safeguard heritage, develop cultural industries and keep up with the new AI roles, future education models and virtual applications of societal services in general.
 
The DG made this statement at the opening of the Sixth Partnership Forum of the Organizations  ICESCO, the Arab League Educational, Cultural and Scientific Organization (ALECSO), and the Arab Bureau of Education in the Gulf States (ABEGS), held today, Wednesday, October 20, 2021, both face-to-face at ABEGS headquarters in Riyadh and via videoconference. The meeting was held under the theme, “Organizations’ post-COVID-19 vision and plans to address emergencies and crises” and saw the participation of Dr. Abdulrahman Al-Asmi, ABEGS DG, Dr. Mohamed Walad Amar, ALECSO DG, and the Secretaries-General of the National Commissions for Education, Science and Culture in the Arab countries. 

Dr. AlMalik highlighted the major initiatives and programs that ICESCO launched and implemented during the pandemic, underscoring that the three international organizations should exert more efforts to sustain communications and promote partnerships to expedite the rate of achieving sustainable development in their respective Member States. 
At the close of his address, the DG stated that the meeting should yield joint initiatives between the three organizations to support Member States’ efforts to recover from the pandemic, adding that the three parties should agree on funding mechanisms for implementing these initiatives.  He also conveyed ICESCO’s invitation to host the next meeting at its headquarters in Rabat, reiterating the Organization’s strong support for educational, scientific and cultural systems in the Member States. 

In his address, Dr. Asmi stated that although it has caused a myriad of challenges in various sectors, the pandemic encouraged innovation in developing alternative solutions to classroom education and highlighted the importance of having pre-existing plans to ensure the continuity of education. He added that this meeting is a step towards exploring future prospects, managing and finding solutions for crises, and an opportunity to benefit from the organizations’ experiences and work during the pandemic. 

For his part, Dr. Mohamed Walad Amar talked about the initiatives that ALECSO launched to contribute to the continuity of the educational process during the pandemic, which has an impact on the various aspects of life and imposed virtual communication. The ALECSO official also highlighted several training sessions implemented to ensure the continuity of education. 

Ms. Mahra Hilal Mohd E. Almutaiwei, Director of the UNESCO Regional Center for Educational Planning, highlighted the importance of complementarity and coordination among international organizations to achieve sustainable development and allocate resources to develop education. For his part, the Director of UNESCO Regional Center for Quality and Excellence in Education, Dr. Abdeulrahman Al-Diress, stated that it is imperative to anticipate the future of education and find innovative solutions to challenges. 

Afterward, representatives from the three organizations presented the respective visions of ICESCO, ALECSO, and ABEGS, which all agree on anticipating the future and adopting technology in addressing crises and emergencies. Several Secretaries-General of Arab National Commissions also talked about the importance of promoting cooperation and partnership between the three organizations. 

At the close of its proceedings, the meeting issued many recommendations, which represent a roadmap for promoting cooperation and set mechanisms for joint action to ensure the attainment of shared goals through this partnership. 

The Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ICESCO) took part in the launch ceremony of Crans Montana Forum Africa, held in Rabat, on Monday, October 18, 2021, in partnership with Crans Montana Forum and i-conferences, which specialized in organizing conferences in Europe, with the participation of many African ambassadors. The forum will target the African continent during the post-Covid-19 period.

ICESCO delegation to the launch ceremony included Dr. Abdelilah Benarafa, ICESCO Deputy Director-General (DG); Ambassador Khaled Fathalrahman, Director of the Civilizational Dialogue Center; and Dr. Ahmed Said Bah, Advisor to ICESCO DG for Partnerships and International Cooperation. 

Crans Montana Forum Africa aims to create a platform for dialogue to link the African countries and give top priority to the efforts geared towards countering the economic repercussions of Covid-19 pandemic on the African continent. The Forum will hold its first session on June 30 through July 2, 2022, in Brussels, Belgium.

Crans Montana Forum is an international non-governmental organization, founded in 1986. Its primary objective consists of promoting international cooperation by consolidating the best practices and establishing permanent dialogue between the public and private sectors.

I-conferences is among Morocco’s international partners, specialized in holding major economic conferences in Africa since 2004.

Dr. Salim M. AlMalik, Director-General (DG) of the Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ICESCO) held a meeting with Dr. Pascale Ehrenfreund, President of the International Astronautical Federation (IAF) and the International Space University (ISU) to discuss cooperation opportunities in the field of space science and applications. 

During the meeting, held Friday, October 15, 2021, via videoconference, the two parties discussed the joint creation of an ICESCO chair at the International Space University to promote scientific research in the field of space science and applications and provision of training opportunities for space science students and researchers in the Arab world, as well as the organization of seminars, conferences, and training sessions in the field of space science and applications. 

Dr. AlMalik reaffirmed that the Organization’s programmes and activities support the development of research institutes and centers in the Arab world through the involvement of young people in the field of space science and encouragement of ICESCO Member States to introduce space science and technology into school and university curricula. He added that space science will shape the future, therefore, states should promote the use of space applications to keep pace with modern developments. 
For her part, Dr. Pascale Ehrenfreund stressed the importance of cooperation between ICESCO, the Federation and the University, particularly in organizing fora, activities and training workshops on space science, and expressed her pleasure about taking part in the joint Space Foundation/ICESCO Global Space Forum to be held on November 1-3, 2021, under the theme “Exploring the Space Science Future – Together.”

The meeting was also attended by Dr. Raheel Qamar, Head of ICESCO Science and Technology Sector, Dr. Muhammad Sharif, Advisor at the Sector, Dr. Abdul Rehman, Expert at the Sector; and Dr. Nicolas Peter, Professor of the Practice in Space Policy and International Affairs at the International Space University. 

The Headquarters of the Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ICESCO) commenced on Thursday, October 14, 2021, the launch of ICESCO International Think Tank for Thought, Letters and Arts, under the theme, “Culture for Rethinking the World,” with high-caliber participation of number ministers, intellectuals, university presidents, professors and specialists in the fields of culture and arts.

The launch of the Think Tank is part of the year-long ICESCO International Open Days, which will be hosted by several universities, research centers, and cultural institutions in several countries.

Dr. Salim M. AlMalik, ICESCO Director-General (DG), gave the opening address to the launching ceremony wherein he stated that the Think Tank is open to prominent scholars, researchers, intellectuals, and creators across the globe, as it is a platform that embraces cultural and human sciences as the backbone of its approach to understanding the unfolding political, educational, social and economic phenomena.

The DG stressed the need to adopt integrated cultural policies in the Islamic world countries that are based on a digital cultural economy and invest in AI. He added that ICESCO adopts many innovative international art and science projects for 2021 in the fields of letters and publishing, in addition to its program to preserve and promote heritage, inscribe cultural sites, promote cultural diplomacy, rights and governance, foster cultural civil society, and develop the Islamic World Cultural Capitals.

In her virtual address, Dr. Inas Abdel Dayem, Minister of Culture of Egypt, highlighted the role of culture in human growth, supporting the values of tolerance, love, and dialogue, and rejecting hate and discrimination. She stressed the importance of promoting cultural heritage with a view of achieving sustainable development goals, adding that the Arab Republic of Egypt prides itself on its diverse cultural heritage. As for Sheikha Mai Al Khalifa, President of the Bahrain Authority for Culture and Antiquities, she stated that culture keeps the world connected, describing culture as a means to address challenges, promote societies, anchor tolerance, and support development in the quest of achieving prosperity.

In his address, Mr. Mohamed Damir, Vice President of Ibn Tofail University in Morocco, hailed the launch of the Think Tank given that culture is a lever of bringing peoples and nations together. He also commended ICESCO’s support for the universities of the Islamic world and the trust it places in Ibn Tofail University to create the ICESCO Chair for Comparative Letters and Arts. For her part, Dr. Youma Fall, Minister Advisor to the President of Senegal, underscored the need to create cultural relations to promote the values of coexistence, openness to others, and respect cultural diversity among peoples through building bridges of dialogue.

Dr. Mohamed Zinealabidine, Head of ICESCO Culture and Communication Sector, gave a presentation on “ICESCO Roads towards the Future Program,” noting that ICESCO’s Think Tank embodies the Organization’s desire to spread culture and art-based dialogue and communication in the hope for building a better world.

Following the opening session, the Culture and Communication team at ICESCO gave presentations in the first academic session on “ICESCO’s Network of International Digital Platforms of Culture, Arts and Heritage, “Creative ICESCO.” The second academic session saw the participation of several professors who discussed the importance of ICESCO’s Thought, Letters and Arts Chairs Program in some prominent universities in the Islamic world.

The academic sessions featured audience questions, discussions and proposals relating to ICESCO’s cultural vision.

Dr. Salim M. AlMalik, Director-General (DG) of the Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ICESCO), met Dr. Said bin Mohammed al-Bar’ami, Ambassador of the Sultanate of Oman to the Kingdom of Morocco, to discuss cooperation between ICESCO and the Sultanate in the fields of education, science and culture.

During the meeting, held on Thursday, October 14, 2021, at the Embassy of the Sultanate of Oman in Rabat, Dr. Al-Malik expressed his deep appreciation for Oman’s valuable support to ICESCO. He also reviewed a set of projects and programs that ICESCO launched and implemented for the benefit of Member States, in general, and the Sultanate of Oman, in particular, as well as the future programs to be implemented in smart partnership with the competent authorities in the Sultanate of Oman.

For his part, Mr. Al-Bar’ami stressed the importance of the relationship with ICESCO, indicating the willingness of the Omani authorities to support ICESCO’s projects, particularly the forward-looking and civilizational ones.

The two parties agreed to implement an action plan that reflects the scale of the relationship between ICESCO and the Sultanate of Oman.

Dr. Salim M. AlMalik, Director-General (DG) of the Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ICESCO), received Mr. Sylver Aboubakar Minko Mi-Nseme, Ambassador of Gabon to Morocco. The two parties discussed the outcomes of Dr. AlMalik’s and ICESCO delegation’s official visit to Gabon on October 4-7, 2021, and the latest developments concerning joint programs and activities explored and agreed upon with senior Gabonese officials.

At the beginning of the meeting, held at ICESCO headquarters in Rabat, on Wednesday, October 13, 2021, the DG expressed his appreciation to the Gabonese Government for the warm reception during his visit to Gabon and the fruitful meetings with the Prime Minister and other Gabonese ministers, which culminated in an audience with the President of the Gabonese Republic, His Excellency Mr. Ali Bongo, at the Presidential Palace in Libreville.

Dr. AlMalik reaffirmed that the joint programs and activities discussed during the official visit will be shortly implemented, noting that a delegation of experts from the ICESCO Culture Sector will visit Gabon in a few days to organize a training workshop for heritage professionals on preparing nomination files for the inscription of heritage sites and cultural elements on heritage lists. He added that another delegation from ICESCO Center of Arabic for Non-Arabic Speakers will visit Gabon to agree on the establishment of a regional center for Arabic teaching in Gabon.

For his part, the Ambassador of Gabon in Rabat thanked ICESCO Director-General for his visit to Libreville, emphasizing that it marks a new beginning for cooperation between Gabon and ICESCO. This partnership received significant attention from officials who are keen to engage constructively with the Organization in various fields.

At the close of the meeting, the two parties stressed the importance of sustained communication between ICESCO and Gabonese stakeholders to identify their priorities and needs and devise programs and activities accordingly to achieve the intended outcomes of the partnership.