Category: News update

Dr. Salim M. AlMalik, Director-General (DG) of the Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ICESCO) received on Thursday, April 29, 2021, at the Organization’s headquarters in Rabat, Mrs. Giovanna Barberis, Representative of the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) in Morocco. The parties discussed ways of developing cooperation between the two organizations, particularly in the field of education.

During the meeting, which several ICESCO’s advisors and heads of sectors and departments attended, Dr. AlMalik pointed out that the Organization has undergone several processes of development and modernization. The changes include ICESCO’s vision, strategy, and action mechanisms.  The Organization also opened up to cooperation and partnership with international organizations in areas of common interest, the DG continued.

Discussions also focused on practical programs, to be jointly implemented, in supporting children and providing quality education and training opportunities, especially for girls and youth. The parties also agreed to hold technical meetings between the UNICEF team and experts from ICESCO’s Education and Human and Social Sciences Sectors to discuss the proposed cooperation programs and plans for their implementation.

Both parties also discussed the possibility of cooperation between UNICEF and ICESCO’s Strategic Foresight Center in conducting studies on the future of children’s education after COVID-19, and in other areas of common interest.

The Director-General (DG) of the Islamic World Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (ICESCO), Dr. Salim M. AlMalik, paid his respects to the Chadian President, Idris Deby, may Allah rest his soul, at the Embassy of Chad in Rabat.

Mr. Mahamat Abdelrassoul, Ambassador of Chad to Morocco, received the Director-General, who expressed his deepest condolences and sympathy, on behalf of all ICESCO employees, to the people of Chad on the death of this great man, who was keen on promoting cooperation and partnership between his country and ICESCO.

The DG also wrote in the Embassy’s Condolences Book, reaffirming that the death of Mr. Deby is a loss, not only to Chad but to Africa and the Islamic world at large. He wrote that the late president was a great leader with a remarkable sense of leadership, wisdom, and vision, who vowed to build and develop the Chadian society, adding that during his rule, Chad scored major progress in the fields of education, science, and culture.

ICESCO mourned the death of the Chadian President in an official statement last week following his death announcement, wherein it commended his dedicated efforts to achieve development in his country and his support for culture and literature.

The Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ICESCO) signed a cooperation agreement with the Moroccan Ministry of National Education, Vocational Training, Higher Education and Scientific Research (the Higher Education and Scientific Research Sector), and the National Center for Scientific and Technical Research (CNRST) in Rabat. The agreement concerns the Award of the “Best Scientific Research on Combating Violence against Women,” which includes five categories, to be granted to the best scientific research works aimed at producing new knowledge or solutions for this phenomenon.

The agreement was signed yesterday, April 26, 2021, at the headquarters of the Higher Education and Scientific Research Sector, in Rabat, in the presence of Dr. Saaid Amzazi, Minister of National Education, Vocational Training, Higher Education and Scientific Research, Chairman of the Moroccan National Committee for Education, Science and Culture; Dr. Salim M. AlMalik, ICESCO Director-General (DG); Dr. Driss Ouaouicha, Minister Delegate to the Minister of National Education; and Dr. Jamila EL Alami, Director of CNRST.

In his address at the signing ceremony, Dr. Amzazi stressed that the Award represents a celebration of scientific research in general and scientific research on arts and social sciences in particular.

“The Award is part of the Kingdom of Morocco’s initiative to combat violence against women, launched on 08 March 2020, under the supervision of Her Royal Highness Princess Lalla Meryem. This initiative reflects the great partnership between the Ministry and ICESCO, and the Organization’s proclamation of 2021 as the Year for Women” Dr. Amzazi underscored.

On his part, Dr. Ouaouicha highlighted the spread of violence against women in our societies, particularly during the lockdown period. “Such situation stresses the importance of this Award which is likely to contribute to combating this phenomenon and finding scientific solutions to it,” he added.

In his address, Dr. AlMalik indicated that the teachings of Islam call for honoring women and combating violence against them, noting that ICESCO is making every effort to grant women their rights. “ICESCO’s proclamation of 2021 as the year of women, under the high patronage of His Majesty King Mohammed VI, is part of these efforts,” he highlighted.

Dr. AlMalik also stated that “this partnership will herald other partnership agreements with universities and research institutions and encourage the establishment of several ICESCO academic chairs. This Award will be the start of similar prizes in other countries of the Islamic World.”

On her part, Dr. Jamila EL Alami said that this Award is the first of its kind at the national level while highlighting its salient stages starting from nominations until the announcement of winners. The participants also took part in the 2021 award ceremony.

According to the agreement, the winners will receive the Award on the 8^th of March of every year, corresponding to the celebration of International Women’s Day. The nominated scientific research works should be:

• Book published in the past five years;
• Thesis published in the past five years;
• Chapter from a book published in the past five years;
• Article published in a scientific journal in the past five years;
• Scientific paper submitted to a scientific event in the past two years.

The scientific research works can be written in Arabic, French, or English. The prize money of the Award is as follows:

• The best book: 30,000 MAD;
• The best thesis: 25,000 MAD;
• The best chapter:15,000 MAD;
• The best scientific article: 15,000 MAD;
• The best scientific contribution: 10,000 MAD.

Based on the recommendations of experts, the Award can be granted to more than one winner in each category.

In a bid to strengthen partnership and cooperation with the National Commissions as part of the participatory and consultative approach that the Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ICESCO) pursues, the General Secretariat of National Commissions and Conferences of ICESCO continues to hold a series of bilateral virtual meetings with the National Commissions for Education, Science and Culture in the Member States.

Talks during the meetings revolve around several topics, namely:

• The priorities, activities, and achievements of the National Commissions.
• The challenges that National Commissions face, and their opinions and future visions.
• Proposals to enhance cooperation and partnership between National Commissions and ICESCO.
• Proposals to develop educational, cultural, and scientific systems post-Covid 19.
• Proposals specific to the ICESCO Year of Women 2021, the empowerment of women, and the preservation of their educational, cultural, scientific and technological rights.

The meetings provide an opportunity for joint reflection, extensive discussion, and exchange of knowledge, expertise, and successful experiences in the Organization’s areas of competence. They also offer a platform for exploring the challenges facing National Commissions and ways to address them and bolstering the roles of the Commissions in the advancement of educational, cultural, and scientific systems in Member States.

The meetings are also an opportunity to enable ICESCO to define the needs and aspirations of its Member States in the Organization’s action areas, taking into account the national, regional, and international issues affecting the sectors of education, science, and culture.

To promote the meetings, the General Secretariat of the National Commissions and Conferences will prepare comprehensive reports that include proposals, recommendations, and concrete outputs for the benefit of the National Commissions and the sectors and centers of the Organization.

The Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ICESCO), the Arab League Educational, Cultural and Scientific Organization (ALECSO), and the Arab Bureau of Education for the Gulf States (ABEGS), held yesterday, April 22, 2021, a videoconference meeting to explore the mechanism for promoting cooperation in laying the basic foundations of a unified forward-looking vision of the educational policies and identifying the priorities for supporting them in the Arab region, particularly in the fields of educational technologies and Artificial Intelligence.

The meeting brought together Dr. Salim M. AlMalik, ICESCO Director-General (DG), Dr. Mohamed Ould Amar, ALECSO DG, and Dr. Abdulrahman Al-Assimi, ABEGS DG, with the participation of some directors and advisors at ICESCO.

In his statement, Dr. AlMalik stressed the importance of cooperation between the three organizations to achieve the strategic objectives of their civilization mission. He also called for strengthening coordination, experience-sharing of future plans, and the development of their partnership mechanisms to promote joint action and implement field programmes and projects to support the sector of education in the Member States.

For his part, Dr. Ould Amar stressed the necessity of adapting the working mechanisms to the current situation and ensuring coordination between the three organizations to facilitate the implementation of projects, rationalize resources, develop programmes with a forward-looking vision, and share the findings of the studies and the recommendations of ICESCO Center for Strategic Foresight. He also called for joining the efforts of the three organizations at the meetings of UNESCO.

Dr. Al-Assimi pointed out “there is no competition between the three organizations. They rather complement each other. Besides, ABEGS is willing to cooperate with ICESCO and ALECSO in the field of strategic foresight and develop joint programmes that serve education in the Member States.”

Dr. Kais Hammami, Director of ICESCO Center for Strategic Foresight, reviewed the objectives of establishing the center as well as its major activities and initiatives since its inception in 2019.

At the close of the meeting, the participants agreed on developing a unified statistics form on the field of education, scientific research and innovation in Arab countries. The Technical Committee will determine the date of the meeting of the National Commissions at their earliest convenience.

The Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ICESCO) and King Saud University (KSU) in Saudi Arabia, signed yesterday, a service contract for cooperation in implementing the project of professional certificates in teaching for the benefit of teachers and educational specialists in the ICESCO Member States.

During a ceremony held via videoconference, Dr. Salim M. AlMalik, ICESCO Director-General (DG), and Dr. Badran bin Abdulrahman Al-Omar, President of KSU signed the agreement with the participation of several directors and officials at ICESCO, and Dr. Abdullah Al-Thabet, Dean of King Abdullah Institute for Research and Consulting Studies (KAI-RCS).

In his address at the signing ceremony, Dr. Al-Malik expressed his satisfaction with the signing of the contract, which heralds great progress for the educational system in the Islamic world countries. The contract also aims to strengthen the education and training sectors with high professional certificates to incentivize teachers and educational specialists in the Member States for productivity, creativity, and development.

The DG also praised the fruitful efforts that the joint working team exerted which led to the institutionalization of the partnership between ICESCO and KSU and the design of the financial offer and marketing plan for the project. He then expressed ICESCO’s keenness to harness all its energies and expertise to ensure the success of the project.

For his part, Dr. Al-Omar stressed that KSU’s contribution stems from its desire to achieve global leadership and excellence in advancing science and knowledge and creating a stimulating environment for learning.

Dr. Al-Omar also stated that the project seeks to improve the quality of education and the level of teachers and adopts a new model of professional development through the professional certification model and expressed his optimism that it will be implemented in compliance with the highest quality standards.

Dr. Al-Thabet, Dean of KAI-RCS, reaffirmed KSU’s keenness on transferring knowledge to all institutions and expressed his pride in choosing KAI-RCS as its representative in the project.

The service contract between ICESCO and KSU provides for cooperation in building a comprehensive system for professional certificates in education and subprogrammes aimed at providing teachers and educational specialists with the necessary competencies in their various fields of specialization to achieve and develop the objectives set out in curricula.

At its initial stage, the project focuses on the specializations most in need in the ICESCO Member States, educational fields (forensic sciences, Arabic for non-Arabic speakers, science, mathematics, instructional computer, social sciences, early childhood, literacy,) and advanced specializations in the educational field such as evaluation, design, and development.

The Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ICESCO) and the Sudanese National Commission for Education, Science, and Culture have signed an agreement to launch the “Project of the Fight against COVID-19 through Supporting Innovation and Entrepreneurship of Women and Youth” in Sudan, as part of the ICESCO-Alwaleed Philanthropies partnership to support the efforts of 10 African countries to counter the adverse repercussions of the pandemic.

The virtual signing ceremony was held Wednesday, April 21, 2021, with the participation of Dr. Salim M. AlMalik, ICESCO Director-General (DG), and Ms. Mariam Assadiq Al Mahdi, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Sudan. Dr. Tamader Al-Tarifi Awad Al-Karim, Deputy Minister of in Education in Sudan, and several directors of sectors and advisors at ICESCO also attended the signing.

In his address at the ceremony, Dr. Salim M. AlMalik reaffirmed ICESCO’s sustained efforts to support its Member States in combating the COVID-19 pandemic, as part of the Organization’s new vision, that adopts promoting communication mechanisms with the Member States and identifying their respective needs and priorities.
The DG expressed his sincere thanks and deep appreciation to ICESCO’s permanent partner, Alwaleed Philanthropies, whose Board of Directors is chaired by His Royal Highness Prince Alwaleed bin Talal Al Saud, for its generous support to ICESCO’s humanitarian and social initiatives to assist 10 African countries, including Sudan.

Ms. Mariam Assadiq Al Mahdi commended ICESCO’s excellent work, in particular the initiatives, programs, and activities the Organization launched and implemented during the COVID-19 health crisis, aimed at strengthening the efforts of Member States to address the negative impacts of the pandemic. Ms. Assadiq Al Mahdi also appreciated Alwaleed Philanthropies’ assistance to Sudan through its partnership with ICESCO.

At the end of the ceremony, the two parties signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on the implementation of the project. The aim is to develop a sense of innovation and entrepreneurship among women and youth in Sudan and support the private sector, entrepreneurs, and small enterprises.
Alwaleed Philanthropies collaborates with a range of philanthropic, governmental, and educational organizations to combat poverty, empower women and youth, develop communities, provide disaster relief, and create cultural understanding.

For four decades, Alwaleed Philanthropies has supported and spent more than 15 billion Saudi Riyals (SAR) and carried out more than 1000 projects in over 189 countries that 10 Saudi female members manage, reaching out to more than 1 billion beneficiaries around the world, regardless of gender, race, or religion.