Category: News update

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.

ICESCO Center of Arabic for Non-Arabic Speakers held a meeting with the Moroccan National Coalition for Arabic Language, to discuss prospects for cooperation in implementing an array of programmes and activities in the field of teaching Arabic for non-Arabic speakers.

During this meeting, held on Thursday, October 7, 2021, at ICESCO headquarters, in Rabat, the two parties discussed the importance of joint action in advancing the Arabic language and enhancing its global status. They also considered the implementation of various joint programmes, most notably international symposia and training workshops for Arabic language teachers, as well as the publication of specialized studies in the field of teaching Arabic for non-Arabic speakers.

The two parties agreed on a set of administrative procedures to jointly develop the action plans and prepare a draft memorandum of understanding.

The meeting brought together Dr. Majdi Haji Ibrahim, Head of ICESCO Center of Arabic for Non-Arabic Speakers, and Dr. Youssef Ismaili, Expert at the Center; as well as Dr. Fouad Bou Ali, President of the Coalition, and Fatima Houssaini, Vice-President of the Coalition.

The Coalition is a non-governmental private coordination unit bringing together over 300 associations involved in the promotion of Arabic. The Coalition seeks to coordinate among stakeholders to highlight the role of Arabic in consolidating civilizational and religious identity.

His Excellency Mr. Ali Bongo, President of the Gabonese Republic received Dr. Salim M. AlMalik, Director-General (DG) of the Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ICESCO), on Wednesday, October 6, 2021, at the Presidential Palace in Libreville, in the presence of the Prime Minister, the Minister of Education, the Chief of Cabinet, and several advisors in the Presidential Cabinet.

At the outset of the meeting, the Gabonese President welcomed ICESCO DG, commending the Organization’s keenness to build fruitful cooperation with the Gabonese Republic in its fields of competence as part of the Organization’s development and modernization.

During the meeting, Dr. AlMalik highlighted the main programs and activities of the Organization in light of its new vision and strategy underpinned by greater communication with the Member States to identify their priorities and needs and devise programmes and implementation plans accordingly.

The DG noted that ICESCO launched and implemented various initiatives and programmes to support its Member States in facing the negative reverberations of the Covid-19 pandemic, particularly in the African countries which receive special priority.

Dr. AlMalik then briefed the Gabonese President on the areas of cooperation between ICESCO and Gabon, which were explored during his meetings with the Prime Minister and other Gabonese ministers, as well as the programmes aimed at young people, girls and vulnerable groups.

The meeting also touched upon multiple cooperation proposals, such as the organization of Member States’ First Ladies Conference on Gender Equality and Women Empowerment, jointly between ICESCO, the Gabonese Ministry of Social Affairs, and Silvia Bongo Foundation, which is chaired by the First Lady of Gabon.

The meeting also reviewed multiple initiatives, including the establishment of an Arabic language teaching center in the Gabonese Republic, and the implementation of a training program for Gabonese Imams, in cooperation with the Gabonese Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs, and ICESCO’s partners, most notably the Muslim World League and Mohammadia League of Scholars.

The meeting was the culmination of the DG’s official visit to the Gabonese Republic, during which he met with senior officials and agreed upon developing cooperation ties between ICESCO and the Gabonese Republic in different fields through the joint implementation of practical programs and activities with the Gabonese competent parties.