The ICESCO Center of Strategic Foresight took part in the European Commission’s lecture series “Foresight Talks” during which Dr. Kais Hammami, Head of the Center, gave a lecture, today, Thursday, October 14, 2021, via videoconference, on “Islam and Foresight: The Idea of Foresight in Islamic Culture.”
Dr. Hammami’s lecture addressed the importance of the concepts of time and future in the Islamic culture and provided a linguistic, conceptual, and ideological analysis of the role of the foresight concept in the Arab-Islamic culture as reflected in the Arabic language’s richness in terms related to vigilance, anticipation, and foresight. He added that such a role is also embodied in the Islamic world’s cultural approach to strategic studies, as well as in the interest that various Arab and Muslim philosophers accord to this field.
The ICESCO official stated that the ICESCO’s Center of Strategic Foresight is cooperating with research centers across the globe as part of the Organization’s vision to promote the culture of foresight in its Member States and support their efforts to achieve sustainable development, address the challenges of modern society, and exchange knowledge among various centers and experts.
The “Foresight Talks” lecture series brings together several experts in the field of strategic foresight and the development of policies and mechanisms that encourage its implementation.
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.
The Education Sector of the Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ICESCO) participated in a meeting on the theme “Between Rabat, Al-Quds and Gaza” that Bayt Mal Al-Quds Agency of Al-Quds Committee held at its headquarters in Rabat, and through videoconference, with Al-Quds University in Al-Quds and Al-Azhar University in Gaza. The meeting aims to support the education sector in Palestine.
During this meeting, held on Thursday, October 14, 2021, Dr. Muhammad Salem Al-Sharqawi, Director-in-charge of Bayt Mal Al-Quds Agency, gave the opening address, with the presence of Mr. Jamal Al-Shobaki, Palestinian Ambassador to Morocco, and the participation of the Vice-President of Al-Quds University, the Director of the Center for Jerusalem Studies at Al-Quds University, the Acting Chairman of the Board of Trustees of Al-Azhar University in Gaza, the General-Director of Hassan II Institute of Agronomy & Veterinary Medicine in Rabat, and the Dean of Hassan II Faculty of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences under Al-Azhar University in Gaza Strip.
Dr. Youssef Abou Daka, Programs Director at ICESCO Sector of Education, represented the Organization in this meeting.
The meeting announced a call for tender to select the best research projects on topics related to Al-Quds’ current situation, history, religious and cultural heritage as well as Moroccans’ ties with this sacred city. In addition, 10 new scholarships will be awarded to students from Al-Quds, as well as grants to pay the tuition fees for 84 students at King Hassan II Faculty of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences under Al-Azhar University in Gaza Strip. Moreover, Hassan II Institute of Agronomy and Veterinary Medicine in Rabat and Al-Azhar University in Gaza – Hassan II Faculty of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences signed the supplementary cooperation framework agreement.
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.
The Center for Civilizational Dialogue of the Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ICESCO) held a meeting with the Ukrainian Dialogue and Communications Center to discuss the prospects and mechanisms for cooperation between the two parties in the field of civilizational dialogue.
At the beginning of the virtual meeting, held on Tuesday, October 12, 2021, Ambassador Khaled Fathalrahman, Director of ICESCO Center for Civilizational Dialogue, Supervisor of Partnerships and International Cooperation Sector at ICESCO, reviewed the objectives and vision of the Center to promote the concept of civilizational communication. The measure is part of the overall vision of ICESCO, based on foresight, promoting youth issues, and meeting the aspirations of Muslim communities outside the Islamic world.
Ambassador Fathalrahman also pointed out the convergence of the visions of the ICESCO Center for Civilizational Dialogue and the Ukrainian Dialogue and Communications Center. He stressed that cooperation between the two parties would contribute to the achievement of joint objectives by suggesting practical solutions to civilizational differences, consolidating the concept of cultural diplomacy, and introducing young people to civilizational diplomatic action.
Dr. Imad Abu Alrub, Head of the Ukrainian Dialogue and Communications Center, reviewed the environment of civilizational dialogue in the Republic of Ukraine, explaining that the State Administration for Ethnic Minorities and Religious Freedom is the supreme authority overseeing various religious institutions. He also added that the Ukrainian Dialogue and Communications Center is the mediator between the Muslim community in Ukraine and the said Administration.
Dr. Abu Alrub made a presentation on the objectives of the Center, which consist in promoting community peace, consolidating the culture of coexistence, rejecting hatred, and reducing intellectual disputes among Muslims themselves and with other religions. He also reviewed a set of the Center’s activities such as the First Conference of Religious Dialogue in Ukraine and symposia bringing together Ukrainian, Arab and minority young people.
At the close of the meeting, the two parties agreed to exchange partnership proposals to sign a memorandum of understanding and hold a meeting next week for the finalization of the partnership.
The Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ICESCO), will launch ICESCO International Think Tank for Thought, Letters and Arts, under the theme, “Culture for Rethinking the World.” The Think Tank will be launched on Thursday, October 14, 2021, with high-caliber participation including several ministers, university presidents, professors and specialists in the field.
The launch ceremony will kick off at 09:00 UTC (10:00 Rabat Time), face-to-face at ICESCO headquarters and via videoconference. The event is part of the year-long ICESCO International Open Days, which will be hosted by a number of universities, research centers and cultural institutions in several countries.
The launch aims to publicize the Think Tank, which operates in cooperation with 100 intellectual and university professors who are to publish their papers via the Think-Tank’s ICESCO-Agora Digital Platform in five languages, namely Arabic, English, French, Spanish, and German. The platform is an international open-source digital platform that brings together a host of scientists, researchers, and intellectuals from the East, West, Asia, and Africa. It has so far published 58 articles and 36 books.
The Think Tank aims to promote the work of many digital platforms as part of “ICESCO Roads for the Future Project,” establish contact between intellectuals across the globe and focus on culture and science as a knowledge pillar and a steppingstone for understanding the current political, educational, social and economic phenomena. It also seeks to render culture and knowledge a key lever for humans in light of the unfolding digital transformation and embrace a new cultural and creative approach likely to ensure linguistic and intellectual diversity.
The opening sessions will kick off with the address of Dr. Salim M. AlMalik, ICESCO Director-General, and will saw the participation of Dr. Inas Abdel Dayem; Minister of Culture of Egypt; Sheikha Mai Al Khalifa, President of Bahrain Authority for Culture and Antiquities; Dr. Youma Fall, Minister Advisor to the President of Senegal; Mr. Michel Menga M’Essone, Minister of Culture and Arts of Gabon; and Dr. Mohammed Zarrou, Dean of the Faculty of Languages, Letters and Arts, Ibn Tofail University, Kenitra, Morocco.
The opening session will be broadcasted live on ICESCO’s official Facebook page, via the link:
The Culture and Communication Sector of the Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ICESCO), held on Monday (October 11, 2021), a virtual meeting with Sheikha Hala bint Mohammed Al Khalifa, Director-General of Culture and Arts Directorate at Bahrain Authority for Culture and Antiquities (BACA), to discuss prospects for cooperation between ICESCO and BACA in culture and heritage.
The meeting touched upon the mechanisms for developing cooperation between the two parties and the need for coordination on the celebration of the International Day of Islamic Art on November 18, through a set of programs and activities.
During the meeting, Dr. Mohamed Zine El Abidine, Head of Culture and Communication Sector at ICESCO, highlighted the axes of cooperation with BACA within the framework of ICESCO’s Roads for the Future and ICESCO Creative.
ICESCO celebrated for the first time the International Day of Islamic Art last year, following UNESCO’s adoption of November 18 of each year as an international day to celebrate Islamic art based on the proposal of Bahrain.
The ICESCO Center of Arabic for Non-Arabic Speakers took part, via videoconference, in the 7th National Conference on Arabic Language in Indonesia that the State University of Malang organized, under the auspices of the International Association of Arabic Language Departments. The Conference was held, Saturday, October 9, 2021, under the theme “Indonesia’s Creativity and Innovation in Arabic language teaching in the COVID-19 Era.”
The event saw the participation of Dr. Youssef Ismaili, Expert at the ICESCO Center of Arabic for Non-Arabic Speakers, who delivered the third main lecture of the opening session on the Center’s initiatives to advance Arabic language learning and enhance its global status, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic. He also talked about ICESCO’s “Bayan” Award for Creative Expression in Arabic 2021 and ICESCO Prize for Women’s Poetry “Poem of the Year of Women 2021,” calling on Indonesian educational institutions to encourage Arabic language students to participate in the Organization’s contests and activities, and encourage experts and researchers to participate in ICESCO’s “Zidni ‘Ilman” educational series.
Dr. Ismaili also discussed the Organization’s project consisting in publishing a series of specialized studies in the field of teaching Arabic to non-Arabic speakers as part of ICESCO’s endeavors to advance scientific and educational research, leverage expertise, and exchange successful experiences among researchers in this field.
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.
