The Director-General (DG) of the Islamic World Educational Scientific
and Cultural Organization (ICESCO), Dr.
Salim M. AlMalik, received Mr. Oktay Sudef Oglu Gurbanov, Ambassador of
Azerbaijan to Morocco, with whom he examined the progress of several
cooperation projects between the Organization and Azerbaijan.
During the
meeting, held on Monday at ICESCO headquarters in Rabat, the two parties
discussed ICESCO’s proposal to name Susha the 2022 Islamic World Culture Capital
for the Asian region. Dr. Al Malik explained that the Organization will take
the necessary measures according to the ICESCO Program of Islamic World Culture
Capitals.
The two parties
also examined the travel arrangements for the ICESCO technical team visit,
which includes international experts, to visit the heritage sites in
Nagorno-Karabakh and assess the extent of damages they sustained. The technical
team, who is ready to
conduct the visit at a time convenient to both sides, will also work closely with the Azerbaijani side to draft a plan
for the sites’ restoration or reconstruction.
The meeting touched upon arrangements to open a regional office for
ICESCO in Azerbaijan as part of the celebration of Susha as Islamic World
Culture Capital for 2022. The meeting also covered the prospects of
strengthening cooperation between the two parties as well as Azerbaijan’s
support for ICESCO’s initiatives and projects.
Dr. Abdelilah
Benarfa, ICESCO Deputy DG; Dr. Mohamed Zine El Abidine, Head of the Culture and
Communication Sector at the Organization; Ambassador Fateh Al-Rahman, Head of
ICESCO Civilizational Dialogue Center and Dr. Ahmah Said Ould Bah, Advisor to ICESCO DG
for Partnerships and International Cooperation, attended the meeting.
The ICESCO and the Ministry of Environment, Water and Agriculture
of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, represented by the National Center for
Environmental Compliance, held a coordination meeting to discuss the final
arrangements for launching the 3rd Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Award for
Environmental Management (KSAAEM) 2021-2022 and the measures of holding the 9th
Conference of Environment Ministers in the Islamic World in Jeddah in 2022.
Dr. Salim M. AlMalik, ICESCO Director-General (DG), and Eng. Ali
bin Saeed Al-Ghamdi, CEO of the National Center for Environmental Compliance
co-chaired Monday, July 12, 2021, the meeting, held via videoconference.
Several ICESCO heads of sectors and Center officials also attended the meeting.
During the meeting, the two parties discussed the implemented
recommendations of the previous meeting held on February 10, 2021, on
developing the Award. The parties also agreed to launch the 3rd
Edition during the month of July, which will feature three categories, namely:
Successful Research Works, Achievements and Practices; Leading Practices and
Activities of Public Benefit Associations and NGOs; and Environmentally
Friendly and Green Cities.
The two parties agreed to add another category in the edition, to
celebrate women’s leadership in environmental work, in line with ICESCO’s
proclamation of 2021 as the Year of Women. In this category, three awards will
be dedicated to women in the main areas of environmental management, namely:
Women Award for Successful Research Works, Achievements and Practices; Women
Award for Leading Practices and Activities of Public Benefit Associations and
NGOs; and Women Award for Leadership in Private and Public Sectors.
The meeting discussed arrangements of joint action to prepare for
holding the 9th Conference of Environment Ministers in the Islamic
World in Jeddah in 2022.
The Islamic
World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ICESCO) has launched a
new program entitled: “Women Pioneers Around the World,” as part of the
activities of ICESCO Year of Women 2021 being carried under the theme “Women for
the Future,” which was honored by the high patronage of His Majesty King
Mohammed VI of Morocco.
The program
hosts an elite of pioneering women in the Islamic world in various fields,
including ministers, officials in international organizations, writers, media
professionals, and women leaders. The women review in short videos (capsules)
their experiences and views on the importance of the leading role that women
should play in shaping the future and the importance of adopting plans and
strategies to develop the skills of girls and women to enhance societies’ resilience
in the face of crises.
The program
aims to create a network of influential women to emphasize the importance of
joint dialogue under the current conditions that the Covid 19 pandemic triggered
off and to raise awareness about future challenges. The goal is to carry a
radical transformation regarding the importance of involving women in embracing
and adopting future tools and those of the Fourth Industrial Revolution.
The videos
will be broadcast on ICESCO channels, pages, and accounts on social media,
starting Monday, July 12, 2021.
Dr. Salim M. AlMalik, Director-General of the Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ICESCO), will participate on August 2021 in the 36th session of the Space Forum, held annually by the American Space Foundation since 1984 in the State of Colorado, USA. This event is considered the first American Forum for the discussion of space policies and programs and the discovery of the latest developments in this field.
The Director-General will be a keynote speaker at the Forum, which will bring together a large number of leaders, decision-makers, and all sectors of the space community from several spacefaring nations, as well as space agencies, commercial space companies, cyber-security companies, federal government agencies and organizations, and the state governments of the U.S. Also participating will be R&D centers, educational institutions, space entrepreneurs, private spaceflight service providers, companies involved in the adaptation, manufacture or sale of space technologies for commercial use, in addition to specialized media.
The Forum’s agenda includes the discussion of many important topics, most notably a “forward-looking agenda,” as well as a wide range of parallel activities, including an exhibition on the latest innovations in space and major advances in space technology, from nanotechnology to spacecraft, with the participation of over 200 exhibitors.
For the record, ICESCO and the American Space Foundation are bound together by ties of close cooperation for the promotion of space sciences and programs in the Islamic world, as part of ICESCO’s new vision and strategy to raise awareness of the importance of space sciences and technologies and the huge potential offered by their technological applications to achieve sustainable development. The two parties co-organized the 1st International Forum on “Space Science: Importance, Challenges and New Opportunities in the Space Industry and the Islamic World” on 10 June 2021 under the theme: “Innovators of Tomorrow,” which was attended by an elite space program managers and experts, scientists and astronauts from around the world.
The Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization
(ICESCO) took part in the 8th Ministerial Conference of the
Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) on Women, which was opened by H.H. Mr.
Abdelfattah El-Sisi, President of the Arab Republic of Egypt, today, Thursday 8
July 2021, at the new Administrative Capital. The Conference saw the
participation of Dr. Youssef bin Ahmed Al-Othaimeen, OIC Secretary-General, and
a host of ministers in charge of women affairs in the OIC Member States.
The Conference, which was held under the high patronage of
President El-Sisi, under the theme “Preserving the Achievements of Gender
Equality and Empowerment of Women in the Lights of the COVID-19 Pandemic and
Beyond,” featured the launch of the Women’s Development Organization (WDO) at
its permanent headquarters in Egypt. The WDO will be the first international
organization, within the framework of the OIC, specialized in promoting and
protecting women’s rights in all OIC Member States. Ms. Hélène Marie Laurence,
Minister of Women, National Solidarity and Family in Burkina Faso, President of
the 7th Session of the Conference, handed over the presidency of the
8th session of the Conference to Dr. Maya Morsy, President of the
National Council for women in Egypt.
ICESCO was represented by a delegation including Ms. Sally Mabrook,
Director of the Office of ICESCO Director-General, and Ms. Zineb Iraqi,
Supervisor of ICESCO General Secretariat of National Commissions and
Conferences. The ICESCO representatives gave an overview of ICESCO’s vision and
strategy on supporting women and promoting their roles in achieving sustainable
development. The representatives also highlighted key activities the
Organization implemented in close cooperation with the ICESCO Member States and
several strategic partners in the areas of education, culture and science,
focusing on activities carried out as part of ICESCO’s proclamation of 2021 as
the Year of Women, which was granted the high patronage of His Majesty King
Mohamed VI of the Kingdom of Morocco.
The Conference issued a resolution highly commending ICESCO’s
initiative to proclaim 2021 as the Year of Women and called on OIC organs and
institutions to follow the steps and cooperate with ICESCO.
With the
framework of the activities of the celebration of Doha as the Arab Region’s
Capital of Islamic Culture for 2021, being held under the theme “Our Culture is
Light,” which is part of the cultural capitals program of the Islamic World
Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ICESCO), the Ministry of
Culture and Sports in the State of Qatar announced the opening of registration
for the Challenge and Innovation Forum (CIF) that Qatar Scientific Club will organize,
on 9-11 November 2021, under the slogan “With The Mind, We Untie The Knots.”
The Forum will bring
together young innovators and inventors from around the world. It includes several
interactive scientific competitions and programs, which aim at promoting
Qatar’s role in supporting science and innovation locally and internationally. The
forum will constitute an opportunity for young innovators and inventors from
different countries to exchange knowledge and expertise. It will contribute to
attracting the attention of the international community to learn more about the
latest developments in the fields of innovation and modern technologies.
The competition
is based on the participation of all the registered innovators, who will showcase
their individual inventions during an exhibition that will be held in the first
two days of the event. CIF includes two major competitions (Invention
Exhibition and Hackathon) over a whole week with international participation. Besides,
there are individual and group competitions for young people to enhance their talents
in the fields of invention, innovation and manufacturing.
Afterward, the
innovators will be divided into groups to participate in the Hackathon to be
held in the last two days of the forum, which will also include other activities,
such as the exhibition of interactive intelligence devices, and workshops to
attract and motivate young people to engage in science and innovation.
People desiring
to participate in the Forum can register, during the period from 7 July to 30 August
2021, via the link below:
The Islamic World Educational, Scientific
and Cultural Organization (ICESCO) has signed a joint Memorandum of Understanding
with Hewlett-Packard (HP), Classera and Mirai for cooperation in implementing
education programs in the countries of the Islamic world, aiming to build a new
educational model that will support distance learning, contribute to the
development of the digital transformation process in education and promote
digital education.
The memorandum was signed by Ambassador Khaled Fathalrahman, Supervisor of the Partnerships and International Cooperation Sector at ICESCO, Mr. Salah Ouardi, Director General of HP Morocco, Mr. Mahmoud El-Gabry, Director of International Partnerships at Classera, and Ms. Christine Carlin Nasser Qudsi, Co-Director of Mirai.
The MoU aims to provide a set of teaching
materials to develop skills in information culture and to provide systems for
managing the learning process, information systems for students, a digital
library, and virtual solutions. It also aims to develop digital teaching and learning,
and strategies for mastering distance learning.
The provisions of the MoU include
cooperation in achieving the common goals through several means such as exchanging
of information and experiences between the different parties, sharing expertise
in training, improving national educational data systems in the ICESCO Member
States, as well as providing models for optimal experiences and establishing
development centers for digital transformation in the Member States.
The Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization
(ICESCO) participated in the Regional Workshop on Capacity Building of Teacher
Policy Development in Africa that the United Nations Educational, Scientific
and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) held, on Wednesday (7 July 2021), via videoconferencing, in
cooperation with UNESCO International Institute for Capacity Building in Africa
(IICBA) and the International Task Force on Teachers.
The workshop aimed to enhance the participants’ knowledge concerning
the process of teachers policies development and ways to improve the relevant efforts,
provide various useful resources and tools, create a platform for educational
specialists in regional offices and other stakeholders to share the best
practices and challenges when providing technical support for developing teacher
national policies.
During this workshop, Dr. Barry Koumbou, Head of Education Sector
at ICESCO, reviewed the experiences and efforts of ICESCO in supporting the African
countries to develop their educational systems. She pointed out that education
systems in Africa today face challenges of quality, governance, and financing.
Dr. Koumbou called for developing teacher policies in Africa in a
gender-sensitive manner, stressing the importance of developing effective
mechanisms for collecting information and statistics relevant to teachers, and providing
the necessary funding for education while ensuring sound management and
commitment to transparency and good governance. Besides, she called for taking
care of refugees, women and people with disabilities without bias or
discrimination.
Moreover, Dr. Koumbou stressed the need to build the capacity of
teachers according to new ICTs methods, taking into account the African
cultures, including history, art, poetry, literature, languages and customs.
In cooperation with the Ministry of Haboos and Islamic Affairs of
the Kingdom of Morocco and the Library of Al-Qarawiyyin University, the Islamic
World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ICESCO) is hosting, at
its headquarters in Rabat, a first of its kind exhibition of rare historical
manuscripts spanning various fields of knowledge and featuring a treasure trove
of Al-Qarawiyyin University Library’s most prized possessions.
The exhibition, which opens today, Wednesday 7 July 2021, features
more than 20 rare manuscripts including a copy of the Holy Quran in the Kufi
Script without dots or diacritical marks, which dates back to the third century
A.H.; an Arabic version of the Gospel of Luke from the fifth century A.H.; and Kitab
Az-Zohd by Abu Daoud As-Sejestani. The exhibition also displays Al-Hidaya
Fi Tawhid by Al-Qadi Al-Baqalani; Al-Muwattaa by Yahya bin Mohamed
bin Abbad Al-Lakhmi, which dates back to the sixth century A.H.; Al-Mukhtassar
Al-Fiqhi by Abu Musaab Al-Zahri; Al-Jamiaa Al-Sahih by Muhammad bin
Ibrahim; Al-Bayan Wa Tahssil by Ibn Rushd Al-Jadd, a copy made for the
Sultan; Jarru Ath-Thayl Fi Ilm Al-Khayl by Jalal Dine As-Sayuti; and the
Book of Ethics by Aristotle. Likewise, the exhibition includes a manuscript on
astronomy that was written by Ptolemy and translated by Al-Farabi, in addition
to a selection of knowledge treasures in various fields including religious
sciences, astronomy, medicine, philosophy, and history authored by prominent
science and intellect figures from the Islamic world and abroad.
The exhibition is open to visitors, concurrently with the ICESCO
Scientific Symposium on the release of the First Volume of the Encyclopedia of
Deconstructing Extremist Discourse. The Symposium was held in cooperation with
the Mohammadia League of Scholars of the Kingdom of Morocco, as part of the
Framework Partnership Agreement between ICESCO and the League aiming to
intellectually shield the Muslim youth against the different forms of extremist
and hate discourse in the Islamic world and beyond.
On the sidelines of the exhibition, a team specializing in
manuscript restoration from the Manuscript Restoration Lab at Al-Qarawiyyin
University will give a practical demonstration to visitors on the latest trends
in manuscript restoration using advanced technology.
Al-Qarawiyyin Library in Fez is one of the oldest heritage libraries
in Morocco. It was established in 750 A.H. and has been subject to numerous restoration
and repair operations. The library has maintained its key role in the fields of
science and knowledge, making it a reliable destination for researchers and
students. Its collection has been enriched by Sultans, princes, and scholars who
donated rare and invaluable books.
With high-level participation of officials, diplomats, intellectuals,
scholars and specialists in combating extremist ideology, the Islamic World
Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ICESCO) and the Mohammadia
League of Scholars, on Wednesday (7 July 2021), launched the first volume of
the Encyclopedia on Deconstructing the Discourse of Extremism, entitled “Deconstructing
the intellectual backgrounds of the discourses of extremism,” which is part of
the partnership agreement between ICESCO and the League, for protecting Muslim
youth from the various forms of the discourse of extremism and hatred inside
and outside the Islamic world.
ICESCO presented the first volume during a major scientific
symposium, at its headquarters, in Rabat, which began with the recitation of
verses from the Holy Qur’an; then Dr. Salim M. AlMalik, ICESCO Director
General, gave a welcome address wherein he reaffirmed that terrorism has become
a worrisome phenomenon that obscures the major goals of our existence, which
consist in peacebuilding, calling for strengthening this value to become a source
of inspiration by spreading peace to become a central concept.
Besides, Dr. AlMalik noted that the Organization and the League
issued this encyclopedia to invest in all the scientific efforts made in
addressing the misinterpretations of religious texts to serve as a reference
for researchers, scholars, university institutions, research centers,
specialized observatories and international organizations to address the
effects of extremism around the world.
Dr. Ahmed Abbadi, Secretary-General of Mohammadia League of
Scholars, gave the main lecture, wherein he stated that the encyclopedia aims
to protect young people from the discourse of extremism as well as other related
concepts. “The encyclopedia is based on the idea that religion aims to develop secure
societies. The first volume of this encyclopedia is an introduction to the fundamental
concepts of the complex phenomenon of extremism, while the second volume deals
with the tools for deconstructing the discourse of extremism. The third volume
takes into account the nature of the current reality. Moreover, there is a
conflict between the real and the digital world. Thus, it is essential to have an
expert in the digital field for countering the extremist ideology because its
promoters are strongly active in the digital space,” he underscored.
Afterward, the participants and attendees expressed their views during which Dr. Driss Fassi Fihri, Al-Qarawiyyin University Vice-President, stated that deconstructing extremist discourse entails identifying the components under which radical ideas are being disseminated.
Mr. Mohammed Ben Ayed, Ambassador of Tunisia to Morocco, noted that Islam, a religion of moderation and middle stance, urges people to use reason. “Extremism is an extremely complex and dangerous phenomenon that can severely impact humanity. The encyclopedia touches upon the different aspects of such phenomenon,” added Mr. Ben Ayed.
For his part, Dr. Ahmad Sennouni, Assistant Secretary-General of
Mohammadia League of Scholars, praised the encyclopedia as it provides a
detailed description of the changes Muslim communities have undergone and has a
clear vision for deconstructing extremist discourse. While Dr. Farida Zoumroud,
a Member of the Executive Board of Mohammadia League of Scholars, explained
that criticism is one of the most important means to countering extremism since
extremists usually seek religious pretexts for their acts through
misinterpretation of texts. She also added that the encyclopedia strives to
correct some misconceptions for deconstructing extremist discourse while
analyzing its psychological dimension.
Dr. Abdelilah Benarafa, ICESCO Deputy Director-General, moderator
of the Symposium, noted that Islamic civilization is the source of science and
knowledge. “Understanding Arabic language and the connotations of the word
“terrorism” is a key element to deconstructing extremist discourse; Al-Munjid
dictionary was one of the first dictionaries to include the word terrorism back
in 1960,” he added.
At the close of the symposium, Dr. AlMalik delivered a closing
address wherein he praised all the efforts that contributed to bringing the
encyclopedia into existence and thanked all the attendees and participants. He
also noted that the Organization works toward incorporating the concept of
peace into the primary level educational curriculum, which will be part of its
recommendations during conferences and meetings with Member States’ education
ministers.
