The training workshop,
co-organized between the Organization of the Islamic World Educational,
Scientific, and Cultural Organization (ICESCO) and the Ministry of Environment
and Sustainable Development of Niger, on capacity building in bankable project
preparation for 15 experts of the Ministry, closed in Niamey, Niger.
During the four-day
workshop, the beneficiaries received the theoretical bases for preparing viable
projects and their application to four project concepts that the Ministry
identified, which will be submitted to the Ministry’s technical and financial
partners.
Mr. Souley Aboubacar,
Secretary-General of the Ministry, and Mr. Ismaila Diallo, Expert at ICESCO’s
Science and Technology Sector, chaired and supervised the workshop,
respectively, as part of the efforts aimed at addressing the lack of expertise
in project feasibility preparation in all areas in Africa.
In an
official international ceremony, the Islamic World Educational, Scientific, and
Cultural Organization (ICESCO) launched its training programme for women and
youth in leadership for peace and security, under the theme: “Women and Youth: Agents
of Peace.” The ceremony saw the participation of high officials and eminent
international personalities in peacebuilding.
The
celebration took place on March 25, 2021, face-to-face at ICESCO headquarters
in Rabat and through a videoconference. The programme is part of ICESCO’s
celebration of “Year of Women 2021,” under the high patronage of His Majesty
King Mohammed VI. The measure aims to train and mobilize young people as actors
of change for peace, citizenship, and resilience, to build the societies we
want and make them true ambassadors of peace in their societies, by equipping
them with the tools of knowledge and leadership through the exchange with
inspiring leaders and expert trainers for a peaceful world.
The
celebration kicked off with a recitation of verses from the Holy Qur’an, which was
followed by the address of the guest of honor of the ceremony, Mr. Ali Bongo
Ondimba, President of Gabon, which Mr. Patrick Mouguiama Daouda, Minister of
National Education, Vocational Training, Higher Education and Scientific
Research, delivered on his behalf, wherein
he commended ICESCO’s work in contributing to the improvement of women’s lives,
stressing the need to provide them with all the necessary support.
He also
pointed out the essential role of women in achieving development as he reviewed
the Gabonese experience in the empowerment of women and the significant
progress the country made towards the crafting of a constitution that enshrines
the principle of equality and exploiting various measures to achieve them.
Mr.
Amadou-Mahtar M’Bow, former Director-General (DG) of UNESCO, then stated that
training programmes for youth and women in the field of peace and security are
urgently needed and that peace is key to achieving development in all its
forms.
In her address,
Mrs. Aisha Buhari, First Lady of Nigeria, welcomed ICESCO’s proclamation of
2021 as the Year of Women, considering it an outstanding initiative that
contributes to strengthening the role of women and supporting progress towards
gender equality. She noted that the focus on youth plays a fundamental role in
creating safe and stable societies.
Mr. Mohamed
Senoussi II, Advocate of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, took
the floor, stressing the importance of the role of youth and women, and
emphasizing that the achievement of gender equality is essential to the
realization of the values of democracy. He also noted that the deprivation of
young people of opportunities makes them elements that contribute to creating a
climate of instability.
In her
address, FIFA Secretary General, Fatma Samba Diouf Samoura, praised ICESCO’s
initiative and its great contribution to building a more equal, peaceful, progressive,
and resilient society. She expressed FIFA’s belief that soccer is a key factor
in combating violence and anchoring tolerance and dialogue.
For her
part, Mrs. Jamila El-Moussali, Moroccan Minister of Solidarity, Social
Development, Equality and Family, praised ICESCO’s quality initiative and its
focus on youth and women and reviewed the Kingdom’s pioneering experience in
involving young women in decision-making, as well as its focus on women and its
efforts to ensure that women can assume their rightful place.
In his address
at the opening ceremony, Dr. Salim M. AlMalik, DG of ICESCO, expressed the
objective of the training programme, most notably highlighting the central role
that youth and women play in laying a solid foundation for peaceful, inclusive,
and cohesive societies.
He added
that ICESCO’s interest in women and youth stems from their ability to make a change
in peacebuilding, considering it an essential condition for achieving
development and that the beneficiaries of the programme will receive a series
of training in several areas, including the concepts of ethical leadership,
capacity building, peacebuilding skills and peace-related best practices, in
addition to networking skills.
The DG of
ICESCO expressed the hope that the beneficiaries, through the acquisition of
these skills, would be able to translate their ideas into concrete projects for
which the Organization could provide seed funding for implementation in their
countries.
The opening
session closed with the screening of a musical film entitled: “The Black
Panther” and a video presentation of the “Class of 2021,” which ICESCO’s Human
and Social Sciences Sector produced.
On Wednesday, March 24, 2021, the headquarters of the Islamic World
Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ICESCO) witnessed the
signing of a cooperation agreement between the Conference of Ministers of Youth
and Sports of La Francophonie (CONFEJES) and another agreement with the
Conference of Ministers of Education of La Francophonie (CONFEMEN). The
agreements stipulate the joint implementation of programs and projects to
integrate the values of peace and citizenship in educational systems and the
field of sports and among youth.
The two agreements were signed, on
behalf of ICESCO, by Dr. Salim M. AlMalik, Director-General of the
Organization, on behalf of CONFEMEN by Dr. Abdel Rahamane Baba-Moussa,
Secretary-General, and on behalf of CONFEJES by Mr. Modibo Traoré, Deputy
Secretary-General.
In his speech during the signing
ceremony, Dr. AlMalik affirmed that ICESCO’s new vision and strategy of action
adopts cooperation with international organizations of common interest, and
through the signing of these two agreements, aims at building a strong
partnership in terms of establishing peace, training youth and girls and
cooperating in developing educational systems in the Member States, in
cooperation between ICESCO, CONFEMEN, and CONFEJES.
For his part, Dr. Abdel
Rahamane Baba-Moussa praised ICESCO’s policy of being open to
organizations that care about youth and education for all and pointed out that
CONFEMEN works to promote the holistic approach of school education, within the
framework of formal and non-formal education, and to integrate education in
marginalized areas. He added that this agreement constitutes a starting point
for major cooperation.
Mr. Modibo Traoré affirmed that
ICESCO’s signing of the cooperation agreement with CONFEJES is the beginning of
broad-based fruitful cooperation. He presented an overview of CONFEJES’
mechanisms of work in the field of youth, sports, and promoting the values of
peace, citizenship, and youth participation.
Dr. Salim M. AlMalik,
Director-General (DG) of the Islamic World Educational, Scientific, and
Cultural Organization (ICESCO), met Mr. Julio Glinternick Bitelli, Ambassador
of Brazil to Morocco, with whom he examined the cooperation between ICESCO and
Brazil in the Organization’s fields of action and the legal procedures required
for Brazil’s joining ICESCO as an Observer State.
The meeting took place on Wednesday,
March 24, 2021, at ICESCO headquarters in Rabat and was attended by many of the
Organization’s sector and department directors. Dr. AlMalik reviewed the main
programs and initiatives currently being implemented by ICESCO, including the
training program for youth and women in leadership in the fields of education,
science and culture, through leadership incubators that ICESCO has launched at
its headquarters, as well as working to support the creation of similar
incubators in the Member States.
The DG of ICESCO reviewed the main
programs and activities implemented in celebration of “ICESCO Year of Women
2021,” proclaimed in honor of women who bear many burdens and have been on the
front line during the COVID-19 pandemic with the high patronage of His Majesty
King Mohammed VI of Morocco. He also noted that this celebration witnessed
high-level participation among first ladies, female figures, and leaders of
international organizations, and was largely circulated in mainstream and
social media.
The meeting discussed legal
procedures for countries joining ICESCO as observers. The Ambassador stressed
the interest of Brazil in this issue to strengthen cooperation with the
Organization and the countries of the Islamic world.
The Ambassador of Brazil in Rabat
welcomed the proclamation by ICESCO of 2021 as the Year of Women, stressing
that it is a distinct concept as women are the pillars of society and play a
major role in all fields. He expressed Brazil’s wish to participate in the
activities that ICESCO intends to undertake in the next phase.
The Islamic World Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (ICESCO) will launch its training program for women and youth in leadership for peace and security, at an international ceremony it will hold on March 25, 2021, face-to-face at its headquarters in Rabat and via videoconference, under the theme: “Women and Youth: Agents of Peace.”
The celebration,
which will begin at 10:00 GMT, is part of ICESCO’s programs celebrating Year of
Women 2021, under the high patronage of His Majesty King Mohammed VI, and will
witness the participation of senior officials, experts and young people from
all over the Islamic world.
For this year’s
ceremony, 30 young leaders, including 17 women and 13 men, will be trained
through a series of webinars that will cover 10 modules related to peace
issues. These young people will form the first group of the ICESCO Network of
Youth and Women for Peace.
The program aims
to train and mobilize young people as a lever for change to achieve peace,
citizenship and resilience, and build the societies we want. It also aims to
make these actors real ambassadors of peace in their societies, by providing
them with the tools of knowledge and leadership, through exchanges with
inspiring leaders and expert trainers for a peaceful world.
The program also
implements ICESCO’s vision of peace, which is characterized by its holistic
approach and takes into account, both in research and action, all the
dimensions aiming at establishing peace, as well as the development of
multi-level initiatives for synergies that produce peace and resilience within
communities.
It should be noted
that the LTIPS / FELPS program is launched in partnership with the Maghreb
Office of UNESCO, the Permanent Secretariat of the G5 Sahel, the Conference of
Ministers of Youth and Sports of La Francophonie (CONFEJES), and the Conference
of Ministers of Education of La Francophonie (CONFEMEN), to promote synergy on
peace issues.
The Islamic World Educational, Scientific,
and Cultural Organization (ICESCO) mourned the passing of His Highness Sheikh
Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Deputy Ruler of Dubai, Minister of Finance of the
United Arab Emirates (UAE), may Allah have mercy on him, who passed away today
24 March 2021.
ICESCO commends the great role that the late Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum fulfilled in supporting culture, literature, and scientific developments, as well as his interest in humanitarian action and keenness for sustainable human development.
The Organization commended the long-standing interest of the late Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid in supporting ICESCO and its civilizational mission by sponsoring many of its programmes and activities, particularly those relevant to education. The list includes the Sheikh Hamdan-ICESCO Award for Volunteering in the Development of Educational Facilities in the Islamic World, which aims at motivating and honoring people involved in voluntary initiatives and charitable work in the field of education.
On this sad occasion, Dr. Salim M. AlMalik,
ICESCO Director-General, on behalf of all the staff members of the Organization,
expressed his sincere condolences to the bereaved family, the people and
government of the UAE and the Arab and Islamic nations on the passing of H.H.
Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum, stating that he learned of his death with
great sorrow and beseeching Allah almighty to rest his soul in peace and grant
him the highest level of Paradise.
With poetic
words and melodious poems and high-level attendees, the major international
celebration “Poets… Wings of Peace,” that the Islamic World Educational, Scientific,
and Cultural Organization (ICESCO) and the Arab Poetry Academy in Saudi Arabia
co-organized, kicked off in celebration of the World Poetry Day with the
participation of many outstanding poets, writers, and specialists.
After the recitation
of verses from the Holy Quran at the beginning of the celebration, held face-to-face
at the Organization’s headquarters in Rabat and by videoconference, the
speakers of the opening session recited poems in praise of poetry and poets.
The speakers also called for attaching due care and importance to poetry, a
literary art rooted in all cultures around the world, and use as a vehicle for
progress that enriches the noble and common human values.
At the
opening session, Dr. Abdelilah Benarafa, Cultural Advisor to the
Director-General (DG), delivered ICESCO’s welcome address followed by the screening
of the video “The Bird of Grey Tales,” which ICESCO produced to celebrate World
Poetry Day. The video touched on the multi-dimensional character of poetry transcending
all walks of life.
Addressing
the audience, the guest of honor, Mr. Mohammed Benaïssa, Secretary-General of
the Asilah Forum Foundation, reaffirmed that poetry is an ancient art rooted in
world cultures, including Islamic culture, and that there is no science or
thought that truly expresses the humans’ inner taste and feelings of beauty
like poetry.
Mr. Benaïssa
thanked ICESCO and its DG for organizing the celebration and recalled that the
Asilah International Cultural Project, which started with poetry and visual art
in Asilah, the city of art and poetry, was first organized in 1978. He also noted
that this project focused on poetry and thus hosted several senior poets, Arabs
and non-Arabs alike.
Speaking on
behalf of the Arab Poetry Academy, Dr. Mansour Al Harthi, praised the ICESCO’s great
cultural role and touched on the Academy’s role in supporting poets, discovering
young poetry talents in different educational stages, and publishing
collections of the best poems that young poets authored.
The famous
poet Mohamed Achaari then recited the poem “Dead Leaves.” In his contribution,
the poet provided a representation of the phases of the consciousness of the
Moroccan poem, poetic tenses. Prior to his recitation, Mr. Achaari delivered an
address wherein he stressed the need to accord a high position to poetry in
one’s life and called on poetry lovers to see poetry as a key development
factor instead of a luxury.
Through his
poem “A Nod in the Poetry Season” which he composed on the occasion, Dr. Salim
M. AlMalik, ICESCO DG, presented his greeting to the attending poets. In the
poem, Dr. AlMalik says: “the scents of beauty are smelt from the poems of poets
on the day of their global celebration; the flowers of ghazal, wisdom
and pride illuminate the darkness of trees of sorrows and anxiety and breathe
the feelings of reassurance, confidence and glamor in souls.”
The opening
session of ICESCO’s celebration of World Poetry Day closed with a musical
performance “muwashahat” by the Moroccan artist Karima Skalli.
Dr. Salim M. AlMalik, Director-General (DG)
of ICESCO, and Dr. Saleh Salim Al-Fakhri, Chairman of the Steering Committee of
the World Islamic Call Society (WICS), discussed today, at ICESCO headquarters
in Rabat, the means to develop cooperation between the two parties in the
fields of education, culture, relief, and humanitarian action.
During the meeting, which several ICESCO
heads of sector and WICS officials attended, Dr. AlMalik reviewed the main
developments and modernization within ICESCO, as well as the main axes of its
vision and new strategy of action which aims to highlight the role and position
of ICESCO at the global level.
The DG explained that the Organization
adopts an open-door approach to countries, organizations, international bodies,
civil society institutions and donors, and the establishment of bilateral
partnerships for the benefit of the Member States and Muslim societies around
the world. He referred to projects that ICESCO implemented to support the
efforts of its Member States to deal with the repercussions of the COVID-19
pandemic, in partnership with donor institutions, and based on the needs and
requirements of each country.
For his part, Dr. Al-Fakhri reviewed the
strategy of action of WICS and its offices established in several African
countries, stressing that it provides support to schools in these countries and
that over the years it has awarded scholarships for many students, many of whom
have obtained masters and doctorates.
The meeting addressed the areas proposed to
develop cooperation between the two parties, including education, culture,
medical caravans, and other programs. The parties affirmed their desire for
constructive cooperation within the framework of a partnership agreement based
on implementation programs and projects with tangible results.
ICESCO participated today in the first
international academic symposium on the Arabic language, under the theme:
“Contributions of academic institutions to teaching Arabic to non-Arabic
speakers: experiences and aspirations.” The Sultan Abdul Halim Muadzam
Shah International Islamic University in Malaysia organized the event remotely,
in cooperation with the Faculty of Languages of Al-Madinah International
University, with the participation of researchers and specialists in teaching
Arabic to non-Arabic speakers.
Dr. Magdy Haj Ibrahim, President of the
Arabic Language Center for Non-Arabic Speakers, represented ICESCO at the
symposium, where he gave a lecture on the Centre’s contributions to the
advancement of Arabic, as well as an overview of the Center established under
the new organizational structure of ICESCO.
The President talked about the main
objectives and tasks of the Center, including the provision of educational and
academic services and technical advice for the benefit of the competent
authorities, institutions and personnel in the field of the Arabic language for
non-Arabic speakers inside and outside the Islamic world.
Dr. Magdy also reviewed the main programs
and activities of the Center, as well as its digital achievements launched as
part of the global « ICESCO Digital Home » initiative. It includes the
initiative of the open digital program “Learn Arabic, master it at home,”
for the benefit of non-Arabic speaking Arab students, the “Languages of
Africa, bridges of culture and history” initiative, aiming at raising
awareness of the use of the languages of African peoples written with Arabic
character, and the “Zidni ‘Ilman” initiative for the benefit of
teachers and pedagogical managers working in the teaching of Arabic, as well as
the “Bayan” competition for expressive creativity in Arabic.
Dr. Salim M. AlMalik, Director-General (DG) of the Islamic World Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (ICESCO), received Ms. Vasylieva Oksana Yurievna, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Ukraine to Morocco. They discussed cooperation prospects between ICESCO and Ukraine in the fields of education, science, and culture, as well as Ukraine’s membership to the Organization as an observer.
During the meeting, which took place at the headquarters of ICESCO today, in the presence of several directors and experts of the Organization and the Consul General of Ukraine in Rabat Dr. AlMalik underlined that ICESCO adopts more communication and openness, not only with its Member States but also with non-Member States. The Organization also adopts an open-door policy with international organizations and bodies and civil society institutions, and builds partnerships and cooperation for the benefit of Member States and Muslim societies around the world.
More than two million Muslims live in Ukraine enjoying their full rights, with independent
institutions that represent them before the Ukrainian government. The cooperation in the fields of education, science, and culture would augur well to the new strategic vision the Organization is espousing towards achieving its goal for the benefit not only of its Member States but ideally to ICESCO Observer States as well.
The Ambassador of Ukraine praised the remarkable work that ICESCO accomplished and thanked the DG for his invitation to attend many of the Organization’s rich activities, stressing her country’s desire for more cooperation with ICESCO and the countries of the Islamic world.
