Category: News update

As part of the strategic partnership between the Islamic World Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (ICESCO), the Muslim World League and the Rabita Mohammedia of the Ulemas, the follow-up team representing the three organizations convened on Friday, February 26,  2021. The goal of the meeting was to prepare for the International Conference on the Civilizational Values in the Seerah (Biography) of the Prophet (PBUH), which the organizers plan to hold in mid-Shawal 1442 H, (May 2021).

The team was briefed on the progress of the “Encyclopedia on Deconstructing Extremist Discourse,” the first volume of which is devoted to “Deconstructing the Intellectual Contexts of Extremist Discourse” has been completed.

The team also reviewed the progress in the preparation of the guides for immunization against extremist discourse in the form of an integrated pedagogical kit of approaches and guidelines. This work is due to be completed shortly.

Dr. Abdelilah Benarafa, Cultural Advisor to the Director-General of ICESCO, Ambassador Khalid Fatalrahmane, Director of the Department of Dialogue and Cultural Diversity, and the two Deputy Secretaries General of Rabita, Dr. Abdessamad Ghazi, Head of the Center for Observation and Prospective Studies, and Dr. Mohamed Al-Muntar, President of the Center for Quranic Studies attended the meeting at ICESCO’s headquarters in Rabat.

The Islamic World Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (ICESCO), on Tuesday, February 23, 2021, concluded its two-day training session on strategic foresight in service of decision-making, held at its headquarters, in partnership with the Konrad Adenauer Stiftung Foundation.

The second day of the training featured the lecture of Dr. Kais Hammami, Director of Strategic Foresight Center of ICESCO, wherein he reaffirmed the importance of foresight as a baseline towards a better future. He also stressed the need for opening up to the field, particularly in the Islamic world. The first day explored and discussed the participants’ ideas and opinions.

The participants were divided into small groups for practical work, sharing ideas and proposals on developing various future scenarios, developing scientific foresight mechanisms, and highlighting the importance of detailed information on such scenarios for decision-makers in various fields.

  At the close of the training, 60 students from the Faculty of Law, Economics, and Social Sciences of Mohammed V University and the Institute of Advanced Studies of Rabat (HEM) as well as the interns, who are spending their training period at ICESCO’s Sectors and Departments as part of the leadership training programme, received certificates of participation.

The training session is part of the programme of the Strategic Foresight Center, which aims to hold similar training sessions for students and staff of universities, companies, and civil society institutions in Member States on decision-making in their areas of action. The measure is in line with the new vision of ICESCO, which is based on the culture of pro-action and capacity-building to anticipate the future, particularly with the COVID-19 pandemic that has proved the efficiency of foresight in addressing changes.

The training session on strategic foresight in service of decision-making  kicked off today, February 22, 2021, at ICESCO headquarters. The Islamic World Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (ICESCO) and Konrad Adenauer Foundation are holding the two-day session.

The session benefits 60 students from the Faculty of Legal, Economic and Social Sciences at Mohamed V University and the Institute for Management Higher Studies (HEM), in addition to young interns at ICESCO. The event falls under the program to support, build the capacities of young people, and provide them with leadership training in the fields of education, science, culture, and communication.

During the opening session, Dr. Abdelilah Benarafa, Cultural Advisor to ICESCO Director-General, underscored that the Organization works towards building a new generation of young men and women in the field of foresight in service of decision-making, noting that foresight should become a risk prediction tool and a vessel for finding solutions to future problems and challenges.

Dr. Ali Seghrouchni, HEM Director, stated that strategic foresight has played a vital role during the COVID-19 pandemic and has proven crucial in our globalized ear. Speaking next, Dr. Mohamed Saber Hussainat, Professor at the Faculty of Legal, Economic and Social Sciences, expressed his thanks to all organizers, stating that the current session is only the beginning of a series.

Ms. Nuhaila Boukili, Representative of Konrad Adenauer Foundation, said, at the session’s opening, that our lives are changing and we must all learn about foresight, expressing her hope for the continuity of these sessions.

During his presentation, Dr. Kais Hammami, Director of the Center for Strategic Foresight at ICESCO, and the session’s moderator, highlighted the Center’s goals including fostering the culture of foresight and encouraging studies in the field, promoting strategic diplomacy, and setting monitoring mechanisms. He reaffirmed that recent studies have shown that nations’ progress and civilizational prosperity cannot be achieved unless we look forward towards the future, stressing the significance of this type of training for professionals in the Islamic world, especially in light of the challenges facing countries. 

The training session is part of a program that the Center for Strategic Foresight at ICESCO launched, which aims at holding similar training sessions for the benefit of universities, enterprises, and active parties in Member States’ civil societies to train professionals and students in their respective fields of work. The training sessions are in line with ICESCO’s new vision, which is based on anchoring the culture of anticipation and building the capacities of individuals as well as institutions in the field of foresight, given its importance as a tool for facing change, as reaffirmed by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Islamic World Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (ICESCO) took part in the high-level panel, which the King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Centre (KSRelief) held via videoconference, under the theme “Recruited Children: Victims, not Soldiers”. KSRelief held the panel in celebration of the International Day against the Use of Child Soldiers, with the participation of Dr. Abdulah bin Abdulaziz Al-Rabiaa, KSRelief General Supervisor, and Mr. Fillipo Grandi, UN High Commissioner for Refugees, in addition to a number of UN organizations’ representatives and a host of experts. 

Mr. Mohamed Hedi Shili, Director of the Department of Legal Affairs, and Dr. Ahmad Said Bah, Advisor to ICESCO Director-General (DG) for Partnerships and International Cooperation represented the Organization. Mr. Shili discussed the mechanisms to protect children against the dangers of recruitment, particularly promoting human rights education, integrating the principles of human rights in school curricula, and reintegrating child recruits in society. He listed other mechanisms such as abiding by the Principles of Cape Town and Paris on the protection of child soldiers in armed conflicts, especially with regard to planning for supporting child release and reintegration. 

The ICESCO official commended the KSRelief project to rehabilitate child recruits and children impacted by the armed conflict in Yemen, which has benefitted 530 Yemeni children. He also presented a number of programs and projects that can be implemented in partnership between ICESCO and the Center, especially in light of the growing numbers of child recruits around the world, whose number is estimated at 300,000 child soldiers, 80% of them are from the Islamic world and all are between the ages of 7 and 18.

At the close of the panel, the participants issued a number of recommendations reaffirming the significance of the international celebration of the International Day against the Use of Child Soldiers to shed light on the phenomenon and support the global community to joint efforts in rehabilitating child soldiers under the umbrella of the Office of the Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict.

The participants also recommended pooling and orienting joint action to ensure the abidance by the International Human Law and the other relevant international legislations such as the Convention on the Rights of the Child and its Optional Protocols, particularly the Optional Protocol on the Involvement of Children in Armed Conflicts.

The Headquarters of the Islamic World Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (ICESCO) saw on Thursday, February 18, 2021, the signing of a partnership agreement between ICESCO and the University of Lahore (UOL) in Pakistan. The agreement provides for cooperation in project implementation promoting the quality of higher education, granting scholarships to students from the ICESCO Member States, and supporting scientific research in the Islamic world.

Ambassador Khalid Fath Al-Rahman, Supervisor of the Department of Partnerships and International Cooperation, signed the agreement on behalf of ICESCO and Mr. Awais Raoof, UOL’s Chairman of Board of Governors, signed the agreement on behalf of the University in the presence of several heads of ICESCO sectors and university representatives.

In his address at the signing ceremony, Dr. Rahil Qamar, Director of the Sector of Science and Technology at ICESCO, gave an overview of ICESCO’s new vision regarding the sector of science and technology, and the programmes that the Organization launched to build the capacities of scientists in the Islamic world. He also talked about ICESCO’s school grants and the announcement of ICESCO’s Prize for Innovation in Science and Technology.

Mr. Raaoof underlined the importance of joining efforts to promote research and innovation in the Islamic world. He expressed the University’s readiness to cooperate with ICESCO in areas of mutual interest, particularly in providing scholarships for students from the ICESCO Member States and holding training sessions for women leaderships in scientific fields as well as in other areas.

The agreement provides for supporting student exchange between universities, encouraging scientific research and technological innovation, and promoting joint research projects between universities and research centers in the Islamic world. It also provides for granting 20 scholarships to students at different higher education levels to study at the UOL; holding joint workshops, and supporting joint programs in the ICESCO Member States.