Category: News update

The Islamic World Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (ICESCO) is taking part in the High-Level Futures Literacy Summit organized by the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) via videoconference from December 8 until December 12. The objective is to provide practical solutions to overcome global challenges by foreseeing the future. The Summit brings together several ministers from different countries, the representatives of international organizations, and more than five thousand people from all around the world.

Dr. Salim M. AlMalik, ICESCO Director-General (DG), participated in the Summit’s high-level plenary session on Tuesday. In his address, Dr. AlMalik recounted two important milestones in his career that revealed to him the significance of the future. The first occurred when he began his career as a pediatrician and the second happened when he was elected as DG of ICESCO. He also revealed his vision of the future in his early life.

“I used to see the future as a space for harmony and common humanity. I was and am still looking forward to a bright future for humanity,” Dr. AlMalik underscored.

ICESCO Center for Strategic Foresight also participates in UNESCO’s Summit with a virtual pavilion, under the supervision of Dr. Kais Hammami, Director of the Center, to have direct contact with the participants throughout the Summit. The purpose is to introduce the Center’s goals, which consist of developing a space for discussion and exchange of ideas, promoting a culture of foresight to build a better future, and preparing strategic studies to develop the fields of education, science, technology, and culture. The Center reviews its programs and projects on the pipeline, most notably ICESCO’s Future Laboratory, which will be equipped with cutting-edge AI technologies and will attract experts from all around the world to conduct future studies to hopefully find concrete solutions to current issues.  The Laboratory will also develop a unified AI dictionary, in partnership with multiple prestigious universities inside and outside of the Islamic world.

Dr. Salim M. AlMalik, Director-General (DG) of the Islamic World Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (ICESCO), called for seizing the opportunity that the COVID-19 pandemic offered to carefully reflect and join efforts on multiple emerging issues that require new consensus. The DG enumerated emerging issues such as stem cell research, genetic engineering, and artificial intelligence. He said that the crisis has opened new horizons that humanity has never explored, and we should be able to grasp them and build a new consensus on them.

The statement was part of the academic paper Dr. AlMalik presented during his participation in the 7^th “Forum for the Promotion of Peace in Muslim Communities.” The videoconference kicked off on Monday and the event will last for a three-day period under the theme: “Human Values After Corona: Reviving Virtues in a Time of Crisis,” under the auspices of H.R.H. Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of the United Arab Emirates. Ministers, representatives of governments and international organizations, religious leaders, high-level personalities, and hundreds of thinkers, academics, and researchers also participated in the event.

The DG made his academic presentation into two parts. The first section diagnosed the humanitarian and health crises the world is currently experiencing. He warned that those who trade in tragedies have turned the sufferings of many societies into a profitable business so that global corporations can make fortunes at the expense of the poor and needy. He also cited the example of the vaccine war between laboratories and producing companies, which has caused a loss of confidence and raised suspicions among many people around the globe about the effectiveness of these vaccines.

Dr. AlMalik devoted the second part of his presentation to the importance of federating efforts to solve new problems related to future technology crises. The DG pointed out in the section that the world is on the verge of a revolution that will shape the political, social, cultural systems, and even ecosystems. Unless there are monitoring and regulation of future innovations that impact human nature, we will inevitably be left behind in the course of history, he continued.

Dr. AlMalik stressed that we must re-examine the complex reality in close collaboration with scientists, researchers, and designers of modern technologies throughout the world, to rationalize scientific research and artificial intelligence. He added that both concepts should serve humanity and their supreme interests while remaining under their close control.

ICESCO DG stressed that the globalization of legislation poses a major challenge, as the impacts of contemporary technology are no longer limited to a specific geographical area.  He added that if we do not keep ourselves abreast of these changes in humanitarian efforts going beyond all laws, we will be limiting our reactions and discussions on past issues and disputes.

At the end of his presentation, Dr. AlMalik called for in-depth knowledge, collective diligence, and working closely with scientists and researchers in these new fields to understand the effects and transformations that will enable taking proactive decisions.

Dr. Salim M. AlMalik, Director-General (DG) of the Islamic World Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (ICESCO), held yesterday, a videoconference with H.E. Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, former Brazilian President, President of Lula Institute. The meeting explored cooperation prospects between ICESCO and Lula Institute, which deals with cooperation between Brazil, Africa, and Latin America, and focuses on social development and education issues.

ICESCO and Lula Institute considered cooperation proposals in the field of education, particularly in Africa. The two parties also explored partnering in holding workshops, symposia, and conferences, as well as joint action to develop effective solutions to several social and humanitarian issues that affect African countries. The proposals also included inviting international organizations and bodies to develop a constructive cooperation with ICESCO and Lula Institute in this regard.

The two parties also agreed that ICESCO would develop the proposed cooperation programs and projects to be adopted. ICESCO and Lula Institute will strive to provide the necessary funding for implementing these activities in the neediest countries and achieve the desired outcomes.

The former President of Brazil participated in the International Virtual Symposium that ICESCO held last September, under the theme “Education and the Societies We Want Initiative,” which brought together several education ministers of ICESCO Member States as well as international specialists and experts in the field.

Dr. Salim Al-Malik, Director-General (DG) of the Islamic World Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (ICESCO), received yesterday, Ambassador Sheikh Salim Bin Suhail Al Maashani, head of the International Organizations Department at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Sultanate of Oman, during the Ambassador’s visit to ICESCO. The two parties discussed areas of cooperation and the distinguished relations between the Organization and Oman in the fields of education, science, and culture.

During the meeting, Dr. Al-Malik outlines ICESCO’s vision and action strategy, which is based on further communication with the Member States and designing action programs and activities to meet the needs and priorities of each country. The Organization also follows an open-door policy to non-Member States, international organizations, and institutions and establishes partnerships to benefit the ICESCO Member States and Muslim communities all over the world.

ICESCO DG referred to the Organization’s major initiatives, programs, and activities to support Member States in countering the adverse effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. He also reviewed ICESCO’s international conferences and symposia, which resulted in high-level participation from heads of state and government, eminent international figures, and specialized experts.

The meeting explored ways to develop cooperation relations between ICESCO and the Sultanate of Oman, especially in educational, heritage, and scientific projects. The parties also explored the historical and present role of the Sultanate of Oman in promoting civilizational dialogue and strengthening cultural relations between peoples.

The two sides agreed to continue the coordination and consultation on jointly organizing regional and international conferences and forums in areas of common interest in Oman.

The Islamic World Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (ICESCO) and the UN World Food Programme signed a strategic cooperation in the implementation of a set of programs and projects in several countries. The projects and programs span sustainable school feeding through conducting studies to determine the food situation in beneficiary countries, provide them with equipment, and strengthening capacities through learning from the expertise of developed countries in the field of food and nutrition.

Dr. Salim M. AlMalik, ICESCO Director-General (DG), and Ms. Fatimata Sow Sidibé, Head of the World Food Program (WFP) Office in Tunisia and Morocco, signed yesterday, December 2, the agreement at ICESCO headquarters in Rabat, in the presence of several heads of sectors and departments from both organizations.

In his address at the signing ceremony, Dr. AlMalik lauded the great role the WFP played as the largest humanitarian organization in the world in fighting hunger and ensuring food security. He also pointed out that it was high time for a cooperation between ICESCO and the WFP to permanently secure feeding to students, especially those living in difficult circumstances.

The DG added that the signing comes after a joint ICESCO-WFP study to identify the objectives and prospects of cooperation, namely the implementation of a strategic nutrition surveillance system, capacity-building, and an innovative social, technological, and organizational model for school feeding programs.

Ms. Sidibé expressed pleasure with the signing of the partnership agreement being the first of its kind. She added that the agreement will lead to constructive and impactful cooperation setting the groundwork for developing new legal mechanisms to allow other regional institutions and offices the opportunity to cooperate with ICESCO.

Ms. Sidibé also said that the WFP is proud of the efforts, deployed at a record time in cooperation with ICESCO, to reach the agreement to carry out a strategic nutrition program and promote the foresight culture for preparing the leaderships of tomorrow.