Category: News update

     In celebration of the World Arabic Language Day, the Islamic World Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (ICESCO) is organizing a major cultural, educational, and scientific fair. The event is ICESCO virtual International Conference on Arabic Language on 21 December 2020 under the theme: “Arabic Language: Foresight in a Changing World. “

The conference’s main guest H.R.H. Prince Khalid Al-Faisal bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Advisor to the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, Governor of Makkah Al-Mukarramah Area, and the guest of honor, Prof. Ameenah Garib Fakim, former President of Mauritius, will open the celebration with a keynote address.

The Conference will bring together a group of ministers and heads of several Arabic language academies, universities, international organizations, specialized bodies and centers, distinguished experts and researchers from the Arab world, Europe, Africa, North America, Central Asia, and Southeast Asia.

Held in cooperation with King Abdulaziz University in Saudi Arabia, UNESCO, the Cultural Attaché Office at the Embassy of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in Rabat, and Al-Akhawayn University in Morocco, the Conference aims to develop forward-looking visions for Arabic language promotion. The conference also aims to open communication and coordination channels between Arabic language academies, academic institutions, and specialized international organizations, enhance the roles and status of the Arabic language at the international level, facilitate the access of the Arabic users from digital technology, and preserve the integrity, vitality of Arabic and ensure it keeps abreast of change.

The Conference’s agenda features the following themes: The future roles of scientific institutions for the advancement of the Arabic language; Arabic language academies: an absolute necessity; the future of the Arabic language in educational systems; the opportunities of Arabic language in the era of the fourth industrial revolution; and digital applications in aid of the Arabic language.

During the celebration, visual and artistic exhibitions will highlight the roles ICESCO plays at the international level to spread the Arabic language among non-Arabic speakers and encourage non-Arabic-speaking students to use it in their educational activities and their creative and artistic work.

The decision to celebrate the World Arabic Language was made in 2012, after Morocco and Saudi Arabia submitted a proposal, during the 190^th session of UNESCO Executive Council, in commemoration of the day. The United Nations General Assembly then issued Resolution No. 3190 in December 1973, whereby Arabic became one of the six official working languages ​​of the United Nations.

The celebration and the conference will be broadcasted live via the official Facebook page of ICESCO, at the link:

https://www.facebook.com/icesco.en

The Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ICESCO) held yesterday, December 17, a training workshop on Strategic Planning for Decision-Making, in Fez, Morocco, with the cooperation of Konrad-Adenauer Foundation to benefit the Master’s program students at the Euro-Mediterranean University.

The two-day workshop is part of ICESCO’s Strategic Foresight Center program aimed at organizing similar sessions to train ICESCO Member States’ universities, enterprises, and civil society institutions on decision-making in the beneficiaries’ areas of work.  These sessions are in line with the guidelines of ICESCO’s new vision, which aims to anchor the culture of anticipation and building the capacities of both individuals and institutions, a role that proven to be vital during the COVID-19 pandemic as a tool to address change.

Dr. Kais Hammami, Director of the Strategic Foresight Center, oversaw the workshop, which saw the participation of students from the departments of Human and Social Sciences and Entrepreneurship at the Euro-Mediterranean University. The workshop focused on defining strategic foresight and its major theories, expounding on ways how to use the discipline in the various fields of knowledge and scientific research. The workshop also provided an overview of the mechanisms and tools that can be used to fight and overcome future challenges.

The Islamic World Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (ICESCO) held on Thursday, December 17, a consultative meeting with several officials from prominent universities and institutions in China and Pakistan. Talks focused on discussing the proposal to create ICESCO Center for Civilizational Dialogue and exploring ways of cooperation in the field of intercultural and interfaith dialogue.

Ambassador Khalid Fathalrahman, Head of the Department of Dialogue and Cultural Diversity, and Dr. Sidra Tariq Jamil, Communication Expert at the Department, represented ICESCO in the videoconference. Dr. Fang Zhaohui from the School of Humanities at Tsinghua University; Dr. Muhammad Naeem Khan, Vice-Chancellor of University of Baltistan- Shardu- Pakistan; and Dr. Naeem Omar Tarar Executive Director of the Center for Culture and Development – Islamabad, attended the talks.

The meeting also saw the participation of Dr. Jin Qiang, Professor and Postgraduate Supervisor of the Department of Editing and Publishing at the School of Journalism and Communication at Hebei University- China; Mr. Mansoor Shams, Term Member of the Council on Foreign Relations in the United States of America; Dr. Zhang Yang, CEO of Nanchang Yiguan Information Consulting Service Co., and Professor at Nanchang University- China.

 Other participants included Dr. Rosen Wang, Director of New Media at China Cultural Exchange Network, Director of Global Silk Road Cultural Association and Director of AI Development Workshop of Tsinghua University- China; and Dr. Zakir Husain, Director of Academics, University of Baltisan.

Dr. Sidra presented to participants an overview of its current direction and achievements, before giving the floor to Ambassador Fathalrahman.  The Ambassador briefed the participants about the ICESCO Center for Civilizational Dialogue and explain its vision, goals, and areas of focus. The ICESCO official stated that the Center adopts the open-door policy that ICESCO embraced in its new vision and will include international experts specializing in the field.       

The participants discussed possible areas of cooperation with ICESCO and exchanged ideas and suggestions. They also reaffirmed the pivotal strategic role that the Center for Civilizational Dialogue could assume.

The Islamic World Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (ICESCO) and the Imam Maturidi International Scientific Research Center of the International Islamic Academy of Uzbekistan, signed on December 17, a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to promote cooperation between the Organization and the Center. The MoU covers cooperation in the academic, scientific, research, training, and cultural fields through the implementation of multiple projects and programs.

Amb. Khaled Fathalrahman, Head of ICESCO’s Department of Dialogue and Cultural Diversity, and Dr. Duranbek Maksudov, Director of the Imam Maturidi International Scientific Research Center, signed yesterday, the MoU during the International Conference that the Center held on its future plans. The virtual conference brought together several officials and religious leaders from Uzbekistan and the Islamic world, as part of the festivities marking Bukhara as the Islamic World Culture Capital for 2020 for the Asian region.

The MoU aims at exchanging scientific and academic expertise and capacity-building experiences between ICESCO and the Center, co-organizing training sessions, scientific symposiums, and international forums, and conducting joint scientific studies on manuscripts in parties’ custody. The Memorandum also aims at promoting cooperation in the field of digital libraries and the publishing of books, scientific research, and periodicals; exchanging technical and research experience; and providing scholarships for students enrolled at the International Islamic Academy of Uzbekistan.

ICESCO and the Center signed the Memorandum with the awareness of the importance of scientific research and academic action in achieving comprehensive and sustainable development and promoting cooperation, coexistence, and world peace. The MoU also stems from the parties’ common desire to pursue scientific cooperation.

The signing is the culmination of the discussions held during meetings between Dr. AlMalik, ICESCO Director-General, and Dr. Rustom Qasimov, Advisor to the President of Uzbekistan, President of the International Islamic Academy of Uzbekistan, which hosts the Center.

The Islamic World Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (ICESCO) took part in the international symposium on “Human rights in prisons and correctional institutions.” The Naif Arab University for Security Sciences (NAUSS) in Saudi Arabia held the videoconference on December 15 and 16, in partnership with the Presidency of Public Prosecution of Morocco and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime.

ICESCO’s Department of Legal Affairs presented an academic paper on “the rights of the female detainee according to international law.” Representing the Organization, Mr. Mohamed Hedi Shili, the Head of the Department, highlighted the importance of developing international legislation on the protection of female detainees. He also underscored the need to guarantee their rights to education and vocational training to better their chances of rehabilitation and reintegration into society.

The symposium brought together a host of experts and representatives of international institutions and legal experts, in addition to 490 specialists from Arab countries, Europe, and Asia.