Category: News update

The International Virtual Forum “Role of Religious Leaderships in the Face of Crises,” held by the Islamic World Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (ICESCO), in cooperation with the Muslim World League (MWL) and the International Muslim Communities Council, under the theme “Towards global moral solidarity of religious leaderships,” kicked off today, July 21 with high-level participation.

The opening session was presided by President Idriss Deby Itno of the Republic of Chad, who stressed in his address the importance of religious leaderships during crisis and times of conflict to restore peace and security, adding that the Muslim Ummah and humanity are in dire need of enlightened scholars, and all the monotheistic books call for the values of coexistence and sharing.

Besides, President Idriss Deby Itno congratulated ICESCO for holding this Forum and choosing such a key topic. He highlighted that this indicates the Organization’s advanced vision in countering crises as the COVID-19 pandemic has spread horror among millions of people and threatened the social fabric and economic future of humanity while stressing the need for sharing opinions to overcome this crisis.

In his address, Dr. Salim M. AlMalik, ICESCO Director-General, reaffirmed the growing role of religious leadership towards achieving the aspirations of humanity as a whole, including global moral solidarity to achieve the lofty objectives and establish international peace and security.
Dr. AlMalik also stated that “since the outbreak of the pandemic, ICESCO has launched many initiatives, which were largely welcomed as part of the efforts to counter the repercussions of COVID-19 in the educational, humanitarian, psychological, and spiritual fields. This Forum will allow the various leaderships to highlight their role in addressing crises and agree upon the guidelines of the common ethics to deal with these crises”.

Afterward, Dr. Muhammad Abdul Karim Al-Issa, MWL Secretary-General, gave an address wherein he reaffirmed the great role of religious leadership, particularly during crises when the religious and spiritual values get stronger, and people resort to their religious leaderships, which stress the importance of holding such Forum.

In his address, Dr. Muhammad Mokhtar Goma, Egyptian Minister of Awqaf, said that the nations not built on ethics and values face many risks. “Throughout human history, all the nations that deviated from their values disappeared. The ethical standard is always constant, and ethics are integral and reject double standards,” he added.

On his part, Sheikh Islam Allahshukur Pashazade, Grand Mufti of Azerbaijan and Caucasus, thanked ICESCO and all the Forum’s participants and reaffirmed that the values of obedience to parents, observance of the right of orphans, tolerance, respecting neighbors’ rights among individuals and countries embody the essence of religions and common sense while hoping that religious leaderships would strive to achieve these values.

President of Al-Azhar University, the Grand Imam Dr. Ahmed El-Tayib, Shiekh Al-Azhar, stressed in his address, given on his behalf by Dr. Mohamed al-Mahrasawi, that moral solidarity is critical during crises and religions seek to entrench an ethical environment for everyone, adding that Islam allows no room for intellectual or doctrinal manipulation and ethics are cherished by all religions.

Dr. Ali Rachid Al-Nuaimi, Chairman of the International Muslim Communities Council, stressed that all religions include noble values, and the religious leadership should respect the real responsibility and the decisions of the political leaders.
Afterward, Dr. AlMalik closed this opening session and started the working sessions.

The Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ICESCO) signed a partnership agreement with Nabd, the largest news app in the Arab world. The agreement provides for the establishment of a platform for ICESCO to broadcast news about the Organization and its activities to ensure direct outreach to the broadest possible audience.

The platform (accessible at this link https://nabd.com/icesco will keep Arabic-speaking readers updated on the initiatives, programmes, and projects implemented by the Organization, topics of discussion and the outcomes of the conferences organized or co-organized by ICESCO. They will also have access to the news and information about ICESCO’s prizes in the various fields.

On the occasion of signing the agreement, Dr. Salim M. AlMalik, ICESCO Director-General, stressed that the agreement with Nabd forms part of ICESCO’s strategic vision which advocates inclusiveness and constructive communication to serve the Member States and Muslim communities all over the world. It can be achieved through workable initiatives, programmes, and projects to develop the skills of children and build the capacities of women, the youth and children to improve their living conditions to contribute to sustainable development and achieve peaceful coexistence. He also stated that the platform would enable ICESCO to keep the broad audience informed of the latest developments and updates on its action.

The agreement was signed for ICESCO by Dr. Ahmed Said Bah, Director of the Sector of Partnerships and Cooperation, and for Nabd by Mr. Mazen Singer, Chief Strategy Officer.

Upon signing the agreement, Mr. Singer expressed his satisfaction with the conclusion of the agreement with ICESCO, while noting that it comes as part of carrying out “Nabd” Strategy which seeks to lay the groundwork for cooperation with outstanding international organizations, provide diversified content to users, and contribute to achieving the Organization’s noble objectives in its areas of competence: education, science, and culture.

The Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ICESCO) and the International University of Rabat (UIR) signed a framework agreement for partnership in higher education and scientific research. The agreement seeks to advance higher education in the Islamic world countries, support innovation in cutting-edgetechnology, the transfer of technology to needy countries, and the promotion of cooperation between universities and research centers in various countries.

The agreement was signed for ICESCO by its Director General, Dr. Salim M. AlMalik, and for the UIR, its President, Dr. Noureddine Mouaddib. The signing ceremony was held at the headquarters of the University in the presence Mr. Mohamed Khalfaoui, Secretary General of the Sector of Higher Education and Scientific Research at the Ministry of National Education, Vocational Training, Higher Education and Scientific Research of the Kingdom of Morocco; Mr. Jamal Eddine El Aloua, Acting Secretary General of the Moroccan National Commission for Education, Science and Culture, and a number of officials from both sides.

In his address at the signing ceremony, Dr. AlMalik reaffirmed that the COVID-19 pandemic has proved that it is imperative to advocate and support innovation, creativity and AI applications and bolster scientific researchefforts. In this regard, he highlighted that ICESCO views innovation as a realistic solution to Islamic world countries to get back on the road toa science and innovation-based civilization which hadcontributed its rich innovations to humanity for a long time.

He also reiterated ICESCO’s commitment to be the first to cooperate and coordinate with other parties and hoped that the partnership agreement between ICESCO and the UIR will be a starting point for similar partnerships and agreements with other universities, in support of innovation and scientific research in the Islamic world.

For his part, Mr. Khalfaoui lauded the cooperation between ICESCO and the University in anti-COVID-19 efforts and thanked ICESCO for its support in favor of advancing education, culture and scientific research. Similarly, Mr. El Aloua pointed out that this partnership will contribute to the transfer of technology between the Islamic world countries. The President of the UIR, Dr. Noureddine Mouaddib, underscored that the world is in face of great challenges and that cooperation is the only way to overcome them. He then expressed his satisfaction with the signing of this partnership with ICESCO which has supported the efforts of the University since the outbreak of the pandemic.

Following the signing of the agreement, ICESCO Director General and UIR President inaugurated the project on the production of protective masks against the novel Coronavirus and ventilation devices, which is being implemented as part of ICESCO’s Scholarships for Technology Development. The project aims to ensure large-scale production of materials and equipment necessary for the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic in the Islamic world, namely in Africa, and the transfer of relevant technology.

For the record, this project is the latest of similar projects funded by ICESCO in many countries, including Uganda, Mali, Senegal, Kazakhstan, the Gambia, and Guinea. ICESCO will support similar projects in other countries in the future.

AlMalik: the world loses 25 human languages each year and 90% of languages are endangered

The Director-General of the Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ICESCO), Dr. Salim M. AlMalik, called on specialized institutions in the issues of Arabic language to make every effort to empower Arabic language on the world linguistic map.

“Empowering Arabic at the Islamic and international levels is a collective responsibility. Everyone, from their respective position, should advance this language amid a situation which will witness decisive changes in the post-COVID-19 era”, he added.
In his address at the opening of ICESCO’s virtual international forum which kicked off today under the theme “Arabic Language for Non-Arabic Speakers beyond COVID-19: Renewing Strategies and Developing Tools and Methods”, Dr. AlMalik warned that each year, the world loses 25 human languages and that 90% of the world’s languages are endangered. In this respect, he mentioned many contributing factors such as children’s inclination to use the widely spoken languages, most advantageous and most expressive of innovations; failure of many languages to keep up with developments in digital and computing technology; language isolationism; and lack of attractiveness to new learners.
“ICESCO, which has long called for a speedy digital qualification of education systems as part of its slogan against the COVID-19 pandemic (Let’s turn trial into blessing), has moved from the pure handling of the adverse repercussions of the pandemic into an investment of huge potentials to achieve transition to the school of the future”, Dr. AlMalik added. In this regard, he referred to the wide range of innovative projects and alternatives of “ICESCO Digital Home” and the Organization’s most abundant use of the widely spoken world languages to raise health awareness and ensure an instant exchange of information.

Then, ICESCO Director-General listed some of ICESCO’s orientations in the field of Arabic language empowerment as follows:

1. Ensuring openness of Arabic to everyone, Muslims and non-Muslims alike, with diverse contents to promote dialogue and understanding between peoples and meet the needs of learners;
2. Continuously developing the curricula of teaching Arabic to non-Arabic speakers and diversifying resources, tools, and services;
3. Expediting the involvement of specialists in the digital production and publishing of learning materials;
4. Supporting and computerizing languages written in the Arabic script in Africa and Asia;
5. Adopting a forward-looking approach that takes into account the future roles of AI in language learning and the cultural and socioeconomic transformations with an impact on the world linguistic map.

Moreover, Dr. AlMalik cited the major initiatives and programmes of ICESCO Center for Arabic to non-Arabic Speakers, a specialized ICESCO center designed to be a leader in building relevant national capacities. These include “Learn and Master Arabic at Home,” “Bayan’ Award for Creative Expression in Arabic,” “Languages of Africa: Bridges of Culture and History,” “Zidni ‘Ilman” initiative for teachers and counselors, “Programme of ICESCO Regional and National Centers in the Field of Teaching Arabic to non-Arabic Speakers,” and “Computerization of African Languages written in the Arabic Script.” Moreover, ICESCO will collaborate with the Islamic Development Bank Group (IsDB) and ALECSO to develop the “Joint Reference Framework for Arabic Teaching and Learning”.

At the close of the Forum, ICESCO Director-General thanked the participating senior officials of regional and international specialized bodies and centers, experts, and researchers, while calling on them to fully discharge their respective responsibilities toward the empowerment of Arabic language.

The Virtual International Forum “Arabic Language for Non-Arabic Speakers beyond COVID-19: Renewing Strategies and Developing Tools and Methods”, held today by the Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ICESCO) with the attendance of senior regional and international specialized bodies and centers and a host of international experts and researchers, reaffirmed the need for joint action to empower Arabic language in the global language scene, amid a global situation which will likely witness decisive transformations in post-COVID-19 era.

At the opening session, Dr. Salim M. AlMalik, ICESCO Director-General, reaffirmed in his address that empowering the Arabic language at Islamic and international levels is a collective historical responsibility while warning that the world loses 25 languages each year and that 90% of languages are endangered due to several factors.

Then, Dr. Abdullah Al Obeid, Director of ICESCO Center of Arabic for non-Arabic Speakers, underscored the importance of the Forum which will enrich the topics and issues of Arabic teaching and learning and how the pandemic has impacted this sector in education institutions around the world while stressing the need for the assessment of the achievements and initiatives of remote education teachers and calling for concerted efforts by institutions.

At the opening session’s first schorlarly presentation, Dr. Mohamed El Hannach, President of the International Agency for Natural Language Processing (NLP), reviewed the positive aspects of the COVID-19 pandemic, namely the increasing demand for the digitalization of educational contents, and the move toward thinking of digital solutions to promote the Arabic teaching and learning process. In the second scholarly presentation, Dr. Khaled AbuAmsha, Executive Director of the Center for Arabic Study Abroad (CASA), stressed the need to change organic laws and upgrade technical infrastructure to achieve equal access to the programmes of the teaching of Arabic language in rural and urban areas.

Afterward, the academic sessions opened. At the first session on “Regional and international action in the field of Arabic language for non-Arabic learners (challenges and opportunities),” Dr. Mahmoud Ismail Saleh, Secretary-General of King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz International Center for Arabic Language (KAICAL), explored means of disseminating Arabic language and culture in the world. Also, Dr. Ali Abdullah Moussa, Secretary-General of the Arabic Language International Council, spoke about the issues of Arabic language for non-Arabic speakers during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Furthermore, Dr. Issa Saleh Al Hammadi, Director of the Arabic Language Education Center for the Gulf States, noted that the Center seeks to embody the interest of the heads of Member States of the Arab Education Center for the Gulf States (ABEGS) in the development of curricula. For his part, Dr. Faisal Al-Juhani, Arabic Language Programmes Coordinator at the Islamic Development Bank Group (IsDB), reviewed IsDB’s steadfast support to Arabic language programmes. At the same time, Dr.Majdi Bin Haji Ibrahim, Expert at ICESCO Center of Arabic for non-Arabic Speakers, provided a brief overview of the Center, its initiatives, and innovative programmes since its establishment.

The second session was dedicated to the theme “Toward leadership roles for university institutions in national capacity-building.” Dr. Tulus Musthofa, General President of the Arabic Teachers Association of Indonesia, reviewed the efforts made by the Association in the teaching of Arabic. Dr. Seydou Madibaba Sylla, Rector of the Sahel University in Mali, pointed to the leading roles of university institutions in developing Arabic language curricula. For his part, Dr. Badr Ali Al Abdulqadir, Dean of the Center of Teaching Arabic at Muhammad ibn Saud Islamic University, stated that the Center had held 300 training sessions in the field of the Arabic language, mostly outside Saudi Arabia.

Moreover, Dr. Ibrahim Osmanov, Deputy Rector of the International Islamic Academy of Uzbekistan, reviewed the situation of Arabic language in Central Asia. Similarly, Dr. Ding Shiren (Ayoub Nurulhaq), Director of Islamic Culture Institute of Lanzhou University in China, explored the history of teaching Arabic in China.

During the third session which addressed the theme “Harnessing ICT to serve and disseminate Arabic language,” Dr. Siti Sara binti Haji Ahmad, Dean of the Faculty of Arabic Language and Islamic Civilization of the Sultan Sharif Ali Islamic University in the Sultanate of Brunei Darussalam, noted the efforts of the University in using ICT to advance Arabic language. Dr, Ouidad Naebi, Director of the African Ibn Battuta Center in the Republic of Benin, handled the efforts of the Center in the provision of teaching services during the COVID-19 pandemic.
On his part, Dr. Babakar Kadramari, Director of Youssif Alkhalifa Center for Writing Languages in Arabic Script of the International University of Africa in the Sudan, stressed the need for supporting the project of computerizing African languages written in the Arabic script.

Moreover, Dr. Chokri Hamrouni, Director in charge of Education Development at Granada Editions, reviewed the institution’s efforts in teaching and learning of Arabic and the digitization of teaching materials. Last, Dr. Enver Gicić, Dean of the Faculty of Islamic Studies in Novi Pazar, Serbia, highlighted the Faculty’s efforts in the teaching and learning Arabic in the Balkans.

The fourth session was dedicated to the theme “Prospects of teaching of Arabic and its Dissemination in the World.” Dr. Mohammad Ayub Nadwi, Director of the India-Arab Cultural Centre (IACC), explored the role of the Center in the dissemination of Arabic culture. Dr. Christine Welsh, Director of the Arabic Programme at Middlebury College in the United States, gave an overview of the teaching of Arabic language and culture for non-Arabic speakers.
Ms. Ván Thanh Huìn, Head of the Department of Arabic Studies at the Vietnam National University, addressed the major problems facing Arabic learners in Vietnam. On the other hand, Mr. Mohamed Hussein Ghazzawi, Ex-Director of Foz do Iguaçu Islamic Cultural Center in Brazil, pointed out that teaching Arabic must keep apace with the rapid global changes in the world during the COVID-19 pandemic.

At his closing address, Dr. Salim M. AlMalik, ICESCO Director-General, expressed his hope for a new era where Arabic language will be a global language, restore its position and roles in the global civilizational edification, and become once again the language of innovation, creativity, and sciences.

The live streaming of the Forum was widely followed by the public. The full video of the proceedings is available at this link:
https://web.facebook.com/watch/live/?v=295219001672554

The Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ICESCO) took part in the inaugural meeting of the digital platform of Hassan II International Center for Environmental Training affiliated to Mohammed VI Foundation for Environmental Protection, chaired by HRH Princess Lalla Hasna.

The meeting, represented by Dr. Abdelmajid Tribak of ICESCO, Expert at the Sector of Science and Technology at ICESCO, was held yesterday at the headquarters of the Center, in Sidi Bouknadel, near Rabat.  He was joined with the team from the recently established Center, as well as experts from the Kingdom of Morocco and beyond. It also brought together several representatives of the international organizations, universities, Moroccan Ministry of Education, Hassan II Academy for Science and Technologies, as well as researchers and teachers in the fields of energy, air pollution, and water management.

The meeting tackled the academic presentations of the project of the Center’s digital platform on various environmental and sustainable development themes in terms of content, perception, and sources. It also explored ways of future cooperation on this platform and elsewhere as well as other programmes of joint environmental action between ICESCO and Mohammed VI Foundation for Environmental Protection.