Category: News update

A delegation from the Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ICESCO) held a series of meetings with several officials in the Republic of Cameroon to discuss the activities being implemented as part of the Yaoundé celebration as Culture Capital of the Islamic World for 2022 and the arrangements for organizing the closing ceremony of the celebration scheduled for June 2023.

During the meeting of the ICESCO delegation with Mr. Bidoung Kpwatt Ismaël, Minister of Arts and Culture of Cameroon, the Minister commended the activities carried out by the Organization and its role in contributing to the success of the Yaoundé celebration programme, stressing the need for closer cooperation between ICESCO and the Republic of Cameroon.

For his part, Mr. Najib Riati, Cultural Advisor to ICESCO Director General, reaffirmed that the Organization accords great importance to promoting the programme of Culture Capitals of the Islamic World as part of its open vision. At the close of the meeting, he gave the minister a set of the Organization’s publications in the fields of heritage, bearing the logo of the Yaoundé Culture Capital.

During the delegation’s meeting with Mrs. Stadjem Sawudi, Director of Festivals and Creative Industries at the Ministry of Culture and Arts, and Chairperson of the Higher Committee for the celebration of Yaoundé as Culture Capital, the parties discussed the Ministry’s ongoing arrangements to hold the closing ceremony of the celebration in June 2023.

The delegation also explored the ongoing preparations for the implementation of several activities of the celebration programme during its meeting with Mr. Amadou Nachouwat, Supervisor of ICESCO Chair for Cultural Diversity at the University of Yaoundé.

During the delegation’s meeting with Dr. Hugues Heumen Tchana, Director of the National Museum of Yaoundé, which hosted the official launch ceremony of the Yaoundé Culture Capital of the Islamic World, the parties discussed the possibility of allocating a hall bearing the name of ICESCO in the museum to be inaugurated during the closing ceremony of the celebration.

The Organization held the National Forum on Cultural Heritage and Local Development in Cameroon, in cooperation and coordination with the Cameroonian National Commission during the visit of ICESCO delegation to Yaoundé, and launched a photography competition to win ICESCO prizes for the most beautiful pictures of the city of Yaoundé and its heritage and artistic features.

ICESCO’s delegation composed of Dr. Mohamed Aba Osman, Expert in the Organization’s Culture and Communication Sector, and Ms. Ghizlan Ben Taouet, Coordinator of the Office of the Cultural Advisor to the Director General.

Dr. Salim M. AlMalik, Director-General of the Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ICESCO), received Ambassador Khalid bin Salman bin Jabr Al-Musallam, Ambassador of the Kingdom of Bahrain to the Kingdom of Morocco, during his visit to the International Exhibition and Museum of the Prophet’s Seerah and Islamic Civilization, at ICESCO headquarters, in Rabat

During the meeting, held on Thursday (9 February 2023), Dr. AlMalik commended the great cooperation between ICESCO and the Kingdom of Bahrain, stressing the Organization’s keenness to keep pace with the strategic orientations of its Member States to develop the fields of education, science and culture, and identify their needs and priorities with a view to designing appropriate programs and projects for each country.

He also indicated that the initiative to organize the International Exhibition and Museum of the Prophet’s Seerah and Islamic Civilization, in Rabat, is one of the outcomes of the strategic partnership between ICESCO, the Muslim World League and the Mohammadia League of Scholars.

After the meeting, Ambassador Al-Musallam, made a tour of the Exhibition, accompanied by Dr. Abdelilah Benarafa, ICESCO Deputy Director-General, during which he listened to detailed explanations about the various sections of the Exhibition and the modern display technologies, which virtually take the visitor to the time of the Prophet (PBUH).

At the end of the tour, Ambassador Al-Musallam commended ICESCO’s hosting of the Exhibition and Museum, pointing out that it presents Prophet’s biography in a simplified manner using the latest virtual and augmented reality technologies, which explain the large number of visitors from all age groups.

The Sector of Education at the Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ICESCO) took part, via videoconference, in the workshop on, “Academic Accreditation of Teacher Training Programs in the Arab Countries”. The Workshop was held on Thursday, February 9, 2023, by the UNESCO Regional Center for Quality and Excellence in Education in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, in cooperation with the Ministry of Education of the State of the United Arab Emirates.

Dr. Kombou Boly Barry, Head of ICESCO Education Sector, along with a number of experts at the Sector, represented ICESCO in the workshop, which aims to discuss the issue of teacher training and its relevant outcomes, recommendations and proposals to help decision makers devise and develop education policies tailored to their countries’ cases and build on their outcomes to develop teacher training policies and programs at education colleges. The workshop also aims to accredit these colleges’ curricula, based on the best and latest international experiences and practices and provide solutions to the challenges they face in order to develop their systems to keep up with the changes of the 21st century.

Likewise, the Workshop discussed the criteria and mechanisms of the academic accreditation of education colleges’ curricula in the Arab countries and highlighted the findings of the study conducted by the Center to examine international experiences through the adoption of indicators and criteria with the aim of promoting teacher training policies and supporting the efforts of education systems in the Arab world to achieve SGD4.

On February 11th of every year, the world celebrates the International Day of Women and Girls in Science. In 2023, the celebration highlights the role of women and girls in science in Sustainable Development Goals to contribute to building a more prosperous future for humanity through gender equality in the fields of science, technology, engineering and mathematics, in which girls and women are still underrepresented.

The Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ICESCO) seizes this opportunity to renew its call for concerted efforts to enhance the participation of girls and women in science, highlight their contributions to the development of these fields throughout history, and stress the need to provide opportunities for women and girls to participate in developing science, technology, innovation and education, and combat gender discrimination, which prevents the participation of women and girls in several scientific disciplines all over the world.

The International Day of Women and Girls in Science is celebrated this year under the slogan: “Innovate. Demonstrate. Elevate. Advance. Sustain. (I.D.E.A.S.): Bringing Everyone Forward for Sustainable and Equitable Development.” ICESCO reaffirms that it attaches great importance to gender equality and women and girls capacity-building, especially in the fields of science and technology, through several initiatives and programs to enhance the integration of female experts and students in the field of innovation, scientific research, entrepreneurship, artificial intelligence, data science, and smart and sustainable cities. In addition, to hold an international conference on women and university leadership, in partnership with Princess Nourah Bint Abdul Rahman University, to support international efforts in the field of women’s leadership in higher education.

Seeking to further support its Member States’ efforts to integrate women and girls in science, focus on building women’s entrepreneurial capacities, provide girls and women with professional and social skills, and achieve a tangible quantum leap, ICESCO calls for:
• Building capacities and achieving equal opportunities for men and women in the fields of science;
• Intensifying the efforts of Member States, international organizations, universities and the private sector to invest in vocational education and training programs, promote gender equality in the workplace, and support women researchers and students;
• Emphasizing the important role of women and girls in science as a main focus for positive change towards achieving Sustainable Development Goals;
• Issuing research and studies to raise awareness of the seriousness of gender-based discrimination;
• Celebrating the achievements of women scholars of the Islamic world and their valuable contributions to societies.

The Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ICESCO) held a meeting with the International Labor Organization (ILO) to discuss ways for strengthening cooperation between the two organizations and implementing joint programs and activities in social and humanitarian fields to achieve sustainable development.

Ms. Amira EL Fadil, Head of the Partnerships and International Cooperation Sector, Dr. Raheel Qamar, Head of the Sciences and Technologies Sector, Ms. Ramata Almamy Mbaye, Head of the Social and Human Sciences Sector, and Mr. Mohamed Hedi Shili, Head of the Department of Legal Affairs and International Standards, represented ICESCO at the meeting, which was held on 8 February 2023, via videoconference, while Dr. Giovanni Di Cola, Advisor to the Deputy Director General for Field Operations and Partnerships, and Ms. Kirsten Maria Schapira-Felderhoff, Senior Multilateral Cooperation Specialist, represented ILO.

During the meeting, Mrs. Amira El-Fadil highlighted the importance of coordination and agreement on the terms of the proposed memorandum of understanding (MoU) between ICESCO and ILO, which will include issues of common concerns between the two organizations, mainly social justice, equality in the workplace, promoting decent jobs and tomorrow’s jobs, fighting child labor, protecting children, mental health at work, and preparing training sessions in the field of foresight.

For his part, Dr. Giovanni Di Cola reaffirmed the ILO’s eagerness to cooperate with ICESCO in addressing social issues, empowering women, promoting decent jobs, developing youth skills and guiding them toward tomorrow’s jobs.

In conclusion, the two parties agreed on the mechanisms of establishing work teams to formulate and implement the MoU, which will be signed between the two organizations, based on a clear action plan.

The Sciences and Technologies Sector of the Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ICESCO) is holding a workshop on the 4th industrial revolution (Industry 4.0) in cooperation with the National Commission for UNESCO in the People’s Republic of Bangladesh, aimed at raising awareness on the importance of modern technology and AI in promoting economic policies and sustainable development in the ICESCO Member States.

During the opening session of the three-day workshop, which started on Tuesday, February 7, 2023, in person, in Dhaka, Bangladesh, Dr. Adel Smaida, Expert at ICESCO Sciences and Technologies Sector, delivered an address, via videoconference, on the opportunities and challenges resulting from the 4th industrial revolution in education and higher education and capacity building of youth, noting that ICESCO supports several initiatives and programmes in the fields of scientific research, information technology and digital transformation in its Member States, mainly in programmes of smart, flexible and sustainable cities.

The participants in the workshop, including professors, university students, experts and specialists in the fields of industry, economy and science, will discuss the need to introduce ways and mechanisms of taking advantage of AI applications, big data, internet of things, blockchain, virtual reality, and other modern digital technologies to promote educational curricula and economic policies.

The Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ICESCO) stressed that achieving world peace is a shared responsibility that hinges on upholding the values of fraternity and mercy and entails serious joint human action and acceptance of religious, racial and cultural differences to build peaceful and prosperous societies, stating that the world is in dire need of mercy and love to recover from its crises.

This was in an ICESCO statement, read out by Amb. Khalid Farhalrahman, Head of the Center of Civilizational Dialogue, during a ceremony commemorating the International Day of Human Fraternity, held by the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations, in cooperation with the missions of the Arab Republic of Egypt and the United Arab Emirates to the UN, on Monday, February 6, 2033, via videoconference. The ceremony aims to highlight the need for international commitment to promote the values of intercultural and interfaith respect, dialogue and coexistence.

The ICESCO representative commended the Document on Human Fraternity for World Peace and Living Together, which was signed by His Eminence the Grand Imam of Al-Azhar, Dr. Ahmad El-Tayyeb, and Pope Francis, Pope of the Vatican, in February 2019, in the UAE, as a universal declaration on the importance of spreading peace and fraternity among people.

He added that ICESCO places building peace at the core of its priorities through launching and implementing several practical initiatives, programs and projects aiming at anchoring the values of interfaith and intercultural coexistence, understanding and accord, and promoting societal cohesion. To attain such a goal, he explained, ICESCO focuses on mobilizing and building the capacities of women and young people as key elements in ensuring the success of its vision in this field.

Moreover, Amb. Farhalrahman stated that ICESCO opened the door for non-Member States to join the Organization as Observer States to foster more cooperation, encourage expertise exchange with the countries of the Islamic world. and support the development of the fields of education, science and culture in a manner that serves humanity and contributes to addressing the challenges of the future.

In reaction to ICESCO’s statement, Mr. Miguel Ángel Moratinos, UNAOC High Representative, talked about the sustained cooperation relations between ICESCO and the UNAOC. He also commended the fruitful cooperation ties between ICESCO and the Republic of Azerbaijan, following the remark of Azerbaijan’s Delegate to the UN, who highlighted the cooperation relations between his country and the Organization.