Category: News update

Dr. Salim M. AlMalik, Director-General of the Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ICESCO), reaffirmed that Sultan Qaboos Award for Culture, Arts and Literature mirrors the great priority that the Sultanate of Oman attaches to culture and creators.

This came in his address, on Tuesday (6 June 2023), during the introductory meeting of the Sultan Qaboos Award for Culture, Arts and Literature, in its tenth edition, organized by the Embassy of the Sultanate of Oman in the Kingdom of Morocco, at ICESCO Headquarters, in Rabat, during which representatives of the Sultan Qaboos Higher Center for Culture and Science, supervisor of the award, made a presentation on the award.

At the outset of his address, Dr. AlMalik praised the attributes of the Sultanate of Oman and the Omanis, and the ongoing development in Oman to build the human capital people and the infrastructure, adding that the Sultanate of Oman is full of cultural scenes, which highlight that it is well-educated country.

He explained that ICESCO hosts this introductory meeting as part of the Organization’s cooperation with the Sultanate in the fields of culture, thought and creativity, and stands as an example of ICESCO’s cooperation with its Member States.

For his part, Dr. Said bin Mohammed al-Bar’ami, Ambassador of the Sultanate of Oman to the Kingdom of Morocco, expressed his thanks to ICESCO for hosting the meeting, stressing that the Sultanate attaches great importance to culture and intellectuals as they reflect its identity, rich culture and glorious history.

Afterward, a presentation was made on Sultan Qaboos Award for Culture, Arts and Literature, which was launched in 2011 and is supervised by Sultan Qaboos Higher Center for Culture and Science. It was first open for Omanis, then it included Arab nominees as well.

The tenth edition of the award is open to all Arabs in three categories: media and communication studies, film directing, and the novel. Each edition of the Award selects several disciplines falling under the fields of culture, arts and literature.

The International Scientific Symposium “Civilizational Diplomacy… Intersectional Readings”, held by the Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ICESCO), in partnership with Cadi Ayyad University, concluded, on Saturday (June 3, 2023), by issuing Marrakesh Declaration towards Shaping the Concept of Civilizational Diplomacy.

The declaration stressed the importance of preserving ICESCO’s intellectual property rights, particularly the concept of “civilizational diplomacy”, which offers many effective solutions to the dilemmas of the international civilizational system, and called on all international actors to exert more efforts to put an end to racist policies and tendencies.

Moreover, the declaration called on think tanks and institutions of higher education and scientific research to enhance the concept of civilizational diplomacy through sound criticism likely to consolidate its foundations and enrich its vocabulary. The declaration also reaffirmed the organization of the international symposium on a regular basis, in partnership between ICESCO and Cadi Ayyad University.

The declaration expressed thanks to Cadi Ayyad University and its Legal Research and Policy Analysis Laboratory at the Faculty of Law, for their academic and organizational efforts, and appreciated the efforts of the Kingdom of Morocco to promote dialogue and civilizational alliance at the regional and international levels.

The second day of the symposium featured the third working session, entitled “ICESCO, the Institutional Actor in the Formation of Civilizational Diplomacy”, during which Ambassador Khaled Fathalrahman, Head of the Organization’s Center for Civilizational Dialogue, stressed that ICESCO’s concept of civilizational diplomacy is an applied and practical vision going beyond theory, highlighting the Organization’s efforts in the field of civilizational dialogue to spread the values of coexistence and tolerance, and build the leadership capacities of youth and women for peace and security.

Afterwards, Dr. Hatem El-Jawhary, Professor of Cultural Studies at Egyptian universities, gave an intervention on civilizational diplomacy, in which he indicated that it is one of the major tools for addressing the clash of civilizations.

For his part, Dr. Abdelfattah Balaamchi, Research Professor in international relations at the Faculty of Law of Marrakech, tackled the challenge facing international governmental organizations in the production and development process.

At the end of the session, Dr. Mohamed El-Ghali, Director of the Laboratory of Legal Research and Policy Analysis, gave an intervention on the role of joint action diplomacy in promoting cultural knowledge.

The International Scientific Symposium “Civilizational Diplomacy, Intersectional Readings,” which is being held by ICESCO Center for Civilizational Dialogue, in partnership with Cadi Ayyad University, kicked off on Friday (June 2, 2023), in Marrakesh, with the aim of enriching research and discussing the theoretical framework of “civilizational diplomacy.”

The opening session of the symposium, which will last for two days at the headquarters of the Faculty of Legal, Economic and Social Sciences of Cadi Ayyad University, witnessed a high-level presence of parliamentarians, diplomats and distinguished academics in the field of diplomacy and international relations.

In his speech, Dr. Salim M. AlMalik, ICESCO Director-General, said that the Organization derived its new concept “civilizational diplomacy” from the developments in public diplomacy, pointing out that civilizational diplomacy does not present itself as an alternative to diplomacy, but as a mean to consolidate civilizational action in the world of diplomacy. ICESCO is pleased to demonstrate the complementarity between theory and practice to have insights on this concept.

Dr. AlMalik stressed that the global transformations and changes, especially with the spread of social media and AI technologies, question the future of traditional diplomacy as a large number of diplomats today use social media to communicate with the public and conduct public diplomacy activities.

For his part, Dr. Moulay El Hassan Hbid, President of Cadi Ayyad University, thanked ICESCO and stressed, in a speech delivered on his behalf by Dr. Fatima Zahraa Iflas, Vice President of the University, his keenness to develop scientific research by building partnerships with international and regional organizations.

Dr. Abdelkarim Al-Talib, Dean of the Faculty of Legal, Economic and Social Sciences, commended the topic of the symposium, which will address the multiple angles of “civilizational diplomacy,” its relationship with technological development and artificial intelligence, and its contribution to reducing its risks.

In his speech, Dr. Said Aghreeb, Head of the Department of Public Law at the Faculty, indicated that the concept of civilizational diplomacy aims to spread the values of coexistence and tolerance among peoples, while Dr. Muhammad El Ghali, Director of the Legal Research and Policy Analysis Center, highlighted the importance of this concept.

In his introductory speech, Ambassador Khaled Fathalrahman, Director of ICESCO Center for Civilizational Dialogue, reaffirmed that the concept of civilizational diplomacy falls within the Organization’s new strategic vision and orientations, indicating that the new concept attempts to transform civilizational dialogue from a theoretical vision to an applied practical vision.

In his speech, Dr. Prof. Fayez bin Abdullah Al-Shehri, Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee of Shura Council in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, reviewed the historical dimensions and future vision of civilizational diplomacy, the challenges facing this concept and the mainstreaming opportunities.
The first working session tackled the contributions to the theoretical framework of the concept of civilizational diplomacy while the second working session discussed the roles of civilizational diplomacy actors.

The Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ICESCO) has launched its revamped official website that is equipped with the latest technologies for compatibility with modern web browsers and smart devices. The new site also introduces a virtual assistant called “ALEM” to assist visitors navigate through it and get easy access to information about all ICESCO’s sectors, departments and centers, as well as its various programs and activities, answering their questions about the Organization through artificial intelligence and “GPT Chat” technology.

ICESCO’s official website ( https://icesco.org/en ) was launched on Friday June 2 from the Organization’s pavilion at GITEX Africa 2023 in Marrakesh, Kingdom of Morocco, in the presence of Dr. Salim M. AlMalik, Director General of the Organization, and Dr. Said bin Mohammad Al-Barami, Ambassador of the Sultanate of Oman to the Kingdom of Morocco, as well as several ICESCO sector and department heads, and representatives of Avaya Company, which helped in revamping the website which uses its technology.

During the launch ceremony, a presentation was made on the main features of the new website, which ICESCO has enhanced with attractive, consistent technical features and high-quality technologies that offer visitors a flexible user experience enabling them to access information quickly.

The ceremony was also marked by questions from the audience, which were answered accurately by the “ALEM” assistant.

The website includes a series of sections presenting ICESCO’s main areas of competence and sectors, namely education, science and technology, culture and communication, and human and social sciences. It also features the Organization’s various departments and specialized centers, including the Arabic Language Center for non-Arabic speakers, the Strategic Foresight Center, the Center for Civilizational Dialogue and the Islamic World Heritage Center, in addition to a regularly updated news section and a section for publications and scientific reports.

The Organization has also developed a modern and innovative application dedicated to the National Commissions for Education, Science and Culture in its Member States, to improve communication and the exchange of expertise, and speed up administrative processes based on pioneering technology that provides countries with an advanced digital environment helping them to interact and cooperate with each other in a more flexible way with a view to making the most of pioneering experiences. The application is also equipped with cutting-edge protection technologies that ensure the confidentiality and security of information and data.

The Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ICESCO) and the Agency for Digital Development in the Kingdom of Morocco signed an agreement for joint cooperation, in coordination with ICESCO Member States to build the capacities of young people in the fields of technology and innovation, raising awareness of the digital requirements of the jobs of the future, highlighting the opportunities provided by digital transformation applications, and improving smart and proactive electronic services. It also provides for building electronic platforms that support the transfer of knowledge, best practices for distance education, and artificial intelligence applications for education.

The agreement was signed today, Thursday, June 2, 2023, at GITEX Africa 2023 in Marrakech, by Dr. Salim M. AlMalik, ICESCO Director-General, and Mr. Mohamed Idrissi El Meliani, Director-General of the Digital Development Agency, in the presence of several ICESCO heads of sectors and departments and officials at the Agency.

Following the signing ceremony, Dr. Al-Malik and Dr. El-Meliani reaffirmed that the agreement gives great impetus for joint cooperation between the two institutions during the coming period as it will constitute a lever for digital transformation in the field of education, the transfer of knowledge and best practices to enhance the applications of modern technology and artificial intelligence related to education. They added that it will contribute significantly to building the capacities of young people in the field of innovation, preparing them for the jobs of the future, and contributing to the improvement of smart electronic services in ICESCO Member States.

The provisions of the agreement, which will be implemented over a period of two years, include co-organizing workshops, seminars and specialized training sessions in the areas of cooperation, conducting studies in the fields of technological development, supervising and supporting young entrepreneurs and innovators, and exchanging expertise and experience with ICESCO Member States in the field of digital and technological development.

The Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ICESCO) is taking part in the 28th Edition of the International Book and Publishing Fair, organized in Rabat by the Ministry of Youth, Culture and Communication of the Kingdom of Morocco, under the high patronage of His Majesty King Mohammed VI, may Allah assist him. The Fair, held over the period between June 1 and June 11, was opened by Mr. Mohamed Al-Mahdi Bensaid, Minister of Youth, Culture and Communication, on Thursday, June 1, 2023.

The opening ceremony was attended by Dr. Salim M. AlMalik, ICESCO Director-General, along with several heads of sectors and advisors at the Organization. This year, ICESCO’s pavilion at the Fair will feature a rich cultural and artistic program, under the theme, “The Book in ICESCO’s Year of Youth,” in reflection of the great interest the Organization attaches to the issues of books and publishing, and in celebration of the Year of ICESCO for Youth, granted the patronage of His Excellency President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, President of the Arab Republic of Egypt.

This program includes fifty activities, which will be implemented at ICESCO’s pavilion with the participation of a host of distinguished intellectuals, writers and poets from a number of Member States, who will present lectures on a range of current cultural and intellectual issues, and readings of several recent publications. ICESCO will also organize contests and prizes will be awarded to winners daily.

Moreover, ICESCO’s pavilion also includes screens to broadcast videos produced by the Organization on a number of its projects and initiatives, notably the hosting of the International Exhibition and Museum of the Prophet’s Seerah and Islamic Civilization at the ICESCO Headquarters. The pavilion also includes a special space for children to welcome children with talents in writing, storytelling and drawing. Many activities will be dedicated to children with disabilities to showcase their successful experiences.

Likewise, ICESCO’s pavilion will see the participation of heads of sectors, departments and specialized centers, as well as experts at the Organization and some supervisors of ICESCO’s scientific chairs in universities, to discuss the pressing issues in the educational, scientific and cultural fields.