Category: News update

A delegation from Bayt Mal Al-Quds Asharif Agency, headed by Mr. Mohamed Salem Cherkaoui, Director in charge of the management of the Agency, and a delegation from the Moroccan Observatory on Extremism and Violence (OMEV), headed by Mr. El Mostafa Rezrazi, Head of the Observatory, visited the International Exhibition and Museum of the Prophet’s Biography and the Islamic Civilization, currently held at the headquarters of the Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ICESCO) in Rabat.

Dr. Salim M. AlMalik, ICESCO Director-General (DG), welcomed the two delegations this Friday, 13 January 2023, noting that the exhibition takes its visitors on a spiritual visit and a journey back in time to Makkah Al-Mukarramah and Al- Madinah Al-Munawwarah to discover the rich history of the Prophet (PBUH). He added that the exhibition provides several encyclopedic information on the noble biography of the Prophet and the Islamic civilization, presented using the latest virtual and augment reality technologies.

ICESCO DG emphasized that since its inauguration on 28 November 2022, the exhibition has witnessed approximately half a million visits from all categories and age groups of the Moroccan public, as well as from residents and guests in the Kingdom.

For his part, Mr. Cherkaoui expressed his delight at the visit and emphasized that the exhibition offers its visitors a unique experience, thanking ICESCO for hosting this major scientific event.

Mr. Rezrazi reaffirmed that the visit to the exhibition is a spiritual and educational journey that contributes to the fight against extremism and violence and uses the latest technologies to display the core civilizational values that are embedded ​​in the Prophet’s biography.

Dr. Salim M. AlMalik, Director-General of the Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ICESCO), received Dr. Mohamed El Ferrane, Director of the National Library of the Kingdom of Morocco, and both discussed the development of cooperation between ICESCO and the Library, especially in organizing an international conference on the future and digitization of libraries.

During the meeting, held on Thursday (January 12, 2023) at ICESCO Headquarters, in Rabat, Dr. AlMalik stressed the Organization’s keenness to build a partnership that contributes to modernizing the fields of education, science and culture in the Member States, emphasizing the importance of developing libraries through modern technologies to keep up with new developments, disseminate knowledge and help in facing future challenges.

For his part, Dr. El Ferrane commended the great development that ICESCO witnessed over the last three years and its modern working mechanisms that turn it into a global organization concerned with global issues and new areas of interest to youth.

The meeting discussed cooperation proposals between ICESCO and the Library. The two parties agreed to co-hold an international conference on the future of libraries and the challenges facing their digitization.

After the meeting, Dr. AlMalik took Dr. El Ferrane and his delegation on a tour of the pavilions of the International Museum of the Prophet’s Biography and Islamic Civilization, at ICESCO Headquarters.

During the tour, Dr. AlMalik discussed with several schoolchildren, who were visiting the museum, and listened to their opinions about their visit and the information and knowledge they learned about Prophet Muhammad (PBUH).

Dr. Salim M. AlMalik, Director-General (DG) of the Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ICESCO), stated that the Organization has paid growing attention to the theater over the last period through its programs and projects, in recognition of its role in building nations and raising their civilizational awareness throughout history by highlighting injustices on its stage.

Dr. AlMalik made this statement on Tuesday, January 10, 2023, at the opening session of the 13th Edition of the Festival of Arab Theater, held in Casablanca, on 10-16 January, by the Arab Theater Authority, in cooperation with the Ministry of Youth, Culture and Communication of the Kingdom of Morocco. The festival is held under the high patronage of His Majesty King Mohammed VI and His Highness Sheikh Dr. Sultan bin Muhammad Al-Qasimi, Member of the Supreme Council of the State of the United Arab Emirates, Ruler of Sharjah, President of the Arab Theater Authority. This edition is held under the theme, “Towards a new and renewed theatre” and saw high-caliber participation including officials, ministers and theater artists from different parts of the Arab world.

The DG stated that the attention ICESCO accords to the theater are manifested in its celebration of World Theater Day in 2022 and its organization of an international symposium which will be held next March, on the latest developments in world theater, announcing that the Federation of the Universities of the Islamic World (FUIW), which reports to ICESCO, will hold the FUIW Theater Forum.

He added that Arab theater never ceases to prove its merit to be a major world theater, given the boldness, richness and diversity of the topics it addresses, noting that it drew from the Arab tale literature and built on it to branch out into various forms including political, social, educational, children and poetic theater.

The DG commended the selection of Casablanca to host this edition, as it celebrates the theatrical growth the Kingdom has witnessed over time and recognizes the contributions of Moroccan theater figures who excelled at Arab and international stages.

The DG concluded his address by reaffirming ICESCO’s readiness to cooperate with the Arab Theater Authority and other institutions concerned with supporting theater and theater artists, to promote the presence of this prestigious art and contribute to overcoming the challenges it faces.

The festival’s opening session featured the respective addresses of Mr. Mohamed Hahdi Bensaid, Moroccan Minister of Youth, Culture and Communication; Dr. Mohamed Ould Amar, Director General of the Arab Organization for Education, Culture and Science (ALECSO); and Mr. Ismail Abdellah, Secretary General of the Arab Theater Authority. The opening session also featured tributes to several theater artists.

At the end of his official visit to the Islamic Republic of Mauritania on the occasion of the launching ceremony of Nouakchott as the Culture Capital of the Islamic world for 2023, Dr. Salim M. AlMalik, Director-General of the Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ICESCO), attended several cultural activities within the framework of this celebration.

ICESCO DG participated in the inauguration of the memorial erected on the road to Nouakchott airport, on the occasion of the celebration of this city as Culture Capital, during a ceremony held in the presence of his accompanying delegation, Mrs. Fatimetou Mint Abdel Malick, President of the Nouakchott region, as well as several Mauritanian officials.

Designed and built by young Mauritanian women engineers, the memorial is distinguished by its artistic lines inspired by Islamic art, consisting of the name of Nouakchott inscribed in large letters in both Arabic and French clearly visible to all visitors to the city from the airport.

Dr. AlMalik also attended a play in the Cultural Village of Nouakchott, which depicts a historical Mauritanian epic entitled: “Bint Al Bar,” in an open theater that includes all elements of the desert environment, with the participation of several actors using horses and camels.

He also participated in the awarding of prizes to the winners of two races of camels and horses, organized by the National Federation of Camels, the National Federation of Equestrian Sports and the Presidency of the Region of Nouakchott.

Representing an aspect of the culture and sports heritage of the country, these races saw the participation of horses and camels of domestic breed for a distance of five kilometers on a track designed according to international standards.

ICESCO DG also attended a live-fire shooting competition, organized in a shooting range located not far from Nouakchott.

Dr. Salim M. AlMalik, Director-General (DG) of the Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ICESCO), met with Ms. Mabrouka Toghy Othman, Libyan Minister of Culture and Knowledge Development, in the capital of the Islamic Republic of Mauritania, Nouakchott, following their attendance of the opening ceremony of the celebration of Nouakchott as Culture Capital in the Islamic World for 2023.During the meeting, held on Saturday, January 7, 2023, Dr. AlMalik stated that as part of its new vision and strategic orientations, ICESCO accords priority attention to safeguarding and promoting cultural heritage in the Islamic world.

He added that the Organization exerts tireless efforts to inscribe historical sites and cultural elements on its heritage lists, and build the capacities of heritage professionals in the Islamic world on how to prepare nomination files.

The Director-General also noted that ICESCO has inscribed several Libyan historical sites in its heritage lists and is continuously working with Libyan parties specialized in the fields of education and science to have a better understanding of their needs and priorities aimed at designing suitable programs and activities.

Likewise, the meeting discussed ICESCO’s support for the School of Arts and Traditional Crafts in Tripoli to become a regional hub for promoting and preserving heritage traditional crafts and holding training sessions for heritage professionals in Libya.

For her part, the Libyan minister commended ICESCO’s efforts to support its Member States to safeguard and promote their heritage, noting that the Ministry organized last week a ceremony to celebrate the inscription of some Libyan sites on ICESCO’s Islamic World Heritage List.

Dr. Salim M. AlMalik, Director-General of the Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ICESCO), took part in several cultural activities during his official visit to the Islamic Republic of Mauritania to attend the launch of the Celebration of Nouakchott as Culture Capital in the Islamic World for 2023.

These activities are part of the year-long celebration program, which features many activities, including intellectual and cultural fora.

In this regard, Dr. AlMalik took part in the symposium “Mauritanian knowledge as an ambassador,” held at the Palais des Congrès, in Nouakchott, on Friday evening, January 6, 2023.

This symposium discussed the roles of Mauritanian cultural diplomacy and the impact of Mauritanian scholars on science, culture and thought around the world.

In his opening speech, Dr. Mohammed El Mokhtar Ould Bah, chair of the symposium, whose writings and research have served the Chinguetti culture, expressed his gratitude to the Mauritanian authorities and ICESCO for having proclaimed Nouakchott as Culture Capital in the Islamic World for 2023.

He also called for the mobilization of all efforts so that the contribution of Mauritania to the Islamic and human civilizations is recognized.

The symposium included three sessions, the first on the image of Chinguetti in modern Arabic sources, the second on ” Pilgrims’ Route: Characteristics of Influence and Impact,” and the third on the concerns of the homeland and nation through scientific communication between Mauritania and the Islamic world.

Prior to the symposium, Dr. AlMalik and Ms. Fatimetou Bint Abdel Malick, President of Nouakchott Region, visited the Cultural Village, which represents a typical village of the Mauritanian lifestyle and includes Al-Mahdara tent, which is an important symbol of the traditional teaching mechanisms in Mauritania.

They also visited the artisans’ tent, which aims to support and preserve handicrafts, the tent of traditional Mauritanian gastronomy and other aspects of Bedouin life, traditions, customs, and ways of living.

Dr. AlMalik expressed his admiration for the valorization of Mauritanian intangible heritage in the cultural village, the opportunities it offers to artisans and the support it provides to the continuity of traditional crafts, stressing that the celebration of Nouakchott is an opportunity to highlight and strengthen these efforts.

During an artistic ceremony, organized by the National Union of Mauritanian Employers to welcome the guests of the celebration of Nouakchott, in the presence of a large number of officials, private sector as well as cultural and media figures, Mr. Mohammed Zinelabidine Ould Cheikh Ahmed, President of the Union, honored ICESCO Director-General and some prominent personalities in recognition of their efforts to serve the culture and preparation of the celebration.

On Friday, 6 January 2023, Nouakchott’s Convention Center (Palais des Congrès) hosted the launch of the city’s celebration as Culture Capital in the Islamic World for 2023 under the auspices and chairmanship of H.E. Mr. Mohamed Ould El Ghazouani, President of the Islamic Republic of Mauritania. This celebration is part of the programme of the Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ICESCO) for Culture Capitals in the Islamic World.

The launching ceremony witnessed the high-level participation of the Mauritanian Prime Minister, members of the government, heads of constitutional and national institutions, ministers of culture, delegations from some ICESCO Member States and a host of academics, thinkers, authors and media professionals.

The ceremony began with a recitation of verses from the Holy Quran, followed by artistic renditions highlighting the Mauritanian heritage, madih and creative performances by schoolchildren.

At the outset of his address, Dr. Salim M. AlMalik, ICESCO Director-General (DG), noted that Nouakchott is deserving of the title of Culture Capital in the Islamic World for 2023 given the valuable contributions of the city and the Mauritanian republic to poetry, literature, fiqh, grammar and morphology, adding that ICESCO will provide full cultural support to the year-long celebration through various activities.

He reviewed the main cultural activities to be supervised by the Organization throughout the year, most notably those geared towards preserving and valorizing the heritage sites and cultural elements inscribed on ICESCO’s Islamic World Heritage List, contributing to the restoration of several heritage sites and launching the ICESCO Young Poets Forum.

Dr. AlMalik concluded his address with a poem entitled “The Flower of Cultural Capitals” which he composed on this occasion.

ICESCO DG then presented Mrs. Fatimetou Mint Abdel Malick, President of the Nouakchott region, with the flag of Nouakchott, Culture Capital in the Islamic World for 2023.

During the ceremony, Mr. Mohamed Ould Sidi Abdallah, Secretary-General of the Mauritanian National Commission for Education, Culture and Science, Secretary-General of the Higher Committee supervising the celebration, reviewed the key axes of the celebration’s national programme which features cultural, scientific and educational activities to be implemented in cooperation with ICESCO and which are aimed at highlighting the capital’s cultural richness and diversity.

Mrs. Fatimetou Mint Abdel Malick expressed her delight at the launch of this celebration and stressed that the region has established a specialized committee in charge of promoting Nouakchott’s tangible and intangible heritage in cooperation with all relevant authorities.

For his part, Dr. Mohamed Ould Amar, Director-General of the Arab Educational, Cultural and Scientific Organization (ALECSO), indicated that thanks to ICESCO’s outstanding Programme for Culture Capitals in the Islamic World, the celebrated cities will become major cultural destinations.

In a video-recorded address, Dr. Nevine Al-Kilani, Egyptian Minister of Culture, stated that the selection of Nouakchott as culture capital in the Islamic world for 2023 is an opportunity to internationally promote the city as a major cultural hub.

In his address, Mr. Mohamed Ould Soueidatt, Minister of Culture, Youth, Sports and Relations with Parliament, Chairman of the Mauritanian National Commission for Education, Culture and Science, noted that the selection of the city as culture capital reflects ICESCO’s recognition of the cultural prominence of both Nouakchott and Mauritania at the regional and international levels.
Following the ceremony, H.E. Mauritanian President, accompanied by ICESCO DG and senior officials, visited the exhibitions organized as part of the celebration which showcase the Mauritanian heritage.