Category: News update

The Headquarters of the Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ICESCO) in Rabat hosted a major international celebration, on Tuesday, July 5, 2022, to distribute the certificates of inscription of heritage sites and elements on the Islamic World Heritage List to several ICESCO Member States’ ambassadors and representatives. The first-of-its-kind ceremony also witnessed the Presentation of the Heritage Sign Board of the Islamic World and a tribute to the members of the Islamic World Heritage Committee.

The ceremony, which saw high-caliber participation, opened with the recitation of verses from the Holy Quran, followed by an address by Dr. Mohamed Zinealabidine, Head of ICESCO Sector of Culture and Communication, who welcomed the attendees and expressed his delight at the organization of this event which commemorates the joint efforts of ICESCO and its Heritage Center and Islamic World Heritage Committee to inscribe the heritage sites and cultural elements of the Islamic world.

In his welcoming address, Dr. Salim M. AlMalik, ICESCO Director-General (DG), stated that this historic moment highlights the essence of ICESCO’s new vision and its special journey in according due attention to the heritage of the Islamic world and promoting its civilizational landmarks which stand witness to the diversity and richness of Member States’ cultural heritage.

The DG added that the Organization accords special attention to heritage as a component of nations’ culture and memory. “ICESCO worked toward reviving the Islamic World Heritage Committee, setting out clear standards and criteria for the inscription of heritage sites and cultural elements and selecting experts with extensive expertise in the field of human heritage”, the Director-General stated.

Dr. AlMalik also called on the Member States to support the Islamic World Heritage Fund to support the Organization’s efforts to safeguard and preserve heritage in the Islamic world.

In his address, Mr. Mohammed Mehdi Bensaid, Minister of Youth, Culture and Communication in the Kingdom of Morocco, congratulated the Member States for having inscribed their heritage on ICESCO’s Islamic World Heritage List, highlighting the Organization’s efforts to safeguard heritage, commending the key role of civil society institutions and bodies in supporting these efforts.

Dr. Walid Al-Seif, Chairman of the Islamic World Heritage Committee, lauded the organization of this ceremony, which is considered a first in the history of the Organization since its inception. The Chairman also thanked the ICESCO Director-General for his support of the Committee’s work, calling on the Member States to inscribe more of their heritage sites and cultural elements to reach 1000 sites and elements by 2025.

In a bid to promote the role of the civil society institutions in promoting and protecting cultural heritage, exchanging expertise in this field, and addressing its issues from a global standpoint, the Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ICESCO) and the Rabat Salé Mémoire Association organized a colloquium on “Role of Civil Society in Cultural Heritage Policy.” The event saw high-caliber participation including heritage officials and experts and a large number of heritage protection associations in the Kingdom of Morocco and other Arab and African countries.

This symposium was held at ICESCO Headquarters, today, Tuesday, July 5, 2022, as part of the Programme of the celebration of Rabat as the Culture Capital in the Islamic World for 2022. The Colloquium reflects ICESCO’s vision and working strategy in the field of safeguarding and promoting the heritage of the Islamic world through opening up and cooperating with the competent parties in the Member States and the civil society institutions concerned with protecting tangible and intangible heritage.

Dr. Salim M. AlMalik, ICESCO Director-General (DG), addressed the participants at the opening session and noted that civil society is a key element in the effective planning and implementation of heritage protection activities, given its functional abilities to support government authorities in this field. He added that guided by international standards, ICESCO accords special attention to building the capacities of professionals working in the various fields of cultural heritage.

In addition, the DG announced that ICESCO will soon publish a collection of textbooks and guidebooks on the various forms of heritage and ways to deal with them, stating that ICESCO works on developing university heritage curricula and training programs, in cooperation with civil society institutions active in the field of heritage.

In his address, Mr. Mohammed Fikri Benabdallah, President of Rabat Salé Mémoire Association, expressed his delight at the fruitful partnership between the Association and ICESCO, noting that urban heritage is key in light of the rapidly changing international context. He also highlighted the efforts of the Kingdom of Morocco to promote heritage.

For his part, Mr. Mohamed Mahdi Bensaid, Minister of Youth, Culture and Communication, highlighted the event’s importance, reaffirming the status of Rabat as a city of coexistence between various cultures.

Taking the floor next, Mr. Abdelkrim Bennani, President of Ribat Al-Fath Association, talked about the role of the civil society in casting light on shortcomings in dealing with historical and civilizational landmarks and intellectual productions, stressing the need to adopt a participatory vision that engages all stakeholders in heritage protection.

As for Mr. Noureddine Chemaou, President of Bouregreg Association, he highlighted the roles of the civil society in promoting cultural heritage and talked about his association’s efforts to safeguard heritage and promote its cultural components, stressing the importance of fostering cultural heritage industries.

At the close of the opening session, a framework agreement was signed between ICESCO and the Rabat Salé Mémoire Association for cooperation in the field of heritage.

The first session of the colloquium discussed the role of civil society in the Kingdom of Morocco in promoting cultural heritage, while the second focused on leading experiences in cultural heritage promotion in the Islamic world.

The Islamic World Heritage Committee (IWHC), during the final report of its 10th meeting, held at ICESCO Headquarters in Rabat, on Monday, July 4, 2022, decided to inscribe 141 historical sites and cultural elements on the Final and Tentative Islamic World Heritage Lists (IWHL). The total number of inscriptions on ICESCO’s IWHL has reached 473 historical sites and cultural elements from 34 countries.

After examining the files submitted for inscription on ICESCO’s IWHL, IWHC decided to inscribe 49 historical sites and cultural elements on the Final List, including 21 historical sites (tangible heritage) and 28 cultural elements (intangible heritage), from 10 ICESCO Member States, and 80 files on the Tentative List, including 61 historical sites (tangible heritage) and 19 cultural elements (intangible heritage) from 8 countries.

The decisions issued by the Committee at its 10th meeting also included the establishment of a new list under the name: “List of Best Practices for Safeguarding the Elements of Tangible and Intangible Cultural Heritage,” the adoption of an IWHC achievements report between the two sessions of 2019 and 2022 and the adoption of the vision of the Islamic world Heritage Center (IWHC) for the valorization of heritage within the 2022-2023 action plan. The Committee also adopted the “ICESCO Young Ambassadors Program for the Islamic World Heritage” and decided that the duration of the first cycle of the Program would be two years, aiming to train 3000 young men and women and selecting 30 ambassadors from among them, provided that they will represent the three geographical regions of the Organization’s Member States.

The Committee’s Members authorized the IWHC Head to review the book “Heritage of the Islamic World”, the first part of which was prepared by the Committee’s General Secretariat based on a previous decision, and to make the necessary amendments to it, with the help of the expert of the Scientific Assistance Committee and to prepare the final version for printing and distributing to the Member States.

The IWHC’s 10th Meeting brought together representatives of the following Member States: The State of Kuwait, the Republic of Iraq, the Islamic Republic of Mauritania, the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, the Republic of Cameroon, the Republic of Côte d’Ivoire and the Republic of Uzbekistan, as well as representatives of the Scientific Committee from the Kingdom of Moroccan). Representatives of the Republic of Indonesia and the Federal Republic of Nigeria did not attend the Meeting.

Dr. Salim M. AlMalik, Director-General (DG) of the Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ICESCO), presided over, on Monday 4th July 2022, the closing ceremony of the training session on project management, held by ICESCO in partnership with the Institut des Hautes Études de Management (HEM) in Casablanca, for the benefit of the experts and staff of the Organization’s Departments and Centers, with a view to developing their skills and strengthening their capacities in preparing and proposing projects.

The DG presented to the participants the certificates of completion of the five-day session that included training on the basics of project management, scheduling action plans for their implementation, identification of ways to create an appropriate environment for their success, and the necessary financial and human resources, preparation of reports and evaluation and follow-up documents, and allocation of the project budget, determining stakeholders, as well as identification of potential risks and challenges.

In his speech at the ceremony which was attended by the heads of ICESCO’s Sectors and Departments, Dr. AlMalik expressed his appreciation of the efforts made by the experts of HEM and the participants in the session aimed at enhancing the skills of the Organization’s human resources.

For her part, Mrs. Amira El Fadil, Head of the Partnerships and International Cooperation Sector at ICESCO, stressed the importance of the training session to enhance the skills of ICESCO staff to train them to submit project proposals that the Organization could adopt as future projects, indicating that the session is the first in a series of upcoming training sessions.

In his turn, Dr. Kais Hammami, Head of ICESCO’s Strategic Foresight Center, welcomed the partnership initiative between the Partnerships and International Cooperation Sector, the Strategic Foresight Center, ICESCO’s Department of Administrative Affairs and HEM, pointing out that there is a need to continue the training sessions that combine theory and practice.

Dr. Salim M. AlMalik, Director-General (DG) of the Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ICESCO), received Mr. El-Mansour Veten, Executive Secretary of the Issoufou Mohamedou Foundation (IMF) in the Republic of Niger, to explore ways of strengthening cooperation between ICESCO and the Foundation, headed by His Excellency the former President of Niger Mohamedou Issoufou.

During the meeting, held on Monday, July 4, 2022, at ICESCO Headquarters in Rabat, Dr. AlMalik reaffirmed ICESCO’s eagerness to cooperate with civil society institutions in the Member States to contribute to social development, build the capacities of women and youth, consolidate the values of coexistence, tolerance, peace, civilizational dialogue and respect cultural diversity, reviewing ICESCO’s activities and programs in these fields.

For his part, Mr. Veten valued ICESCO’s role in contributing to the development and promoting forward-looking visions in the countries of the Islamic world, highlighting the diversity and richness of prospects for ICESCO and IMF cooperation in the future, whether in terms of holding seminars and workshops or through fieldwork to contribute to achieving sustainable development.

The meeting brought together Ms. Amira El-Fadil, Head of ICESCO Partnerships and International Cooperation Sector, and Dr. Ahmed Said Bah, Advisor to the Director-General for Partnerships and International Cooperation and Supervisor of the Secretariat of National Commissions and Conferences.