Category: News

The International Symposium “Publishing and Security: The Role of the Publishing Industry in Promoting Societal Awareness and Intellectual Security,” organized by the Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ICESCO) in partnership with Naif Arab University for Security Sciences (NAUSS), concluded on 27 and 28 April 2026 at ICESCO headquarters in Rabat with the adoption of 13 final recommendations aimed at strengthening the role of the publishing industry in safeguarding the knowledge space, building more aware and stable societies, and keeping pace with rapid transformations in the digital environment.

The recommendations were drafted by 24 researchers from 14 countries, who called for the establishment of the Islamic World Publishers Union under the auspices of ICESCO to coordinate efforts, develop the publishing industry, enhance integration among knowledge markets, support digital transformation, and protect intellectual property, thereby contributing to the production of reliable content that promotes societal awareness and intellectual security.

The recommendations underlined the importance of launching an annual index to measure intellectual security in published content across Member States, based on digital content analysis, alongside integrating critical thinking and media literacy programs into university curricula and establishing a unified regional platform for news verification linked to publishing houses and universities, operating with artificial intelligence technologies.

They also called for requiring publishing houses and digital platforms to adopt an accredited labeling system distinguishing between human-produced content and content generated by artificial intelligence, applying a “safe publishing” protocol as an operational framework encompassing multi-phase verification, incorporating a digital security compliance indicator into the performance evaluation of academic institutions and publishing houses, and developing a proactive response model for information crises with a response time not exceeding 24 hours.

On the legislative front, participants recommended the issuance of specialized legislation on advanced digital content, including deepfakes and generative artificial intelligence, and the establishment of a regional legal network for cooperation on digital crimes to ensure the rapid exchange of judicial data among Member States. They also stressed the importance of transforming libraries into community knowledge security centers that provide regular awareness and training programs.

The International Symposium “Publishing and Security: The Role of the Publishing Industry in Promoting Societal Awareness and Intellectual Security” was launched on Monday, 27 April 2026, at the headquarters of the Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ICESCO) in Rabat. The Symposium is organized by ICESCO in partnership with Naif Arab University for Security Sciences (NAUSS), with the participation of government officials and a distinguished group of experts and specialists. It aims to explore ways to develop responsible publishing policies that protect societies from extremist discourse, hate speech, misinformation, and fake news.

In his opening remarks at the two-day symposium, Dr. Salim M. AlMalik, Director-General of ICESCO, affirmed that the Organization continues its efforts to support scientific and cultural publishing, promote a culture of verification, and expand access to reliable knowledge through scientific partnerships that contribute to the development of policies related to publishing and security.

As part of celebrating Rabat as a World Book Capital, Dr. AlMalik called for the establishment of a joint action framework between ICESCO, the Moroccan Ministry of Youth, Culture and Communication, and NAUSS to launch an ethical charter for responsible publishing, a knowledge awareness program targeting youth, and a digital platform for scientific publishing, thus opening broader horizons for strengthening the quality and ethics of publishing.

For his part, Dr. Khalid bin Abdulaziz Alharfash, Secretary of the NAUSS Supreme Council and Vice President for External Relations, stated that the rationale for the organization of the symposium stems from a deep awareness of the pivotal role played by the publishing industry in building a cross-border knowledge society. He added that publishing serves as a bridge for the exchange of ideas and the transfer of knowledge across cultures, and as a lever for enhancing societal awareness and consolidating the values of moderation and balance.

In an intervention during the opening session, Dr. Ahmed AlBanyan, Head of the Translation and Publishing Center at ICESCO, considered that intellectual security is no longer solely an educational or cultural issue, as it has become a multidimensional intersection of policy, technology, legislation, and institutions. Meanwhile, Mr. Hicham Mallati, Director of Criminal Affairs, Pardons, and Crime Monitoring at the Moroccan Ministry of Justice, emphasized that justice is not an enemy to publishing, but rather a guardian of the boundary delineating the lawful use of expression from the unlawful.

Dr. Ghizlane Drous, Director of Books, Libraries, and Archives at the Moroccan Ministry of Youth, Culture and Communication, subsequently explained that intellectual security is fundamentally linked to the “shaping of awareness,” noting that the book constitutes the first line of defense against extremist and misleading ideas, specifically among youth.

The opening session also featured an exchange of commemorative shields between the organizing parties. The Symposium continues through six panel sessions and a workshop entitled “Publishing and Intellectual Security,” moderated by Dr. Khaled Azab, an expert in Islamic heritage and urbanism from the Arab Republic of Egypt.

Dr. Salim M. AlMalik, Director-General of the Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ICESCO), accompanied Dr. Mohammed Al-Issa, Secretary-General of the Muslim World League (MWL), Chairman of the Organization of Muslim Scholars, on a tour of ICESCO-Sultan Qaboos Library, at ICESCO headquarters, on Sunday, 26 April 2026. The visit took place on the sidelines of the celebration, hosted at ICESCO headquarters, marking10 million visitors to the International Exhibition and Museum of the Prophet’s Seerah and Islamic Civilization.

During the visit, attended by Mr. Khalid AlMalik, Editor-in-Chief of the Saudi newspaper Al Jazirah, and Ambassador Sami bin Abdullah Al-Saleh, Ambassador of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques to the Kingdom of Morocco, the delegation was guided through the library’s facilities, its specialized knowledge collections, and the advanced digital services it offers. Chief among these is the ICESCO Digital Library platform, a flagship strategic initiative of the Organization aimed at promoting knowledge availability and enhancing open access to scientific and cultural content across the Islamic world.

Dr. Ahmed Albanyan, Director of the Translation and Publishing Center at ICESCO, outlined the library’s vision and mission in supporting scientific research, fostering a culture of reading, and building a knowledge-based society. He also highlighted its role as a cultural hub that strengthens civilizational dialogue among Member States.

Dr. Al-Issa commended ICESCO’s qualitative efforts to develop its knowledge infrastructure, underscoring that investing in knowledge and ensuring its widespread dissemination are fundamental pillars for strengthening societal awareness and reinforcing the values of moderation and coexistence.