The Islamic World Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (ICESCO) and the National Commission for UNESCO and ICESCO in Burkina Faso signed an agreement to launch the “Project of the Fight against COVID-19 through Supporting Innovation and Entrepreneurship of Women and Youth in Burkina Faso,” as part of the ICESCO-Alwaleed Philanthropies partnership to support the efforts of 10 African countries to counter the adverse repercussions of the pandemic.

The signing ceremony was held today by videoconference in the presence of H.E. Dr. Salim M. AlMalik, ICESCO Director-General (DG), and Mr. Alkassoum Maiga, Minister of Higher Education, Scientific Research, and Innovation of Burkina Faso, President of the National Commission for UNESCO and ICESCO.

In his address at the ceremony, Dr. AlMalik reaffirmed that ICESCO will sustain its support to Member States’ efforts aimed at addressing the negative effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. The measure is part of the Organization’s new vision that adopts enhanced communication with countries to identify their respective needs and priorities to foster sustainable comprehensive development and enhance the capacities of the beneficiary countries to manage their social transformations.

ICESCO DG expressed his sincere thanks and deep appreciation to Alwaleed Philanthropies, ICESCO’s permanent partner whose Board of Directors that H.R.H. Prince Alwaleed bin Talal Al Saud chairs, for the generous support to ICESCO’s humanitarian and social initiatives to assist 10 African countries, including Burkina Faso.

Mr. Maiga commended ICESCO’s excellent initiatives, programs, projects, and activities the Organization launched and implemented during COVID-19 aimed at strengthening the efforts of Member States to address the negative impacts of the pandemic. He also appreciated Alwaleed Philanthropies’ assistance to Burkina Faso through its partnership with ICESCO.

At the end of the ceremony, the two parties signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on the implementation of the project. The MoU provides for developing a sense of innovation and entrepreneurship among women and youth in the private sector especially in rural areas in Burkina Faso through the establishment of local units for manufacturing hygiene products and protective equipment; encouraging youth and women to embrace innovation and entrepreneurship; and spreading the practice of good hygiene to foster public health and ensure smooth transition to structured economic activities in Burkina Faso.

For four decades, Alwaleed Philanthropies has supported and spent more than 15 billion Saudi Riyals (SAR) and carried out more than 1000 projects in over 189 countries that 10 Saudi female members manage, reaching out to more than 1 billion beneficiaries around the world, regardless of gender, race, or religion. Alwaleed Philanthropies collaborates with a range of philanthropic, governmental, and educational organizations to combat poverty, empower women and youth, develop communities, provide disaster relief, and create cultural understanding through education. It seeks to build bridges for a more compassionate, tolerant, and accepting world.