The major international celebration that the Islamic World Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (ICESCO) held yesterday, March 11, 2021, to officially launch its celebration of 2021 as the Year of Women issued its final declaration. The celebration saw high-level participation, including first ladies, princesses, ministers, leaders of international organizations, and prominent women from around the globe.

In the Final Declaration, which two female interns at ICESCO readout, the participants reiterated their thanks and gratitude to His Majesty King Mohammed VI for His high patronage of ICESCO Year of Women, under the theme “Women for the Future.” They also expressed their thanks to ICESCO and its Director-General (DG), Dr. Salim M. AlMalik, for this unprecedented international initiative amid the current global circumstances that the COVID-19 crisis triggered, during which women have been on the frontlines to counter the pandemic in vital sectors such as health and education.

The participants also stated that they:

1. Reaffirm their full support for ICESCO’s forward-looking vision involving the launch of a number of initiatives that highlight the importance of women’s participation in making the future;
2. Welcome the initiatives of the Member States and the regional and international organizations aimed to achieve the United Nations’ Millennium Development Goals relating to women and commend the efforts they have exerted to reduce the effects of the pandemic on women and girls. They also call on ICESCO to federate and develop the Member States’s different initiatives to expand their benefits and suggest appropriate implementation mechanisms to ensure the efficiency of cultural action in the future;
3. Value the launch of a specialized international platform whereupon the most outstanding women leaderships in various developmental fields can share expertise and best practices, coordinate their positions, and rally support and advocacy for women causes in general;
4. Praise ICESCO’s initiative to launch a training program for the benefit of girls, pending the establishment of an international academy for training young women leaderships;
5. Pledge to cooperate with and support the competent parties in the Member States to improve the international indicators relating to women in such a way as to be consistent with the national policies and respect domestic balances;
6. Reiterate their commitment to support the orientations likely to facilitate the achievement of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals and the implementation of relevant national, regional, and international plans and executive programs.