The Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ICESCO) and the National Center for Scientific and Technical Research (CNRST) in Morocco held a coordination meeting to discuss the cooperation agreement on the Award for Best Scientific Research on Countering Violence against Women. The Ministry of National Education, Vocational Training, Higher Education and Scientific Research, ICESCO, and the CNRST will sign the agreement.

Dr. Abdelilah Benarafa, Cultural Adviser of ICESCO Director-General, and Mr. Mohamed Hedi Shili, Head of the Department of Legal Affairs, represented ICESCO in the meeting. Dr. Jamila Alami, Director of the Center, Dr. Abdellah Al-Ziyadi, Head of the Department of Support for Research, Transfer of Technology and Innovation, represented the Center along with a host of officials representing the Department of General Affairs.

During the meeting, the Center representatives gave a presentation on the procedural process for granting awards and the standards in force pertaining to selecting the best works. The two parties then agreed on several issues, most notably broadening the scope of these awards to cover the ICESCO Member States in the following years, allocating an electronic platform for the Award, and searching for international experts to evaluate the submitted works to ensure an international exposure for the Awards.

The to-be-signed agreement is part of Morocco’s initiative to combat violence against women, which was launched on March 08, 2020, under the supervision of H.R.H. Princess Lalla Meryem. The initiative earmarked several awards for the topic of violence against women.

At the close of the meeting, the two parties agreed on more coordination and cooperation in their areas of competence and on signing a framework agreement in this regard.