The Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ICESCO) signed agreements to create chairs as part of its Network for International Chairs for Thought, Letters and Arts. The agreements were signed with prominent universities and research institutes from Morocco, Tunisia, Germany, Brazil, and Senegal.

The signing ceremony, held on Wednesday, June 23, 2021, via videoconference, saw the participation of Dr. Salim M. AlMalik, ICESCO DG, who reaffirmed that ICESCO International Chairs for Thought, Letters, and Arts bear witness to the Organization’s interest in universities and institutes as civilizational hubs for thought production, stimulating scientific research trends and in-depth studies with concrete social and cultural impact.

Dr. AlMalik noted that in line with ICESCO’s proclamation of 2021 as the Year for Women, women will be given priority in benefiting from the opportunities the Chairs provide and assuming supervision positions within the Chairs to promote the status of women.

The DG stated that the signing of these agreements is part of the approach of renewal characterizing ICESCO’s new vision, a vision that would, he noted, open new prospects for the Member States to keep up with global changes.

The presidents of universities, heads of research centers and Chair officials taking part in the signing ceremony expressed their thanks to ICESCO for its great interest and sustained efforts to open up to educational and research institutions and support studies and research works in service of the Islamic world.

The agreements provided for the creation of the following chairs:

1. ICESCO Chair on “Encounter and transmission of arts and knowledge Orient-Occident” at Orients Occidents Nexus gUG Institute in Germany.
2. ICESCO Chair Ibn Khaldun for Culture and Heritage at the Center of Arts, Culture and Letters at Ksar Said Palace in Tunisia.
3. ICESCO Chair for “African Renaissance and Promotion of Traditional Knowledge” at Sheikh Anta Diop University in Senegal.
4. ICESCO Chair for Thinking about Coexistence in the Islamic World” at the Center of Arts, Culture and Letters at Ksar Said Palace in Tunisia.
5. ICESCO Chair for Comparative Letters and Arts at the Faculty of Languages, Arts, and Letters at Ibn Tofail University in Kenitra, Morocco.
6. ICESCO Chair for Art and Nature: Hybrid Approach.

At the close of the signing ceremony, Dr. Abdelilah Benarafa, ICESCO Deputy DG, announced that the Organization will launch two awards, namely Best Chair Performance and Best Research Conducted as part of the Chair. He stated that the goal is to create fair competition among the different chairs.