On Thursday, September 9, 2021, in Marrakech, the training session on “Future Literacy Labs” that the Strategic Foresight Center of the Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ICESCO), organized in cooperation with UNESCO and Cadi Ayyad University in Morocco, concluded its work which lasted three days and benefited 60 students from the said university. The training aimed to promote the culture of foresight and highlight its importance in the decision-making process.

In his address at the opening of the training session, Dr. Moulay Lhassan Hbid, President of Cadi Ayyad University, emphasized that the training introduces a new educational model and provides students with several innovative mechanisms to anticipate and plan for the future. He also indicated that it is necessary to train young people to acquire the skills of tomorrow’s professions and teach them to adapt to future changes.

For his part, Dr. Kais Hammami, Director of the ICESCO Strategic Foresight Center emphasized the importance of developing strategic thinking in the Islamic world to plan for various future changes. He added that it is important to organize such training and conduct strategic studies on skills and professions, especially in the context of the challenges facing the countries of the Islamic world.

Dr. Hammami pointed out that ICESCO has established the Strategic Foresight Center to promote the culture of foresight in its Member States to achieve sustainable development, encourage foresight studies, strengthen strategic diplomacy through the establishment of partnerships with scientific research centers around the world, and set up monitoring and review mechanisms.

Dr. Riel Miller, Chief of Futures Literacy Program at UNESCO, emphasized the importance of knowledge and expertise exchange, given the lack of foresight studies. He added that the development of the ecological, economic, and cultural fields depends on how people envision the future.

This training session is part of a program launched by the Strategic Foresight Center to organize similar trainings for universities, companies, and civil society stakeholders in the ICESCO Member States, aimed at strengthening the foresight culture and the skills of individuals and institutions in anticipating the future.