The Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ICESCO) celebrates Islamic World Heritage Day annually on September 25, an occasion to review ICESCO’s important achievements made in the preservation and valorization of the cultural properties of the countries of the Islamic world, placing them on the map of global cultural tourism and exploring the promising prospects in this field.

As part of ICESCO’s efforts to protect the cultural heritage in the Islamic world and document its elements, the Organization inscribed a large number of historical sites and cultural elements of its Member States on ICESCO’s Lists of Tangible and Intangible Heritage in the Islamic World. It held several training sessions for the benefit of professional staff working in the field of heritage to develop their capacities in preparing inscription files. The Organization also held several international fora and symposia to raise awareness of the need to combat illegal trafficking in cultural property and its restitution.

Relying on modern technology and keeping pace with the latest developments, ICESCO is working to expand the experiment of employing artificial intelligence in heritage documentation for the benefit of Member States and is working on the completion of a set of guides on types of heritage, mechanisms for its valorization, and ways to combat its illegal trafficking, which will be soon available for heritage staff.

ICESCO’s Islamic World Heritage Center, which has become a think-tank for specialists and experts in this field, is implementing an integrated programme that provides the required support to Member States to respond to their various needs in the field of heritage, including reviewing legal systems, supervising professionals and raising their level of readiness, carrying out inspection and reconnaissance visits to endangered heritage monuments by ICESCO’s specialized committees and preparing technical reports on them, as well as documenting, restoring and maintaining the various components of cultural heritage in the Islamic world and contributing to preparing them to support the Member States’ local and national economies.