Disclaimer: You are using Google Translate. The ICESCO is not responsible for the accuracy of the information in the translated language .

your opinion

User Feedback

Overall, how satisfied are you about the website?

    Extremely dissatisfied Extremely satisfied

    ICESCO Participates in Saint Petersburg International Religious Forum

          The Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ICESCO) participated in Saint Petersburg International Religious Dialogue Forum, held on September 7, 2021, under the theme “Religious field: Spiritual activity in managing the pandemic”, in Saint Petersburg, Russian Federation, aimed at strengthening the foundations of scientific and religious dialogue, and highlighting the true religious teachings, which call for peace, coexistence and mutual respect, especially in light of the current global health crisis.

    Ambassador Khalid Fathalrahman, Director of ICESCO Center for Civilizational Dialogue, who represented the Organization at this event, gave an address wherein he stressed that the Forum is a great opportunity to find new and innovative mechanisms to deal with the tension and doubts that the pandemic casts regarding the future, based on interfaith dialogue and cooperation between the institutions concerned.

    Ambassador Fathalrahman stated that the importance of religion in people’s daily life has been stressed during the Covid-19 pandemic despite the various attempts to exclude it from the cultural and economic environment. He noted that religious teachings have encouraged individuals and societies to adopt the values ​​of sacrifice, altruism, and self-denial while highlighting religion’s flexibility towards transformations despite the constant teachings and the exclusivity of worship and calling for drawing on these experiences to enhance the religious system.

    Ambassador Fathalrahman reviewed ICESCO’s relevant efforts, particularly the organization of the International Virtual Forum of Religious Leaderships, which stressed the need to preserve human dignity by ensuring the right to faith and respect for religions, and the International Conference on Civilizational Values ​​in the Prophet’s Seerah, which highlighted the ability of divine messages to spread the spirit of peace worldwide. ICESCO also contributed to the publication of the first volume of the encyclopedia on “Deconstructing the Discourse of Extremism,” which provides a basic material that helps trace the relevant concepts and develop ways to counter the phenomenon of terrorism.

    At the close of his address, Ambassador Fathalrahman stressed that the Organization’s efforts aim to establish the foundations of solidarity to consolidate international peace and security, reject hatred, spread tolerance, encourage creative work and support literature, arts and sciences.

    ICESCO Director-General Receives Chargé d’Affaires of Togolese Embassy in Rabat

    The Director-General (DG) of the Islamic Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ICESCO), Dr. Salim M. AlMalik received the Chargé d’Affaires of the Embassy of Togo to Morocco, Mr. Messan Amakoé Klutse. The meeting explored the prospects of cooperation between ICESCO and Togo in the Organization’s fields of action.

    At the beginning of the meeting, held at ICESCO headquarters in Rabat, on 9 September 2021, Dr. AlMalik congratulated Mr. Klutse on the occasion of starting his mission as Chargé d’Affaires of the Togolese Embassy in Rabat, wishing him success.

    ICESCO DG reviewed the outlines of the vision and strategy of the Organization’s field of competence, and areas of special interest such as strategic foresight, artificial intelligence, space sciences, education for peace, consolidating the values of coexistence and dialogue, and inscribing historical sites and cultural elements on the Heritage Lists of the Islamic World.

    Dr. AlMalik also reviewed the most important programs and activities implemented that ICESCO in the recent period, during the Covid-19 pandemic, and the support it provided to its Member States, especially in the African continent, to address the negative effects of this pandemic, in cooperation with several donor institutions, and coordination with the responsible authorities in each country.

    The meeting touched on the prospects for cooperation between ICESCO and Togo in the fields of education, science, and culture, where the two sides reaffirmed their keenness to build fruitful cooperation.

    The Chargé d’Affairs of the Embassy of Togo in Rabat expressed his appreciation for the roles played by ICESCO in its fields of action, stressing that he will spare no effort in making Togo benefit from the programs and activities implemented by the Organization.

    ICESCO and Gabon Explore Cooperation Prospects

    Dr. Salim M. AlMalik, Director-General (DG) of the Islamic World Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (ICESCO), met with Mr. Sylver Aboubacar Minko Mi Nseme, Ambassador of the Gabonese Republic to Morocco, and together they explored the development of cooperation between ICESCO and Gabon in the fields of education, science, and culture.

    During the meeting, held on 08 September 2021 at ICESCO headquarters in Rabat, several areas of cooperation and initiating a new partnership between ICESCO and Gabon were deliberated.  ICESCO Director-General (DG) will further discuss this in his next official visit to Gabon, due to be held in October, with the Gabonese senior officials. Among the proposals are the establishment of a chair for ICESCO in a Gabonese university, the establishment of a center for teaching Arabic to non-native speakers, and the organization of a series of joint conferences and activities in Gabon, including a medical, educational, and cultural caravan.

    The meeting also touched on the importance of inscribing the historical sites in Gabon on the List of Heritage in the Islamic World and cooperation in the field of civilizational dialogue, which receives special attention from the Organization with the establishment of the ICESCO Center for Civilizational Dialogue. ICESCO considers Gabon as one of the distinguished models of coexistence and peace.

    For his part, the Ambassador of Gabon reaffirmed his country’s welcome for the upcoming visit of the DG, stressing Gabon’s keenness to build a strong partnership with ICESCO in its fields of competence.

    ICESCO Director-General Receives Ambassador of Chad in Rabat

    Dr. Salim M. AlMalik, Director-General (DG) of the Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ICESCO), received Mr. Mahamat Abderassoul, Ambassador of Chad to Morocco. The meeting explored the latest developments in the close cooperation between ICESCO and Chad in the fields of the Organization’s fields of action.

    At the beginning of the meeting, held on Wednesday, September 8, 2021, at ICESCO headquarters in Rabat, Dr. AlMalik congratulated Ambassador Abderassoul on the Sheikh Hamdan-ICESCO Prize for Voluntary Development of Education Facilities in Islamic World that the Regional Educational Center in Chad received for its project on “Bilingual Arabic Language Teaching in Chad,” implemented with the support of the Arab Bank for Economic Development in Africa (BADEA). The project is one of three outstanding educational projects that received the prize.

    For his part, the Chadian ambassador thanked ICESCO and its DG for organizing the important prize, expressing his pride in the Regional Educational Center in Chad for such achievement among dozens of other nominated projects from all over the Islamic world.

    The meeting tackled the developments in cooperation between ICESCO and Chad, including the outstanding performance of ICESCO Regional Educational Center in N’Djamena and the construction of the Model Primary School affiliated with the Center. The goal is to provide Arabic language education for all groups, quality education, achieve equal gender opportunities, and support the Chadian educational system, which strives to apply Arabic-French bilingualism.

    At the close of the meeting, the two parties stressed the importance of sustaining cooperation between ICESCO and Chad in the fields of education, science, and culture through further communication with the competent authorities in Chad to identify their priorities in these areas and develop appropriate programs.

    International Literacy Day: ICESCO Calls for Conducting Revolution in Literacy and Expanding its Scope to Include Digital Skills

         In celebration of the International Literacy Day, on September 8 of every year, the Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ICESCO) reaffirms the pivotal role of education in empowering people and shaping the future and stresses the need to ensure the right to education for all and the importance of literacy as an essential pillar of lifelong learning. As part of its new vision, ICESCO attaches greater attention to literacy as it significantly contributes to promoting sustainable development, improving living and health conditions, and ensuring human welfare, social cohesion, and peaceful coexistence.

    Illiteracy would remain a challenge as long as the aspired literacy level is achieved. Globally, 773 million young people and adults lack basic literacy skills, while 617 million children and youth do not have minimum skills of reading, writing, and arithmetic. Inequalities in access to literacy programs are persistent and multidimensional, in addition to the weak participation of vulnerable groups.

    The celebration of International Literacy Day this year comes in light of the continuing repercussions of the Covid-19 pandemic and the ensuing closure of formal and informal educational institutions, which threaten the achievements made in the field of literacy during the past decades and exacerbate inequalities in access to literacy opportunities.

    Believing that illiteracy is more costly than education, and being aware of the urgent need to build illiteracy-free societies, ICESCO reiterates its call to ensure the right to education for all and eradicate illiteracy, particularly among girls and women, who are at the heart of ICESCO’s interest given its proclamation of 2021 as the Year of Women.

    To achieve a real development in the field of literacy from the perspective of lifelong learning in today’s digital world, ICESCO calls for a real revolution in formulas, curricula, and methods of literacy, and expanding the scope of literacy to include digital, living and professional skills, continuous learning skills, creativity, and sound citizenship. ICESCO also calls for maximizing the use of information and communication technology as a major effective tool in combating illiteracy and spreading digital skills.

    In recognition of the successful experiences in this field, ICESCO announces three prizes to be granted to the pilot initiatives of NGOs and civil society organizations in the field of literacy among girls and women, in the Organization’s three working languages ​​(Arabic, English, and French).

    ICESCO Director-General Receives Ambassador of Senegal in Rabat

    The Director-General (DG) of the Islamic Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ICESCO), Dr. Salim M. AlMalik, discussed with Ms. Seynabou Dial, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Senegal to Morocco, ways to develop cooperation between ICESCO and Senegal in the Organization’s action areas.

    At the beginning of the meeting, held at ICESCO headquarters in Rabat, on September 7, 2021, Dr. AlMalik congratulated Ms. Dial on starting her mission as Senegalese ambassador to Morocco, and for being the first woman to hold this position. He also stressed that ICESCO is working within the framework of its new vision to support and build the capacities of girls and women. The Organization is carrying out relevant programs and activities during 2021, which is proclaimed by the ICESCO as the Year of Women benefiting from the high patronage of His Majesty King Mohammed VI of Morocco, he added.

    ICESCO DG indicated that cooperation between the Organization and Senegal is witnessing a great development, noting his meeting with Senegalese President Macky Sall, at the Presidential Palace in Dakar, during his visit to Senegal in January 2020, where he explored cooperation between the two sides with several Senegalese officials.

    Dr. AlMalik also affirmed that ICESCO is a partner with the Senegalese government and the Secretariat of the World Water Forum, in organizing the 9th World Water Forum, which will be held next year after being postponed due to the Covid-19 pandemic. He added that Senegal was one of the countries that received support from ICESCO during the pandemic, as part of the Organization’s programs to help the Member States in mitigating the pandemic’s negative effects.

    The Ambassador of Senegal to Morocco expressed her appreciation for the roles that ICESCO performed, stressing that the permanent partnership between the Organization and Senegal will continue to flourish in all areas of its competence and that her country is keen to participate in all ICESCO activities.

    Dr. Abdelilah Benarfa, ICESCO Deputy DG, Ms. Ramata Almamy Mbaye, Director of the Social and Human Sciences Sector, and Dr. Ahmed Said Ould Bah, Advisor to the DG in charge of Partnerships and International Cooperation attended the meeting.

    ICESCO Holds 8th Session of LTIPS Program

    With the participation of a group of officials, trainers, experts, and a large number of young people, the Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ICESCO), on Tuesday, September 7, 2021, held the 8th session of its program “Leadership Training in Peace and Security” (LTIPS). The event was in partnership with UNESCO Maghreb Office, the Conference of Education Ministers of French-speaking Countries (CONFEMEN), and the Conference of Ministers of Youth and Sports of French-speaking Countries (CONFEJES), which aims to train and qualify young people on leadership given their key role in change for peace and building the societies we want.

    At the outset of the training, held via videoconference, under the theme “Unpacking the Peacebuilders’ Toolbox,” Ms. Aziza Laghzal, a member of the 2021 LTIPS cohort, from Morocco, gave an address wherein she expressed her happiness to participate in the program that provides the opportunity to learn about peace-building mechanisms.

    Mr. Danyal Hayat, a member of the 2021 LTIPS cohort from Pakistan, expressed his pride for having participated in the program’s first cohort, stressing the importance of the youth’s contribution to shaping a future of peace and security.

    Ms. Ramata Almami Mbaye, head of the Social and Human Sciences Sector, expressed her pride in the participants in the program, which tackles many issues related to peace and security, and provides an opportunity for young people to reconsider traditional mechanisms for building peace and ensuring security.

    Ms. Branka Panic, Founder of AI for Peace, gave a presentation on the uses of artificial intelligence in building peace, noting that the decline in peace indicators over the past years is pushing us to find new ways to contribute to establishing security by bringing experts and political decision-makers together.

    Dr. Ndioro Ndiaye, former Minister of Social Development of Senegal, called for strengthening the participation of women in building peace and ensuring security as their ideas and proposals will contribute to building more sustainable peace.

    During the second session, Ms. Roukiatou Hampaté, Amadou Hampathe Foundation BA, gave a presentation on revisiting endogenous peacebuilding mechanisms, wherein she reviewed the most prominent of these mechanisms and ways to adapt them to reality and enable them to keep pace with modernity.

    Dr. Saumava Mitra, Assistant Professor at the Dublin City University, gave a presentation on the role and importance of communication and media in achieving peace, calling for media to build peace and security.

    Dr. Ahmed Said Bah, Advisor to ICESCO Director-General for Partnerships and International Cooperation, gave a presentation on “international cooperation as a tool for achieving peace,” in which he explained that the exchange of experiences between countries is an effective mechanism that enables progress in sustainably building peace and security.

    In her presentation, the representative of CONFEJES highlighted the important role that sport can play as a tool for establishing comprehensive peace and achieving social harmony.

    Ms. Regine Guevara, the founder of Asian Youth Peace Network, stressed the need to engage young people, enable them to acquire the skills needed to build peace, and allow them to shape their future.

    ICESCO holds First Consultative Meeting on Future of Federation of Universities of Islamic World

    The headquarters of the Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ICESCO) in Rabat, on Friday, September 3, 2021, hosted the first consultative meeting to discuss the situation of the Federation of the Universities of the Islamic World (FUIW) and its future prospects to fulfill its role in light of the rapid global transformations and the ongoing technological development.

    The meeting brought together Dr. Driss Ouaouicha, Delegate Minister in charge of Higher Education and Scientific Research in of Morocco, Dr. Salim M. Al Malik, ICESCO Director-General (DG), FUIW Secretary-General; the presidents of some Moroccan universities as well as several ICESCO officials and experts. The participants exchanged perspectives and proposals that offer innovative solutions to the current challenges facing the Federation.

    At the outset of the meeting, Dr. Ouaouicha gave an address wherein he praised the roles and efforts of ICESCO in serving the universities of the Islamic world, stressing the need to benefit from the accumulated experiences to develop strategic plans, action plans and performance assessment mechanisms to ensure a better future for the Federation.

    In his address, Dr. AlMalik stressed that the meeting is the beginning of a series of meetings with member universities to explore their vision about the Federation’s future, explaining that the FUIW must be the effective tool for enhancing cooperation between universities to advance to the ranks of international universities, taking into account the recommendation of the twenty-third session of the Executive Council of the Federation, held in Sharjah, on 02-03 February 2020, to develop a new vision for the Federation to renew its working mechanisms and define its future roles to have a fresh start.

    Dr. Omar Halli, Advisor to ICESCO Director-General for the Federation of the Universities of the Islamic World, gave a presentation wherein he explained that the Federation includes 351 universities from 58 countries. He also highlighted the most prominent stations of the FUIW since its inception in 1987, its working mechanisms, the recent developments, and the update of the Federation’s website.

    The floor was then given to the heads of universities, who raised many questions about the roles and achievements of the Federation. They also made many suggestions to promote the role of the Federation to be a locomotive of cooperation and coordination between universities in Muslim countries. The heads of universities included Dr. Awatef Hayar, President of Hassan II University, Dr. Mohamed Ghachi, President of Mohammed V University, Dr. Amin Bensaid, President of Al Akhawayn University, Dr. Mustafa Bousmina, President of Euro-Mediterranean University, and Dr. Abdelaziz Benjouad, Vice President of the International University of Rabat.

    In their interventions, Dr. AlMalik, Dr. Abdelilah Benarafa, and some ICESCO officials responded to all those questions and clarified the background of the establishment of the FUIW, its roles and its relationship with ICESCO.

    At the close of the meeting, the participants made several recommendations, which will be formulated and discussed during the upcoming meetings with the member universities of the Federation.

    ICESCO and Ukraine Explore Prospects for Cooperation

    The Director-General (DG) of the Islamic Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ICESCO), Dr. Salim M. AlMalik, on Thursday, September 2, 2021, held a videoconference meeting with First Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, Emine Dzhaparova, along with Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Ukraine to Morocco, Ms. Vasilyvia Oksana Yuryevna. The participants discussed the prospects for cooperation between ICESCO and Ukraine in the fields of education, science, and culture.

    At the outset of the meeting, which also brought together a number of ICESCO officials, Dr. AlMalik stressed that the Organization attaches great importance to promoting the values ​​of coexistence and dialogue, adopting education for peace, supporting capacity-building for women and youth, providing quality education for all, and benefiting from modern technology in the fields of education, culture and environmental protection.

    The DG pointed out that ICESCO’s programs and activities seek to achieve these goals, in partnership with the competent authorities in Member States, and that the Organization is open to cooperate with non-Member States, international organizations and donors, for the benefit of Member States and Muslim communities around the world.

    The First Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs of Ukraine reaffirmed her country’s keenness to build fruitful cooperation with ICESCO, noting that no less than 1.5 million Muslims live in Ukraine, which is rich in terms of historical sites and intangible heritage.

    Ms. Dzhaparova commended ICESCO’s roles in protecting heritage, developing education, and building the capacities of women and youth.

    Announcing Winning Projects of Hamdan-ICESCO Prize for Voluntary Development of Education Facilities

    The Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ICESCO) and Hamdan Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Foundation for Distinguished Academic Performance are pleased to announce the winners of the second edition of the Hamdan-ICESCO Prize for Voluntary Development of Education Facilities in the Islamic World, which is awarded to three winners from among the outstanding educational projects in the Islamic world.

    The Organization and the Foundation launched this prize to encourage distinguished, sustainable and comprehensive educational projects, and honor the figures and institutions in charge of voluntary initiatives and charitable works in the field of education. The prize is awarded every two years to three winners, each of whom receives the prize shield and a financial reward to be used for supporting and developing the winning project or educational work in general.

    The winners of this edition are the “Enlighten their future” project for developing educational institutions and programs with support from the International Charitable Organization in Ajman, United Arab Emirates; the “Educational Complexes” project, with support from Abdul Aziz, Mohammed, and Abdul Latif’s sons of Hamad Al-Jabr Charity, Saudi Arabia; and the project of “Teaching Arabic Language in Chad,” with support from the Arab Bank for Economic Development in Africa (BADEA).

    Thirty-seven (37) candidates from the Arab, Asian and African regions participated in this edition. The award ceremony will be held during the next General Conference of ICESCO, due to be held in December 2021, in Cairo, the Arab Republic of Egypt.

    ICESCO and Hamdan Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Foundation for Distinguished Academic Performance announce the opening of nominations for the third edition of the Prize for the projects concerned in the countries of the islamic world in accordance with the conditions and procedures that will be posted on the website: www.ha.ae.