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Dr. Salim M. AlMalik, Director General of the Islamic World Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (ICESCO), affirmed that the Organization adopts a participatory approach with its Member States’ national commissions, recognizing the pivotal roles of these commissions and seeking to achieve integration and solidarity between them and ICESCO. This was clearly evident during the 44th session of the Organization’s Executive Council, hosted by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in mid-January in Jeddah. The session was preceded by a consultative meeting that included brainstorming sessions between ICESCO leaders and the delegations of national commissions regarding future action plans.

Dr. AlMalik made these remarks during his participation in the ordinary session of the General Assembly of the Moroccan National Commission for Education, Science, and Culture, which was held on 16 February 2024, at the headquarters of the Regional Academy of Education and Training in Rabat. The meeting was chaired by Dr. Chakib Benmoussa, Minister of National Education, Vocational Training, and Sports, and President of the Moroccan National Commission for Education, Science, and Culture, and attended by members of the General Assembly of the Commission, its Secretary-General, and representatives of UNESCO and ALECSO in Morocco.

Dr. AlMalik added that the General Assembly meeting of the National Commission is an opportunity for assessment, reviewing achievements, and envisioning ways to enhance cooperation and integration among ICESCO and the Moroccan National Commission, and its partners from international organizations. Moreover, he stressed the support received by the Organization from His Majesty King Mohammed VI, and the Moroccan Government.

Dr. AlMalik also pointed out the celebration of Marrakesh as the capital of culture in the Islamic world 2024, which began last month under the high patronage of His Majesty. ICESCO, in collaboration with the Ministry of Youth, Culture, and Communication and all relevant ministries, is working to make its program a cultural event worthy of the standing of Marrakesh.

It is worth noting that the ordinary meeting of the General Assembly of the Moroccan National Commission for Education, Science, and Culture featured the distribution of the Commission’s awards in the fields of education, scientific research, vocational training, and culture.

Dr. Salim M. AlMalik, Director-General of the Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ICESCO), received Mr. Mohsen Al-Mandalawi, First Deputy Speaker of the Iraqi House of Representatives, and his accompanying parliamentary delegation, during their visit to ICESCO’s headquarters in Rabat.

At the outset of the meeting, held on Friday 6 February 2024, in the presence of Dr. Botan Dizayee, Chargé d’affaires of the Iraqi Embassy in Rabat, and Dr. Abdelilah Benarafa, Deputy Director-General of ICESCO, Dr. Al-Malik reviewed the main axes of the Organization’s vision and strategic directions. His Excellency emphasized that they take root in the Organization’s openness and cooperation with all, for the benefit of its Member States and all Muslim communities worldwide.

Moreover, the Director-General pointed out that ICESCO has become an innovative organization that promotes the culture of foresight, builds the capacities of women and youth in all fields. Dr. AlMalik furthermore noted that the Organization encourages its Member States to invest in space science and its various applications, supports their efforts to benefit from the potential offered by modern technology, and works to anchor the values of coexistence, peace and civilizational dialogue.

On his part, Mr. Al-Mandalawi reaffirmed Iraq’s support for ICESCO’s efforts and the Country’s keenness to develop cooperation with the Organization in its areas of competence, praising the multi-faceted remarkable role in contributing to the development of education, science and culture in its Member States.

Dr. Salim M. AlMalik, Director General of the Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ICESCO), received Mr. Faisal Akif Al-Fayez, President of the Senate of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, and his accompanying delegation, who visited the International Exhibition and Museum of the Prophet’s Seerah and Islamic Civilization, currently housed at the Organization’s headquarters.

During the meeting, held on Thursday, February 15, 2024, in the presence of Ms. Jumana Ghunaimat, Ambassador of Jordan to Morocco, Dr. AlMalik reviewed the key aspects of ICESCO’s vision and strategic orientations, which are based on openness and partnerships for the benefit of the countries of the Islamic world and Muslim communities worldwide, highlighting the Organization’s major initiatives, programs and projects that focus on consolidating the values of coexistence and peace, confronting hatred and extremist ideas, building the capacities of youth and women, and promoting the culture of foresight.

Afterward, the ICESCO Director General took the President of the Jordanian Senate and his accompanying delegation on a tour of the International Exhibition and Museum of the Prophet’s Seerah and Islamic Civilization, being organized in partnership between ICESCO, the Muslim World League, and the Mohammadia League of Scholars. The guests listened to detailed explanations about exhibited elements using modern display techniques to virtually showcase the biography of our Messenger, peace and blessing be upon him.

At the close of his tour, Mr. Al-Fayez expressed his happiness at visiting this great museum, which thoroughly narrates the biography of the Prophet in a simplified way and addresses all groups, thanking the three organizing parties.

Dr. Salim M. Almalik, Director-General of the Islamic World Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (ICESCO), received Dr. Sami bin Abdullah Al-Saleh, Ambassador of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques to the Kingdom of Morocco, to discuss ways to enhance the distinguished relations between ICESCO and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in the fields of education, science, and culture.

The meeting, which took place today, 7 February 2024, at the Organization’s headquarters in Rabat, was attended by Dr. Abdelilah Benarfa, ICESCO Deputy Director-General, along with several sector heads and directors of departments within the Organization. Dr. AlMalik expressed his contentment with the partnership between ICESCO and Saudi Arabia, underscored by the recent hosting of the 44th session of the Organization’s Executive Council in Jeddah by the Kingdom, alongside its gracious invitation to host the 15th session of the ICESCO General Conference in 2025.

Furthermore, Dr. AlMalik reviewed the Organization’s vision and highlighted its most important programs and projects aimed at empowering youth and women and nurturing their skills to meet the professions of the future, enhancing their capabilities in strategic foresight, and promoting the values of coexistence, peace, and civilizational dialogue.

Dr. AlMalik commended the mutual cooperation agreements between the Organization and the Saudi Kingdom, highlighting notable initiatives such as the Executive Program for Hajj Routes to Makkah Al-Mukarramah and Historical Mosques Project, as well as the Culture Index in the Islamic World Project. He further expressed appreciation for the Kingdom’s unwavering support for the Organization’s programs and projects.

On his part, the Saudi Ambassador in Rabat commended ICESCO’s development and modernization observed over the past four years, positioning it as a symbol of international cultural prominence. Moreover, he expressed gratitude for ICESCO’s hosting of a group of youth from the Mohammed bin Salman Foundation “Misk” for training across its diverse sectors, who voiced their appreciation for the expertise provided by the Organization’s experts from different nationalities.

Following the meeting, Dr. AlMalik took Dr. Al-Saleh on a tour of the International Exhibition and Museum of the Prophet’s Seerah and Islamic Civilization, currently housed at the ICESCO headquarters in partnership with the Muslim World League (MWL) and the Mohammedia League of Scholars. They were received by Sheikh Dr. Nasser bin Misfer Al-Qurashi Al-Zahrani, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the International Exhibitions and Museums of the Prophet’s Biography and Islamic Civilization.

The Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ICESCO) and Mohammed VI Polytechnic University in the Kingdom of Morocco signed a memorandum of understanding for cooperation in the fields of innovation, scientific research, foresight, education and young people capacity-building to keep up with the professions of tomorrow and organize joint activities to enhance experience sharing.

Dr. Salim M. AlMalik, ICESCO Director-General, and Mr. Hicham El Habti, President of the Mohammed VI Polytechnic University, signed the memorandum, on Tuesday (February 6, 2024), at the Organization’s headquarters, in Rabat.

In his statement during the signing ceremony, Dr. AlMalik commended the outstanding partnership between ICESCO and Mohammed VI University, hailing the position of this university in the academic scene locally and internationally, and its branches inaugurated outside the Kingdom of Morocco, namely in France, Canada and Côte d’Ivoire.

Dr. AlMalik stressed that ICESCO, within its strategic vision, is committed to contributing to the advancement of educational fields in its Member States through a number of initiatives, most notably the establishment of academic chairs in cooperation with many universities in Member States and abroad.

ICESCO Director-General considered that this new agreement with Mohammed VI Polytechnic University reflects a shared vision towards building an innovative and creative future through a number of programs in strategic foresight and artificial intelligence to serve research and education with the view of raising a new generation of leaders capable of building a better tomorrow.

For his part, Mr. El Habti expressed his happiness with the cooperation between Mohammed VI University and ICESCO to support the Organization’s mission aiming at contributing to the development of science and education in its Member States and the Muslim communities worldwide, adding that the university’s new branches inaugurated outside the Kingdom of Morocco have enhanced the feeling of pride as the South is heading North, which affirms our ability to compete in line with the best international standards.

The memorandum of understanding sets forth cooperation between ICESCO and the University in implementing a number of programs and initiatives, including “Skills and Jobs of Tomorrow Project,” which aims to identify the necessary skills for the future workforce, and the “Regional Foresight and Human and Local Development Project,” which aims to anticipate and address development needs at the local and regional levels, as well as the establishment of ICESCO Chair at the University, which will serve as a cooperation platform for intellectual exchange and research between the two institutions.

The memorandum also includes cooperation in implementing the “Peace and Stability Project,” the “Agricultural Value Chain Project,” and organizing the training sessions of specialized master’s, executive master’s and educational programs in foresight and future studies.

The headquarters of the Islamic World Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (ICESCO) hosted an award ceremony for the winners of the first edition of ICESCO’s competition to develop a process to transform bio-waste into food bars to ensure zero hunger. This initiative aligns with the second goal of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in the Organization’s Member States. The Event featured the participation of the five teams qualified for the final round of the competition, who presented their projects to a jury of experts, in a bid to secure their position as one of the top three winning teams.

The Ceremony, attended by a number of Member States’ ambassadors, officials, researchers, and students from international universities, was held today, Thursday, February 1st, 2024. It kicked off with the recitation of some verses from the Holy Quran, followed by a speech by Dr. Salim M. AlMalik, ICESCO Director-General, in which he commended the awarded projects in a world beset by the two-fold challenge of ensuring food security and managing organic waste.

Moreover, Dr. Salim M. AlMalik praised the qualified teams’ work, emphasizing their innovation and renewal in addressing one of the most pressing issues of our time, i.e., food insecurity. Dr. AlMalik also acknowledged the teams’ wise contributions to achieving the second SDG, which aims to achieve zero hunger, not merely through ending hunger itself, but also by confronting the environmental challenges posed by waste proliferation.

The Director-General highlighted that the winning teams’ work embodies the focus of ICESCO’s vision and its belief in the power of education, science, and culture to bring about positive change and sustainability, considering the selected youth projects as a testament to the transformative power of modern science and technology when aligned with the human vision to combat food waste.

In his speech, Dr. Raheel Qamar, Head of ICESCO’s Science and Environment Sector, highlighted the importance of ensuring food security in light of the current challenges that the world is witnessing, which perpetuate the suffering or a significant portion of the world’s population from hunger and malnutrition-related issues, stressing the need to provide solutions likely to help in eradicating this scourge, which is the goal of ICESCO’s organization of this competition.

On his part, Dr. Ismaila Diallo, expert at ICESCO’s Science and Environment sector, gave a recap presentation of the award, highlighting its broad outlines and objectives. The presentation also included the various stages of submitting nominations, the participating countries, the number of nominations received by ICESCO, project eligibility criteria, ending it with details surrounding the selection of the five qualified teams.

The jury deliberations resulted in the project “Organic and Secondary Food Waste as a Mechanism for Ensuring Food Security” from Egypt winning the first place, thus receiving $22,500 in prize money. The second place was secured by the project “Borneo” project for food bar production from Malaysia, earning its team $12,500 in prize money, while the third place went to the project bio-waste sourced food bar production from Brunei Darussalam, with the team receiving $5,000 in prize money.

The jury then decided to award the Pakistani fourth-place team $2,500 in winnings, for their project on producing food bars from chickpeas. At the same 4th place, the team from Malaysia was equally awarded $2,500 for their project “Beco Food Bars’ Healthy Snacks.”

Dr. Salim M. AlMalik, Director-General of the Islamic World Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (ICESCO), met with Amb. Nazim Samadov, Ambassador of the Republic of Azerbaijan to the Kingdom of Morocco. The meeting focused on the ongoing preparations to celebrate the city of Shusha as the Culture Capital in the Islamic World for 2024, as well as arrangements for ICESCO’s participation in the 29th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP 29), hosted by the Republic of Azerbaijan later this year.

During the meeting, held Tuesday 30 January 2024 at the ICESCO Headquarters in Rabat, Dr. AlMalik praised the distinguished partnership between Azerbaijan and the Organization in areas of mutual interest, evidenced by the close collaboration on various programs and activities, particularly concerning youth capacity-building and training, development of scientific research, in addition to the promotion of space sciences and their applications.

On his part, Ambassador Samadov affirmed Azerbaijan’s full support for ICESCO’s efforts to contribute to the development of its work in the Member States, commending the Organization for implementing programs and projects in the fields of education, science, and culture in the Islamic world.

The Meeting also addressed the ongoing preparations for launching the celebration of Shusha as Culture Capital in the Islamic World for 2024, expected to take place in May, under the patronage of His Excellency President Ilham Aliyev of the Republic of Azerbaijan.

Likewise, the two parties discussed the arrangements for ICESCO’s participation in COP 29, to be hosted by Azerbaijan in November 2024 in Baku. The Organization has set up a committee to oversee the final preparations for its delegation’s participation in this major event.

ICESCO is also set to take part in the upcoming edition of the World Forum on Intercultural Dialogue in Baku.

Mr. Anar Karimov, Head of ICESCO’s Partnerships and International Cooperation Sector, attended the meeting.