The Center of Arabic for Non-Arabic Speakers at the Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ICESCO) held a coordination meeting with King Salman International Academy for the Arabic Language in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to agree on the implementation of a set of programs and activities in the field of Arabic for non-Arabic speakers.
During the meeting, held on Wednesday, February 9, 2022, via videoconference, the two parties stressed the importance of joint action in serving the Arabic language and enhancing its position at the international level, and considered some joint programs, most notably cooperation in providing one of ICESCO’s educational centers, either in Chad or Malaysia, with curricula of teaching Arabic for non-Arabic speakers, as well as partnership in organizing training workshops for the benefit of the teachers of Arabic language for non-Arabic speakers in some of ICESCO Member States.
Within the framework of the language policy and planning project, the two parties agreed to prepare a comprehensive report on “Teaching Arabic Language in the World” and build a database for the teachers of Arabic for non-Arabic speakers in the ICESCO Member States. The Academy also invited ICESCO to participate in its Conference on “Arabic Language in International Organizations,” due to be held this year, in Riyadh, under the patronage of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud.
At the close of the meeting, ICESCO Center and the Academy agreed on a set of administrative procedures to develop joint action plans and cooperate in the drafting of an agreement between the two parties to be examined in the upcoming meeting, to be held on Wednesday, February 23, 2022.
The meeting brought together the representatives of ICESCO, King Salman International Academy, the Saudi Ministry of Culture, and the Saudi National Commission for Education, Culture and Science.
Prince Songkla University in Pattani, Kingdom of Thailand, holds the World Arabic Language Day Festival 2021, under the honorary patronage of ICESCO Center of Arabic for Non-Arabic Speakers, in partnership with Al-Madinah International University and Universiti Sultan Azlan Shah, in Malaysia, and Universitas Al Azhar, at the headquarters of the Arabic Language Proficiency Test Center at the College of Islamic Studies, Prince of Songkla University, Pattani Branch.
During the opening session, held on Saturday, December 18, 2021, Dr. Majdi Haji Ibrahim, Head of ICESCO Center of Arabic for Non-Arabic Speakers, delivered a speech wherein he welcomed the participating professors and students, pointing to ICESCO’s great interest in the Arabic by seizing the opportunity of the World Arabic Language Day to raise awareness about the importance, history, literature and aesthetics of Arabic, the achievements of its luminaries and its civilizational role in bringing Muslim countries together.
In the morning, the participants attended the national cultural competition for the Islamic schools in Thailand and the regional cultural competition for undergraduate students in Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia. In the evening, representatives from Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines, Pakistan and Bangladesh participated in the International Dialogue Seminar: ” Arabic Language in Non-Arab Countries: Prospects and Aspirations to Serve the Homeland”.
The jury of the competition of the program for training youth in creating and developing small projects in the field of technology and innovation in the Republic of Azerbaijan held a meeting on Friday, November 12, 2021, to evaluate and select three winners among 16 teams participating in the competition implemented by the Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ICESCO) in cooperation with the Ministry of Culture in the Republic of Azerbaijan, the Azerbaijani National Commission for Education, Science and Culture, the Baku Higher Oil School (BHOS) and the New Space for Innovation Program.
During the meeting, held face-to-face and via videoconference, all participating teams presented their projects to the committee consisting of Dr. Muhammad Sharif, advisor to the Science and Technology Sector at ICESCO, in addition to several experts and specialists in the field of entrepreneurship and start-up financing.
At the end of this meeting, the winning projects at the national level in the Republic of Azerbaijan were announced, namely: the “eGifting” project which is a customer-oriented online platform that provides for customers convenient and fast sales of digital gift vouchers; “Insight Hunter,” a brand search engine developed to speed up research and automate marketing processes; and the electronic travel platform “Tridy.”
It is worth noting that this program will be implemented in 10 Islamic countries, and two teams will be selected in each country to present their projects at ICESCO’s International Forum in 2022 in front of a number of donors and investors to secure funding for these projects.
A large delegation of Indonesian students enrolled in different Moroccan universities visited the headquarters of the Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ICESCO) to have a closer look at the work nature of the Organization’s different sectors and departments and explore ways to benefit from ICESCO’s programs and activities.
During the visit, which took place on Tuesday, November 9, 2021, Dr. Salim M. AlMalik, Director-General (DG) of ICESCO, met with the Indonesian students and engaged in a constructive conversation with them, emphasizing the Organization’s keenness to cooperate with Indonesia, a Member State of ICESCO since 1986. Dr. AlMalik introduced the student delegation to the major programmes and activities developed by the Organization to train young people in its Member States and build their capacities, extending the invitation to the student delegation to take part in such activities.
In response to a question from one of the students on the possibility of physical participation in the Organization’s activities, Dr. AlMalik clarified that all ICESCO events are usually open for those interested; however, in light of the current COVID-19 pandemic, the Organization has reduced the number of physical attendees in compliance with precautionary measures. He added that all conferences and seminars are streamed live on ICESCO’s Facebook pages in the three working languages of the Organization.
Following their meeting with ICESCO DG, the Indonesian students were taken on a tour of the Organization during which they were introduced to the working mechanisms of the various sectors, departments, and centers by several ICESCO Officials.
At the close of the visit, the Indonesian students expressed their delight to visit ICESCO headquarters and acquaint themselves with its activities, reaffirming their eagerness to get involved in ICESCO’s programmes, particularly those aiming at training young people and building their capacities.
Dr. Abdelilah Benarafa, Deputy Director-General of the Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ICESCO), accompanied by an ICESCO delegation including Dr. Mohamed Zinelabidine, Head of the Sector of Culture and Communication, and Ambassador Khaled Fatherrahman, Head of the Center for Civilizational Dialogue, took part in the opening ceremony of the academic symposium titled “Arabs and New Regional and International Changes: Future of Arabism”. The Symposium was held by the Assilah Forum Foundation, on Monday 8 November 2021, at Prince Bandar bin Sultan Library in Assila.
The Symposium is held as part of the activities of the 42nd edition of the International Cultural Festival of Assila, held under the high patronage of His Majesty King Mohammed VI of Morocco, may Allah assist him, from 29 October to 18 November 2021. The Forum saw high-caliber participation including prominent intellectual and cultural personalities.
During the meeting, held on Monday (November 8, 2021), via videoconference, all the participating teams presented their projects before the jury composed of Dr. Muhammad Sharif, Advisor at ICESCO Science and Technology Sector, in addition to several experts and specialists in the field of entrepreneurship and funding for start-ups.
At the close of the meeting, the jury announced the three winners at the national level in Kazakhstan. “Parqour Team,” which presented a project on Neural Network Enabled Parking Management System, won the first place; “QazTracker Team” won the second place with the project on the system of digitalization and predictive analytics of the health status of cattle and horses in real time, using IoT technology and Machine Learning; and the third place went to “Bazon Team” for its project titled ‘inline on-demand shopping is the way we do business.’
This program will be mainstreamed in 10 countries in the Islamic world with teams from each country to present their projects at ICESCO International Forum in 2022 before a host of donors and investors to obtain funding for these projects.
The Islamic
World Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (ICESCO) participated,
via videoconferencing, in the regional workshop of UNESCO Regional Center for
Quality and Excellence in Education in Saudi Arabia (RCQE), held on Tuesday,
July 13, 2021, under the theme “Developing the Structure of the Education
System and the Duration of the Academic Year and School Day in Arab Countries.”
Dr. Tarek
Shawki, Minister of Education and Technical Education in Egypt, delivered the
Workshop’s opening address which brought together intellectuals, experts and
specialists representing several local, regional and international bodies.
The Workshop
reviewed the outcomes of the scientific study which was conducted under the
supervision of the RCQE on “Developing the Structure of the Education System
and the Duration of the Academic year and School day in Arab Countries: A
Comparative Study.” The study aimed to provide a new vision for developing the
structure of the education system and the duration of the academic year and
school day in Arab countries in light of the best global practices and the ground
realities prevailing in these countries as well as the orientations of the 21st-century
schools. The measure identifies the reality of
the Education System’s structure and the duration of the academic year and
school day in Arab countries.
The study
targeted the following eight Arab countries: Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Oman,
Jordan, Egypt, Yemen, Tunisia, and Morocco while reference countries included Germany,
Malaysia, South Korea, the United States of America, France, and Australia.
The study also focused
on drawing a comparison between the reference countries’ best global practices
and orientations in the field and the reality of education systems in Arab
countries along with the outcomes of field studies conducted to meet the
objectives of the current study.
Dr. Youssef
Abou Daka, Mr. Aziz Elhajir, and Dr. Ahmed El Zanfali, Program Managers at
ICESCO’s Sector of Education, represented the Organization in the Workshop.
The Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ICESCO), the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), the United Cities and Local Governments (UCLG), the Regional Environment Department of Agadir, Agadir Prefecture, Agadir Municipality, and Ibn Zohr University in Morocco held a coordination meeting to explore the arrangements for organizing an international symposium on smart and resilient sustainable cities on June 3-4, 2021. The parties discussed holding the meeting face-to-face and via videoconferencing, in Agadir, Morocco, in celebration of the World Environment Day (observed on June 5).
ICESCO took part in the meeting via videoconference, on May 5, 2021, and was represented by Dr. Muhammad Sharif, Adviser at the Sector of Science and Technology, and Dr. Foued El-Ayni, Expert at the Sector. Dr. Mohammad Alaoui, Head of the Department of Natural and Exact Sciences at the UNESCO Maghreb Office represented UNESCO, while Dr. Najat Zarrouk, Director of the Development Pole and the African Local Governments Academy (ALGA), represented UCLG.
Dr. Mohamed Saidi from
Mohamed V University in Rabat, Ms. Khadija Sami, Regional Director of
Environment of the Souss Massa Region, Mr. Ahmad Sharmata, President of the Environment
Department at Agadir Prefecture, Ms. Laila Ouabaali, Head of the Department of
Environment Protection at Agadir City Council, and Prof. Dr. Abdelhamid
Al-Mussadaq, Vice President of Ibn Zohr University in Charge of Scientific
Research attended the meeting.
Participants in the
meeting discussed the possibility of implementing field awareness-raising
activities on June 5, in cooperation with the civil society, organizations and
other stakeholders, in a bid to contribute to the global efforts to protect the
environment, raise awareness of environmental issues and ensure a better future
for the next generations.
At the close of the
meeting, the parties agreed to pool efforts to allocate all logistic resources
to ensure the success of the symposium, held as part of the celebration of
Agadir as the Islamic World Environmental Capital for 2020-2021 and the
celebration of World Environment Day, that Pakistan will host this year, under
the slogan “Restoring the Ecosystem.” The celebration of World Environment Day
aims to raise environmental awareness across the globe and shed light on
pressing and current environmental issues.
In an
official international ceremony, the Islamic World Educational, Scientific, and
Cultural Organization (ICESCO) launched its training programme for women and
youth in leadership for peace and security, under the theme: “Women and Youth: Agents
of Peace.” The ceremony saw the participation of high officials and eminent
international personalities in peacebuilding.
The
celebration took place on March 25, 2021, face-to-face at ICESCO headquarters
in Rabat and through a videoconference. The programme is part of ICESCO’s
celebration of “Year of Women 2021,” under the high patronage of His Majesty
King Mohammed VI. The measure aims to train and mobilize young people as actors
of change for peace, citizenship, and resilience, to build the societies we
want and make them true ambassadors of peace in their societies, by equipping
them with the tools of knowledge and leadership through the exchange with
inspiring leaders and expert trainers for a peaceful world.
The
celebration kicked off with a recitation of verses from the Holy Qur’an, which was
followed by the address of the guest of honor of the ceremony, Mr. Ali Bongo
Ondimba, President of Gabon, which Mr. Patrick Mouguiama Daouda, Minister of
National Education, Vocational Training, Higher Education and Scientific
Research, delivered on his behalf, wherein
he commended ICESCO’s work in contributing to the improvement of women’s lives,
stressing the need to provide them with all the necessary support.
He also
pointed out the essential role of women in achieving development as he reviewed
the Gabonese experience in the empowerment of women and the significant
progress the country made towards the crafting of a constitution that enshrines
the principle of equality and exploiting various measures to achieve them.
Mr.
Amadou-Mahtar M’Bow, former Director-General (DG) of UNESCO, then stated that
training programmes for youth and women in the field of peace and security are
urgently needed and that peace is key to achieving development in all its
forms.
In her address,
Mrs. Aisha Buhari, First Lady of Nigeria, welcomed ICESCO’s proclamation of
2021 as the Year of Women, considering it an outstanding initiative that
contributes to strengthening the role of women and supporting progress towards
gender equality. She noted that the focus on youth plays a fundamental role in
creating safe and stable societies.
Mr. Mohamed
Senoussi II, Advocate of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, took
the floor, stressing the importance of the role of youth and women, and
emphasizing that the achievement of gender equality is essential to the
realization of the values of democracy. He also noted that the deprivation of
young people of opportunities makes them elements that contribute to creating a
climate of instability.
In her
address, FIFA Secretary General, Fatma Samba Diouf Samoura, praised ICESCO’s
initiative and its great contribution to building a more equal, peaceful, progressive,
and resilient society. She expressed FIFA’s belief that soccer is a key factor
in combating violence and anchoring tolerance and dialogue.
For her
part, Mrs. Jamila El-Moussali, Moroccan Minister of Solidarity, Social
Development, Equality and Family, praised ICESCO’s quality initiative and its
focus on youth and women and reviewed the Kingdom’s pioneering experience in
involving young women in decision-making, as well as its focus on women and its
efforts to ensure that women can assume their rightful place.
In his address
at the opening ceremony, Dr. Salim M. AlMalik, DG of ICESCO, expressed the
objective of the training programme, most notably highlighting the central role
that youth and women play in laying a solid foundation for peaceful, inclusive,
and cohesive societies.
He added
that ICESCO’s interest in women and youth stems from their ability to make a change
in peacebuilding, considering it an essential condition for achieving
development and that the beneficiaries of the programme will receive a series
of training in several areas, including the concepts of ethical leadership,
capacity building, peacebuilding skills and peace-related best practices, in
addition to networking skills.
The DG of
ICESCO expressed the hope that the beneficiaries, through the acquisition of
these skills, would be able to translate their ideas into concrete projects for
which the Organization could provide seed funding for implementation in their
countries.
The opening
session closed with the screening of a musical film entitled: “The Black
Panther” and a video presentation of the “Class of 2021,” which ICESCO’s Human
and Social Sciences Sector produced.
With poetic
words and melodious poems and high-level attendees, the major international
celebration “Poets… Wings of Peace,” that the Islamic World Educational, Scientific,
and Cultural Organization (ICESCO) and the Arab Poetry Academy in Saudi Arabia
co-organized, kicked off in celebration of the World Poetry Day with the
participation of many outstanding poets, writers, and specialists.
After the recitation
of verses from the Holy Quran at the beginning of the celebration, held face-to-face
at the Organization’s headquarters in Rabat and by videoconference, the
speakers of the opening session recited poems in praise of poetry and poets.
The speakers also called for attaching due care and importance to poetry, a
literary art rooted in all cultures around the world, and use as a vehicle for
progress that enriches the noble and common human values.
At the
opening session, Dr. Abdelilah Benarafa, Cultural Advisor to the
Director-General (DG), delivered ICESCO’s welcome address followed by the screening
of the video “The Bird of Grey Tales,” which ICESCO produced to celebrate World
Poetry Day. The video touched on the multi-dimensional character of poetry transcending
all walks of life.
Addressing
the audience, the guest of honor, Mr. Mohammed Benaïssa, Secretary-General of
the Asilah Forum Foundation, reaffirmed that poetry is an ancient art rooted in
world cultures, including Islamic culture, and that there is no science or
thought that truly expresses the humans’ inner taste and feelings of beauty
like poetry.
Mr. Benaïssa
thanked ICESCO and its DG for organizing the celebration and recalled that the
Asilah International Cultural Project, which started with poetry and visual art
in Asilah, the city of art and poetry, was first organized in 1978. He also noted
that this project focused on poetry and thus hosted several senior poets, Arabs
and non-Arabs alike.
Speaking on
behalf of the Arab Poetry Academy, Dr. Mansour Al Harthi, praised the ICESCO’s great
cultural role and touched on the Academy’s role in supporting poets, discovering
young poetry talents in different educational stages, and publishing
collections of the best poems that young poets authored.
The famous
poet Mohamed Achaari then recited the poem “Dead Leaves.” In his contribution,
the poet provided a representation of the phases of the consciousness of the
Moroccan poem, poetic tenses. Prior to his recitation, Mr. Achaari delivered an
address wherein he stressed the need to accord a high position to poetry in
one’s life and called on poetry lovers to see poetry as a key development
factor instead of a luxury.
Through his
poem “A Nod in the Poetry Season” which he composed on the occasion, Dr. Salim
M. AlMalik, ICESCO DG, presented his greeting to the attending poets. In the
poem, Dr. AlMalik says: “the scents of beauty are smelt from the poems of poets
on the day of their global celebration; the flowers of ghazal, wisdom
and pride illuminate the darkness of trees of sorrows and anxiety and breathe
the feelings of reassurance, confidence and glamor in souls.”
The opening
session of ICESCO’s celebration of World Poetry Day closed with a musical
performance “muwashahat” by the Moroccan artist Karima Skalli.
