The 44th session of the Executive Council of the Islamic World Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization commenced in Jeddah, hosted by Saudi Arabia's National Commission for Education, Culture, and Science. The three-day gathering is attended by the 54 member states of ICESCO. The Saudi commission highlighted the Kingdom's role in advancing educational, cultural, and scientific development on both regional and global scales. Prince Badr bin Abdullah bin Farhan, the Minister of Culture and Chairman of the Saudi commission, emphasized that the event would reinforce the Kingdom's initiatives in establishing cultural communication, exchange, and promoting scientific and social development—considered foundational for advanced human societies.
Dr. Salim Al-Malik, the Director-General of ICESCO, highlighted the organization's continuous efforts in education, science, and culture, along with its program to enhance water, sanitation, and hygiene services in rural areas. Al-Malik outlined ICESCO's major focus areas, including ethical leadership, human resource investment, good governance, innovation culture, stakeholder centrism, smart services, idea development, information exchange, setting standards, and collaboration mechanisms in policy-making and capacity development. Participants also deliberated on methods to strengthen societal resilience, advocate for inclusivity in the realm of science, and build capacities for climate action to safeguard heritage sites.
Mohamed Ayman Ashour, Egypt's Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research, presented on challenges and opportunities in the Islamic world at ICESCO. He discussed the roles, global rankings, and qualitative initiatives of member state universities, underscoring their impact on achieving Sustainable Development Goals. Ashour emphasized the importance of the Islamic world, constituting 25 percent of the global population, with approximately 60 percent being young people. Representatives from diverse ICESCO member states collaborated on devising strategies and tools to foster innovation during a session titled "Let’s Chart the Future of ICESCO: The ICESCO We Want".
