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A track record towards Muslim world sustainable development

Global Arab Network - - Adam Turner

Thursday, 30 April 2009 13:06

May 3rd, 2009, marks the 27th anniversary of the Islamic Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (ISESCO), which coincides with the start of the second half of the final year of the 2007-2009 action plan with four strategic objectives :

1) to develop the educational systems of ISESCO’s fifty (50) member states, with the view to eradicate illiteracy, achieve Education for All, and promote sustainable development;
2) to enhance scientific research and use its results for the advancement of knowledge and achievement of development;
3)to enlarge scope for cultural action to develop society and establish peace and coexistence among peoples; and 4) to contribute to bridging the digital divide between Member States and developed countries.

ISESCO was set up at a founding conference held in Fez , Kingdom of Morocco , on 3 through 5 May 1982. It was at this conference that the charter of ISESCO was approved, two years after it was first adopted by the 11th Islamic Conference of Foreign Ministers (Islamabad, Pakistan, May 1980).

ISESCO was established in fulfilment of the OIC member states’ aspiration, at the turn of the fifteenth century of the hegira, towards a solid groundwork on which to promote education, science and culture. ISESCO, since its founding plan (1982-1983), undertook to contribute to promoting member states’ human resources in education, science, culture and communication, highlighting the Islamic civilization’s rich contribution in various knowledge fields, redressing the false information about Islam and Muslims in the West, and enabling member states to build the information and knowledge society.

ISESCO continued its upward trend in these fields, with eight (8) three-year action plans (from 1986 to 2009) and eleven (11) strategies covering various development fields, including education, culture, science, innovation, biotechnology, water resources, cultural takaful, information and communication technologies, cultural action outside the Islamic world, Muslim competences outside the Islamic world, rapprochement of Muslim schools of thought, sustainable development, cultural diversity and cultural policy renovation.

Throughout its 27-year history of sound, well-planned action, ISESCO has established itself as a credible organisation on the regional and international scene in its chosen mission to develop human civilization. ISESCO boasts a fine record of cooperation and partnership achievements with more than 175 regional and international organizations. As a result, countless educational, scientific and cultural activities and programmes have been dedicated to help member states achieve comprehensive, sustainable human development, and respond to the needs of Muslim minorities and communities everywhere.

The merit of this continuous success over 27 years is to be attributed in the first place to Allah the Almighty, then to a combination of rigorous efforts and sound planning, with support from the member states, to achieve the goals outlined in ISESCO Charter: namely, to promote and facilitate cooperation between member states in education, science, culture and communication; to increase understanding among peoples and contribute to world peace and security through such areas as education, science, culture and communication; to spread the values of justice and peace along with the principles of freedom and human rights, in line with the Islamic civilizational perspective; to encourage cultural interaction; to consolidate complementarity and coordination among OIC specialised institutions; to highlight the Islamic civilization’s specificities and publicise its landmarks; to strengthen complementarity and correlation among the educational systems of the member states; and to support the efforts of the educational, scientific and cultural institutions for Muslims in non-member states.

These objectives have been tailored to meet sustainable development and capacity building requirements for the member states, and lay the groundwork for the Islamic world’s civilizational resurgence.

It is in this spirit that ISESCO is channelling its efforts into more rewarding achievements under its successive action plans. Numerous other large-scale civilizational projects, as well as major programmes, sub-programmes and activities will be implemented according to the priorities outlined and the needs identified in the fields of education, scientific research, and cultural action in the member states.

Global Arab Network

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