TRIPOLI,
November 24 (WICS) - During the period covered by this
report, cooperation between the World Islamic Call
Society (WICS) and Islamic Educational, Scientific and
Cultural Organization (ISESCO) has witnessed a
remarkable degree of development. It covered
educational, cultural and scientific fields.
In
the education sector, the two sides jointly organized a
training course for teachers, educational supervisors
and strategists from Benin, Guinea Conakry, Mauritania,
Guinea Bissau, Senegal, Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger, Chad,
Sudan, Nigeria, Djibouti, Comoros Islands, Cameron, Sera
Leon, Bosnia, Malaysia, Bangladesh, Ivory Coast,
Afghanistan, Libya, Yemen, Kuwait, Gabon and Palestine.
1320
teachers and supervisors participated in the training
courses.
Both
sides also organized seven courses related to syllabus
preparation and development in Indonesia, Senegal, Mali,
Iran, Libya, Burkina Faso and Niger. 42 educational
experts attended these courses.
The
bigger part of these courses have been organized within
the framework of the African Coast Program, financed by
the WICS and implemented by the ISESCO.
Under
the same Program, the two sides delegated four teachers
-- of rare specializations - to teach in the Islamic
University in Niger and a fifth to the Mohie El-Deen
Society in Nigeria.
The
teachers have been dispatched in 2000 and are still
carrying out their job there.
Both
sides also provided financial support, within the
context of the same Program, to a number of national
committees in Mali, Senegal, Guinea Conakry, Niger and
Burkina Faso, aiming to encourage some institutions that
carried out successful experiences in teaching Arabic
language and Islamic culture or offered distinguished
efforts in combating illiteracy.
Cultural
Programs
In
the field of culture, cooperation between the WICS and
ISESCO is embodied in tens of programs. Reading Centers
is one of these programs. It targets distributing
Islamic culture and bases of Islam to deserted areas.
Each
center comprises a complete library, equipped with
reading kits, audio-visual display sets, a group of
educational and documentary tapes and a complete class
room, wherein irregular cultural courses are held for
both men and women.
There
is also the project of Including Elements of Islamic
Heritage in National Museums. It targets highlighting
the Islamic heritage in the Coast Countries, via
displaying items (monuments, pictures, literary works
and information) in national museums to reflect Islam's
contributions in the civilization and history of these
states.
Issuing
books is another project. During the period of 200-2004,
a number of books has been published. Two handled the
deliberations of scientific forums on sides of genetic
engineering and genetics, two books on teaching Arabic,
one on media and communication policies and a book on
entries in Islamic architecture.
Cultural
and scientific forums were also organized. Casablanca
hosted a forum in 2002, on "Child Issues From an
Islamic Perspective" and another one about the
Arabic language in the same year. Another forum on the
"Role of African Women in Development", was
held in Kampala in 2004.
Cooperation
extends also to programs of financing civilization and
cultural institutions. The WICS and ISESCO jointly
provided financial support to more than 15 Islamic
institutions to help them achieve their scientific,
educational and cultural missions.
Cooperation
also extends to the Organization of Islamic Conference
(OIC) itself, not just limited to ISESCO (its cultural
arm). The WICS also cooperates with Islamic Fiqh Academy
(IFC), the OIC's Fiqh arm, Istanbul Center for Arts and
History, its civilization arm), in addition to
cooperation with the General Secretariat in organizing a
number of forums and conferences of joint interest.
