The 26th session of the General Conference of ALECSO, at ministerial level, opened in Tunis, Tunisia, on May 21, 2022, with the participation of delegations from Member States.
In his opening address, Dr. Mohamed Ould Amar, Director-General of ALECSO, stressed the need for more concerted efforts in order to be able to cope with the current challenges facing the Arab world. He expressed hope that the General Conference meeting would serve as a promising platform toward a new forward-looking vision and practical programs enabling the Organization to best undertake its role in building a new Arab generation proud of its identity, language and culture, and keen to enhance the status of the Arab Nation.
Dr. Ould Amar recalled ALECSO’s key achievements and initiatives in recent years, especially during COVID-19. He indicated that about 108 activities were implemented in 2021, out of 163 (i.e. 67%), despite the impacts of the pandemic in the educational, cultural and scientific fields. He referred, in this regard, to ALECSO’s Action Plan (2023-2028), adopted by the Executive Board, and to the “Arab Plan for Education in Times of Crisis and Emergency”.
Dr. Ould Amar highlighted the need to preserve the Arab cultural identity and the values and ideals of the Arab-Islamic civilization, while enhancing interaction with other cultures of the world. He stressed that promoting and disseminating the Arabic language rank high on ALECSO’s agenda, recalling, in this context, that the Project for Arabic Language Promotion Towards the Knowledge Society” is one of the resolutions of the Arab Summit. He indicated, in this regard, that ALECSO is working to implement the projects and programs related to the Arabic language, which are scheduled in the Organization’s plans and budgets, and to enhance the teaching and learning of Arabic to non-native speakers, through the Khartoum International Institute for the Arabic Language. He added that ALECSO is currently partnering with the Islamic Development Bank for the implementation of the Project for Developing a Common Framework of Reference for Arabic Language : Teaching, Learning and Assessment.
The Director-General asserted that serving the Cause of Palestine and Al-Quds Al-Sharif is a core priority for ALECSO which provides financial and technical support to the State of Palestine in all its areas of action, and implements many activities and projects proposed by the Palestinian National Commission for Education, Culture and Science. The Organization, he added, provides allocations in its annual budgets to finance Palestinian educational, cultural and scientific projects and activities.
The Director-General noted that 2022 is the final year of ALECSO’s Strategic Plan (2017-2022), and that an Action Plan for the years 2023-2028 has been drawn up, in line with the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals, especially Goal 4. The Organization’s Evaluation and Anticipation Unit, he added, will intensify its efforts in the coming period, especially in terms of following up program implementation, evaluating activities and projects, and setting indicators to measure progress and impact.
At the beginning of the opening session, the presidency of the Conference was handed over from the Republic of Somalia to the Republic of Iraq.
The Ministers and Heads of Delegations delivered statements in which they highlighted the Organization’s efforts to formulate cultural, educational and scientific policies, as well as the Member States’ efforts to develop and update educational plans. They called for further supporting ALECSO’s work in all its fields of action.
It should be recalled that in preparation for the General Conference meeting, the Executive Board of the Organization held, on May 19-20, 2022, its 117th session in Tunis, Tunisia, under the chairmanship of Mr. Hani bin Moqbel, President of the Executive Board, with the participation of Arab Education Ministers, along with representatives from regional and international organizations.
