Under the high patronage of His Majesty King Mohammed VI, King of Morocco, the Arab League Educational, Cultural and Scientific Organization (ALECSO) held, on May 31, 2023 in Rabat, Morocco, the 13th session of the Conference of Arab Education Ministers.
The Conference was kindly hosted by the Moroccan Ministry of National Education, Preschool and Sports, and held in cooperation with the Moroccan National Commission for Education, Science and Culture.
In his opening remarks, H.E. Dr. Mohamed Ould Amar, Director-General of ALECSO, expressed his deepest thanks to His Majesty King Mohammed VI, for granting his high patronage to the Conference. He extended thanks to H.E. Dr. Chakib Benmoussa, Minister of National Education, Preschool and Sports, Chairperson of the Conference, for all the efforts made to organize this important event.
The Director-General pointed out that the Conference seeks to reduce educational gaps by supporting orientation towards new forms of education, and to respond to learning needs in times of emergency and crisis. He stressed that the outputs and outcomes of the Conference will be taken into consideration as part of cooperation between Member States and coordination with ALECSO.
For his part, the Moroccan Education Minister, Chairperson of the Conference, noted that the Conference is of great importance in terms of the issues it covers and the quality of the documents submitted to it. He considered it a praiseworthy tradition that should be preserved in order to promote joint Arab action, in a way that reflects inter-Arab solidarity and common concerns.
The Arab Ministers participating in the Conference offered remarks in which they highlighted the main foundations of educational systems in the Arab countries, stressing their readiness to further engage in joint Arab cooperation.
During the second session, the main document prepared by ALECSO on “The Future of Education in the Context of Digital Transformation", Morocco’s document entitled “For a Quality Public School", and the “Arabic Language Month Initiative” of the International Arabic Language Council, were presented.
The Ministers and Heads of Delegation discussed the main document prepared by ALECSO, appreciated its significant content, and approved a set of recommendations addressed to the Arab States as well as to ALECSO and its strategic partners.
ALECSO will work, jointly with the Moroccan Ministry of National Education, Preschool and Sports, to follow up on the implementation of these recommendations, and submit a comprehensive report thereon to the 14th session of the Conference.
Twenty Arab States took part in the Conference, namely: Jordan, UAE, Tunisia, Djibouti, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Syria, Somalia, Iraq, Oman, Palestine, Qatar, Comoros, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Egypt, Morocco, Mauritania, and Yemen.
There were also participants from the General Secretariat of the League of Arab States and a number of Arab, regional and international partner organizations, centers and bodies, including: UNESCO, ICESCO, ABEGS, UNESCO Regional Center of Quality and Excellence in Education, Arab Theater Authority, King Abdul Al-Aziz and His Companions Foundation for Giftedness and Creativity, the International Council for the Arabic Language, Granada Educational Foundation, and the World Bank.
Experts from ALECSO, a delegation from the Moroccan Ministry of National Education, Preschool and Sports, and representatives from the Moroccan National Commission for Education, Science and Culture were also in attendance.
