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38 39 38 th IIUM Convocation 2022 38 th IIUM Convocation 2022 CONFERMENT OF IBN KHALDUN MERIT AWARD FOR GLOBAL SOCIAL TRANSFORMATION CONFERMENT OF IBN KHALDUN MERIT AWARD FOR GLOBAL SOCIAL TRANSFORMATION ISLAMIC WORLD EDUCATIONAL, SCIENTIFIC AND CULTURAL ORGANIZATION (ICESCO) The Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization ICESCO (previously known as ISESCO) was established by the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) in May 1979 and elected its first Director General on 3rd May 1982. With headquarters based in Rabat, Morocco, it has 54 member states and three observer states. It operates in three main languages which are English, Arabic and French. ICESCO’s main mission and raison d'etre is to build the knowledge, capacities, skills, and expertise of Muslim countries, more specifically, the capacities of its member states and advance the Islamic world towards sustainable development through education, science, and culture. In its 40 years of establishment and service, ICESCO’s has greatly contributed to the advancement of the Muslim world. The most notable, impactful, and far-reaching ones include, among others, the following: • Funding hundreds of thousands of direct beneficiaries and millions of indirect beneficiaries each year, in the form of at least 3,580 study scholarships and research grants, over the span of 40 years. • Advancing the education of Muslim girls and Muslim women in pursuing higher education in science and technology, specifically, and in other fields relevant to ICESCO interests. • Conducting over 5,000 activities, in the form of training sessions, specialised meetings, seminars, symposia, workshops, conferences and others in various member states and global Muslim communities for skills transfer and knowledge sharing. • Publishing over 1,200 books and studies which include authoring, translation and verification of manuscripts. • Initiating the adoption of 67 culture capitals in the Islamic world till the year 2025. • Having 237 heritage sites recorded on the Islamic World Heritage List. • Granting 15 awards, such as the ICESCO Short Film Award, Short Stories Award and Drawing and Music Award, to encourage creativity and excellence. • Appointing 30 academic chairs in different areas of knowledge. • Organising 300 cooperation conventions. • Setting up and launching 21 medical, socio-educational and humanitarian groups to alleviate the suffering of people with difficult socio-economic situations in remote areas. ICESCO has a special connection to IIUM and Kulliyyah of Education (KOED). For example, several IIUM staff have, in the past years, been appointed to assume a position with the