ICESCO — the Islamic World's UNESCO
OIC agencies & committees · Education, science and culture
ICESCO is the OIC's specialised body for education, science and culture — the Muslim world's counterpart to UNESCO.
At a glance
| Full name | Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1982 (as ISESCO; renamed 2019) |
| Headquarters | Rabat, Morocco |
| Model | a UNESCO for the Muslim world |
Founded in 1982 as the Islamic Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ISESCO) and renamed the Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization in 2019, ICESCO is headquartered in Rabat. It promotes cooperation among member states in education, the sciences and culture, supports the Arabic language and Islamic heritage, and maintains a list of heritage sites in the Islamic world modelled on UNESCO's.
Its programmes range from teacher training and literacy to science policy, digital learning and the safeguarding of manuscripts and monuments; in recent years it has repositioned itself around themes of dialogue, foresight and openness to non-member partners. It works alongside the OIC's other cultural and research bodies, notably the Istanbul-based heritage centre IRCICA.
Together with those bodies, ICESCO represents the OIC's effort to act in the cultural and educational sphere as a bloc, complementing rather than duplicating the global work of UNESCO.
Related in Chronicle
Curated reference on Islamic belief and thought. On matters where traditions differ, positions are attributed rather than adjudicated; verify points of doctrine with qualified scholars.