The Senior Officials Meeting preparatory for the 5th Session of the Islamic Conference of Youth and Sports Ministers of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) Member States (ICYSM), kicked off today, September 7, 2022.
The 5th ICYSM is hosted by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in Jeddah, on September 7-9, 2022 under the theme: “Youth and Sports Development for a Solidarity-based Ummah”.
The Ministerial Meeting will be held tomorrow, September 8th, under the chairmanship of HRH Prince Abdulaziz bin Turki Al-Faisal, Minister of Sports of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
The Secretary-General of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, H.E. Mr. Hissein Brahim Taha, will deliver a speech in which he will highlight the relevant efforts of the OIC which attaches high priority to youth and sports issues and to the need to enhance youth’s participation in the development of their communities.
Speakers at the opening session of the preparatory meeting included Mr. Ali Kadyrov, Representative of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Chair of the 4th Session of the ICYSM, Mr. Abdulaziz bin Abdulrahman Al-Massad, Under-Secretary for Sports and Youth Affairs at the Ministry of Sport of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Chair of the 5th Session of the ICYSM, and Ambassador Tarig Ali Bakheet, Assistant Secretary-General for Humanitarian, Cultural and Family Affairs at the Organization of Islamic Cooperation.
In his statement on behalf of the OIC General Secretariat, Amb. Bakheet underlined that Saudi Arabia’s hosting of this session, after having previously hosted the first and second sessions of the conference in 2005 and 2014, reflects the Kingdom’s great interest in supporting the activities of the OIC, as well as the increased attention it attached to the issues pertaining to youth and sports development in Member States. He also indicated that the convening of this session at a time when the world is beginning to recover from COVID-19 reflects the OIC’s commitment to promoting youth and sports in Member States, and its efforts to enhance cultural pluralism, foster dialogue among cultures and civilizations, and promote the dissemination of Islamic values through sports.
Amb. Bakheet added that the meeting offers an opportunity to address issues related to youth and sports development, driven by the aim of building a solidarity-based Ummah, to discuss the challenges that hinder youth capacity-building and sports development in Member States, and to develop adequate ways, solutions and mechanisms to enhance intra-OIC cooperation in this regard.
Amb. Bakeet expressed the General Secretariat’s thanks to all the OIC institutions active in the field of youth and sports, especially the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB), the Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ISESCO), the Women Development Organization (WDO), the Statistical, Economic and Social Research and Training Centre for Islamic Countries (SESRIC), the Islamic Centre for Development of Trade (ICDT), the Islamic Solidarity Sports Federation (ISSF), the Islamic Cooperation Youth Forum (ICYF), and the International Union of Muslim Scouts (IUMS), all for their efforts to promote youth and sports development in the Member States and to follow up the implementation of the resolutions emanating from previous ICYSM sessions.
The current session discusses the situation of youth in the OIC Member States, and the importance attached by the OIC and its relevant organs and institutions to youth and sports development. It explores the ways and means of strengthening youth capabilities and enhancing their role in development, with the aim of providing conditions conducive to stability, progress, and prosperity, to combating extremist and violent ideas advocated by terrorist organizations, as well as to promoting dialogue, moderation, tolerance and respect for others. It also addresses the commitment of Member States to implementing the OIC’s guiding strategies for youth and sports development in order to promote joint Islamic action in this regard.
Source: Organization of Islamic Cooperation