ALECSO General Conference Approves Saudi Initiative to Develop Its Working Mechanisms

 The 28th session of the General Conference of the Arab League Educational, Cultural and Scientific Organization (ALECSO) concluded on Thursday in the Omani capital, Muscat. The session saw Saudi Arabia hand over the conference presidency to the Sultanate of Oman after chairing it for two years, from 2024 to 2026. It concluded with a series of decisions and recommendations.

 The conference approved the committee's outcomes and recommendations for developing the working mechanisms of the General Conference, an initiative Saudi Arabia put forward following its presidency. Chaired by the Kingdom and comprising 12 member states, the committee's key outcomes included approving amendments to the General Conference's internal regulations and, for the first time, establishing a bureau within the conference's organizational structure.

 The General Conference also approved an annual financial allocation of $500,000, providing $100,000 annually to each of five countries affected by conflicts, crises, and disasters: Syria, Sudan, Lebanon, Libya, and Yemen. Saudi Arabia proposed the allocation, and the Executive Council endorsed it at its March meeting.

 Two days before the organization's General Conference meeting, Saudi Arabia concluded its five-year presidency of ALECSO's Executive Council, which extended from 2021 to 2026.

 Key decisions jointly approved by the General Conference and the Executive Council included endorsing the proposed Saudi Arabia Heritage Award, which will recognize outstanding achievements and initiatives in protecting, preserving, and promoting tangible and intangible Arab heritage.

 The General Conference and the Executive Council also approved the Language Policy Framework, developed through a partnership between Saudi Arabia, represented by the King Salman Global Academy for Arabic Language, and ALECSO.