Jeddah: As part of following up on the implementation of the recommendations of the First Ministerial Conference on Social Development and the resolutions of the Council of Foreign Ministers (CFM) calling for holding specialized workshops to enhance the capacities of national institutions concerned with social development (NISDs) in the OIC’s Member States, the OIC General Secretariat, in coordination with the Center for Statistical, Economic and Social Research and Training for Islamic Countries (SESRIC), organizes a virtual workshop to enhance the capabilities of NISDs on August 2-4, 2022 at SESRIC headquarters in Ankara.

Representatives of national institutions concerned with empowering the marriage and family institution, childcare, protection of the elderly and people with special needs, empowerment and inclusion of people with disabilities in the OIC Member States, organs, and institutions, and experts from international organizations partnering with the OIC in this field will participate in this workshop.

The workshop will provide an opportunity to exchange experiences and best practices among the Member States to face social development challenges. The workshop will also include presentations on the OIC’s strategy to empower the marriage and family institution, the OIC’s strategy to protect the elderly, and the OIC’s draft plan of action to empower and integrate people with disabilities, and finally on the opportunities provided by the OIC’s institutions and partner institutions to the concerned national institutions to finance social development projects.

It is expected that the meeting will reach recommendations to activate the implementation of the OIC’s relevant strategies and plans of action and the development of effective mechanisms for periodic evaluation and monitoring of progress in this regard, strengthening the role of the OIC in social development to play a proactive role to address the challenges of multiple dimensions in our constantly changing world, especially while recovering from the CCOVID-19 pandemic, and strengthening partnership and cooperation among the Member States in social development and enhancing the role of civil society organizations in making and implementing policy decisions in this field.

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