OIC (Organisation of Islamic Cooperation), with 57 member states, is the world’s largest inter-governmental organisation outside of the United Nations. This project has been designed with the backing and direct involvement of the OIC General Secretariat, based in Saudi Arabia. It will contribute to the OIC’s Ten-Year Programme of Action, launched by Third Extraordinary Session of the Islamic Summit Conference held in 2005, which has science, innovations and sustainability as three of its core priorities. Significantly, a Resolution in support of this project was adopted by the Kings and Heads of State at the Eleventh Session of the Islamic Summit Conference in Dakar, Senegal on 13-14 March 2008. This Resolution (No.2/11-S&T) welcomes the project and “Urges all member states and the relevant OIC institutions such as IDB, COMSTECH, and ISESCO to cooperate and collaborate in the preparation of this Atlas. More importantly, the Joint Management Group of the project is chaired by H.E. Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu, Secretary General of the OIC.
Nature is the world's foremost weekly scientific journal and Nature.com is one of the most popular scholarly websites on the internet, serving 12 million visitors a month. In November 2006, Nature published a special issue on “Islam and Science”. The journal’s involvement in this project will build on that special issue, and help to ensure that the index and country-papers will be of an unmatched quality. The outcomes of the project will be disseminated by Nature.
The British Council is the UK's international organisation for educational opportunities and cultural relations. Its purpose is to build engagement and trust for the UK through the exchange of knowledge and ideas between people worldwide. It operates in the UK and 110 other countries and territories worldwide, and in the past year its programmes have reached 128 million people, the highest number in its history. Its work draws on the artistic, scientific and educational components of cultural relations to construct long-term relationships that not only flourish in favourable conditions but also endure in testing times. The British Council plays a key role in the project’s in-country fieldwork, networking and capacity-building, and in ensuring its longer-term legacy.
The Islamic Development Bank (IDB) is an international financial institution established in 1973 by the first conference of the Finance Ministers of the OIC. Its purpose is to foster the economic development and social progress of member countries and Muslim communities individually as well as jointly. Currently it has six priority areas: human development; agricultural development and food security; infrastructure development; trade among member countries; private sector development; and research and development in Islamic economies and finance.
Qatar Foundation (QF) is dedicated to making the knowledge-based society a reality. Established in 1995 by His Highness Sheikh Hamad Bin Khalifa Al Thani, Emir of Qatar, as a vehicle to convert the country's current, but temporary, mineral wealth into durable human capital, the Qatar Foundation through its threefold mission of education, scientific research and community development, is helping build a sustainable society where the sharing and creation of knowledge will enhance quality of life for all. It is achieving this goal through a network of centres and partnerships that are dedicated to excellence in their respective specialisations and that are growing together into a powerful force for social change. Qatar Foundation's flagship project is Education City, a 1,000-hectare campus on the edge of Doha where most of its member institutions are located.
The International Development Research Centre (IDRC) is a Crown corporation created by the Parliament of Canada in 1970 to help developing countries use science and technology to find practical, long-term solutions to the social, economic, and environmental problems they face. Their support is directed toward creating a local research community whose work will build healthier, more equitable, and more prosperous societies. They fund applied research by researchers in developing countries on the problems they identify as crucial to their communities, provide expert advice to those researchers, and build local capacity in developing countries to undertake research and innovate.
The Centre for the Development of Industrial Technology (CDTI) works under the auspices of Spain’s Ministry of Science and Innovation to help Spanish companies increase their capacity for R&D, technology and innovation. CDTI’s headquarters are located in Madrid, but it also has a strategic network of offices and representatives abroad. It has a growing involvement across the Mediterranean region and the wider Middle East. CDTI supports the project and ensure links to other Spanish organisations with an interest in the Islamic world.
OIC Standing Committee on Scientific and Technological Cooperation (COMSTECH) is support the promotion and cooperation of science and technology activities among the OIC member states. COMSTECH is chaired by Pakistan’s president Asif Ali Zardari and its Islamabad secretariat is headed by Prof. Atta ur-Rahman. Its priorities are to assess the science and technology needs and requirements of OIC member states; build up their indigenous capability through cooperation and mutual assistance; and create effective institutional structures for planning, development and monitoring of science and technology activities. There are obvious synergies between these aims and the AIWI, and COMSTECH will play an active role on the project’s Joint Management Team.
The Islamic Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ISESCO) is an international organization working within the framework of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation. Its headquarters are in Rabat, Kingdom of Morocco, and its objectives are to strengthen, promote and consolidate cooperation among the Member States in the fields of education, science, culture and communication, as well as to develop and upgrade these fields. ISESCO actively supports this project, and Dr Faiq Bilal, Director of Science at ISESCO is a member of the project’s Joint Management Team.
