ICYF successfully held its 4th General Assembly in Istanbul, Turkey on the 25th and the 26th of August 2021. H.E. Recep Tayyip Erdogan, President of the Republic of Turkey; H.E. Taha Ayhan, President of ICYF; Dr. Yousef Al – Othaimeen, Secretary-General of the Organization for Islamic Cooperation (OIC); Mr. Yavuz Selim Kıran, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Turkey; Mr. Mehmet Muharrem Kasapoglu, Minister of Youth and Sports of the Republic of Turkey; Mr. Fathallah Abd al-Latif Al-Zuni, Minister of Youth and Sports of State of Libya; Mr. Bakary Badjiye, Minister of Youth and Sports of the Gambia; Mr. Farhad Hajiyev, Deputy Minister of Youth and Sport of the Republic of Azerbaijan; and Mr. Damir Fattakhov, Minister of Youth and Sports of the Republic of Tatarstan, Russian Federation graced the ceremony speaking to the youths and the high-level delegates in attendance.
Speaking at the event His Excellency, Taha Ayhan thanked the members, institutions, and partner organizations for their support while also highlighting the pivotal role played by the OIC, SESRIC, and ICYF-ERC in implementing youth projects. Speaking on the importance of partner institutions in achieving ICYF’s vision he had the following to say “ Special thanks to all our member institutions for their support and for making it possible for ICYF to achieve these heights”.
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in his message urged the Muslim youth to empower themselves, undertake responsibility and stay united in the face of ongoing crises and rising Islamophobia in the West. His excellency reminded the youth of the importance of unity by saying the following “ Don’t let anyone come between you because of your ethnic, madhab, cultural differences, don’t let anyone divide you”.
The 4th General Assembly of the ICYF saw the presentation of the work and strategy report of the forum to the members of the OIC during the two-day assembly at the Istanbul Grand Cevahir Hotel.
In the council, which was attended by representatives of 56 member countries in total, the Islamic Cooperation youth strategy of the forum, youth development, economic empowerment, culture, arts, sports, networking, and environmental issues were among the issues discussed.
The ICYF General Assembly concluded on Thursday with the approval of the forum resolutions, the next chairperson election calendar, and a discussion of the general assembly mechanisms.
Delegates of member states left messages of encouragement to not only the youth but the ummah as the world is battling the pandemic that has affected each and every one of us in one way or the other.
The General Assembly’s success was owed to the great cooperation among members and the strategic partnerships that ICYF has had in the past few years under the leadership of H.E. Taha Ayhan. ICYF’s ECOSOC consultative status and the various MoUs with government bodies, institutions of higher learning, and fellow organizations stand as proof of the great work the organization is doing in trying to uplift the lives of the youth it represents
Turkish Deputy Foreign Minister H.E. Yavuz Selim Kıran joined the opening ceremony of the 4th General Assembly of ICYF via video conference to deliver a message on behalf of H.E. Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu, Foreign Minister of the Republic of Turkey. In his message to the youth, he praised ICYF’s admirable work in promoting youth-led projects and developing initiatives for the betterment of the youth both locally and beyond the OIC region in the past few years.
“Organizations such as ICYF will continue to be relevant in molding the Muslim youth to live by the principles and ideals of Islam” – H.E. Bakary Badjiye, Minister of Youth and Sports of the Gambia, speaking at the opening ceremony of the 4th General Assembly of ICYF.
H.E. Zahid Ahsan Russel, the Minister of Youth and Sports of Bangladesh, attended the 4th ICYF General Assembly via video conference. His excellency touched on a number of issues regarding the youth, particularly the global pandemic that has affected youths from all walks of life. He concluded by thanking ICYF for its work during the pandemic as evidenced by the successful run of the Dhaka OIC Youth Capital 2020.
“ICYF is therefore committed to providing opportunities for young generations to ensure they are not only leaders of tomorrow but the hope of today as well, nothing can be achieved for the youth without the youth.” – H.E. Farhad Hajiyev, Deputy Minister of Youth and Sport of Azerbaijan, speaking at the opening ceremony of the 4th ICYF General Assembly.
Her Excellency Nene Fatoumata Tall, Minister of Youth of Senegal, in her speech at the opening ceremony of the 4th ICYF General Assembly expressed her satisfaction with the progress ICYF has exhibited in its work in the last few years with its vision to build bridges between cultures and different countries as shown by the various programs and events hosted and organized by ICYF in various member states of the OIC.
