OIC News Agencies Union, MWL Sign Girls’ Education Media Pact

The Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) Union of News Agencies (UNA) signed a memorandum of cooperation with the Muslim World League (MWL) in Islamabad on January 15, 2025, formalizing a joint commitment to launch media campaigns that raise awareness of girls’ right to education across Muslim communities. The agreement was concluded during the International Conference on Girls’ Education in Muslim Communities, hosted by the Government of Pakistan and organized by the MWL, and was signed in the presence of MWL Secretary-General and Chairman of the Muslim Scholars Association Sheikh Dr. Muhammad bin Abdulkarim Al-Issa, according to the Saudi Press Agency.

The memorandum was signed on behalf of the UNA by its Director-General, Mohammed bin Abdrabuh Al-Yami, and on behalf of the MWL by advisor Abdulkarim Bakhsh. But why does a media agreement signed in Islamabad matter to audiences far beyond Pakistan’s borders? Because it links two of the Islamic world’s most influential institutions — one representing national news agencies across dozens of member states, the other representing Islamic scholarship and humanitarian outreach worldwide — in a coordinated effort to shape public understanding of an issue that affects millions of girls. The timing, the venue, and the parties involved all point to a deliberate strategy of using media cooperation as a tool of social development, an approach that aligns closely with Saudi Arabia’s own Vision 2030 priorities in education, empowerment, and international engagement.

Context and Background

What is the OIC Union of News Agencies, and why is its involvement significant? The UNA serves as the media arm of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, the second-largest intergovernmental organization after the United Nations, with 57 member states. Headquartered in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, the UNA coordinates among national news agencies to strengthen professional journalism, facilitate the exchange of news content, and present a balanced image of the Islamic world to global audiences. Its partnership with the MWL therefore represents a convergence of media reach and religious-scholarly authority — a combination capable of amplifying messages across television, print, radio, and digital platforms in multiple languages.

The Muslim World League, based in Makkah, Saudi Arabia, is an international non-governmental organization founded in 1962 that works on Islamic outreach, interfaith dialogue, humanitarian relief, and education initiatives. Under the leadership of Sheikh Dr. Al-Issa, the MWL has expanded its international profile, convening conferences on coexistence, supporting refugee programs, and advocating for the protection of religious sites and minority rights. Its decision to organize the Islamabad conference on girls’ education reflects a broader institutional emphasis on practical, consensus-based solutions to social challenges facing Muslim communities — an emphasis that resonates with Saudi Arabia’s own reform trajectory.

The choice of Islamabad as the venue was not incidental. Pakistan, a founding member of the OIC and a country of more than 240 million people, has in recent years intensified national dialogue on female literacy and school enrollment. Hosting the conference allowed the MWL and its partners to engage directly with South Asian stakeholders, where some of the world’s largest gaps in girls’ education persist. The memorandum signed on the sidelines of that event thus extends the conference’s impact beyond a single gathering, creating a durable mechanism for media coordination.

Key Details of the Agreement

What exactly does the memorandum commit the two organizations to do? According to the Saudi Press Agency, the agreement aims to coordinate the launch of media campaigns that raise awareness of girls’ right to education and to enhance joint action among news agencies and media outlets in Islamic countries. This language is deliberately operational: it envisions not a one-off statement but a sustained partnership in which the UNA’s network of member agencies can distribute MWL-produced content, and the MWL can draw on the UNA’s editorial infrastructure to reach audiences in member states.

The signing ceremony was attended by senior figures from both institutions, with Sheikh Dr. Al-Issa present as the MWL’s secretary-general and as chairman of the Muslim Scholars Association. The UNA was represented by Director-General Mohammed bin Abdrabuh Al-Yami, whose agency has previously worked to modernize news exchange among OIC members, including through digital platforms and training programs for journalists. The MWL’s signatory, advisor Abdulkarim Bakhsh, has been involved in the organization’s educational and humanitarian portfolios. The presence of these officials signals that the memorandum carries institutional weight rather than being merely symbolic.

The agreement also reflects a growing recognition that legal guarantees of education access are insufficient without accompanying shifts in public attitudes. In many communities, barriers to girls’ schooling are social and cultural as much as economic — ranging from early marriage to safety concerns to simple lack of awareness about long-term benefits. Media campaigns, when designed responsibly and grounded in local context, can address these barriers by presenting evidence, sharing success stories, and giving voice to families and communities that have benefited from educating their daughters.

International and Regional Impact

How might this agreement influence media coverage across the Islamic world? The UNA’s members include national news agencies from Africa, the Middle East, Central Asia, and Southeast Asia, collectively reaching hundreds of millions of readers and viewers. When these agencies coordinate on a shared editorial priority, the effect can be substantial: consistent messaging, wider distribution of authoritative content, and greater visibility for initiatives that might otherwise remain confined to conference halls. For the MWL, the partnership offers a channel to communicate its educational message through established news organizations rather than relying solely on its own platforms.

Regionally, the agreement arrives amid renewed international attention to girls’ education, including high-profile advocacy by global organizations and prominent figures. By acting through OIC institutions, the MWL and UNA position the Islamic world as a proactive contributor to this global conversation, articulating approaches that are rooted in local values and religious scholarship. This framing is important: it allows Muslim communities to lead on the issue rather than being perceived as responding to external pressure.

The memorandum also has implications for the broader ecosystem of Islamic media cooperation. If successful, it could serve as a template for joint campaigns on other social priorities — health awareness, anti-poverty efforts, refugee support, or interfaith understanding. The UNA’s director-general has spoken in the past about the need for Islamic media to move from reactive reporting to proactive agenda-setting, and this agreement is a concrete step in that direction.

Economic and Strategic Significance

Why should economic analysts and policymakers pay attention to a media memorandum? Education is among the strongest long-term drivers of economic growth, and girls’ education in particular has been linked to higher workforce participation, improved health outcomes, and greater household income. Economies across the OIC — many of them young and fast-growing — stand to gain substantially from closing gender gaps in schooling. By helping to shift public attitudes, media campaigns can complement government investments in schools, teacher training, and infrastructure.

For Saudi Arabia, the agreement reinforces the Kingdom’s role as a convening power and source of institutional initiative in the Islamic world. Both the UNA and the MWL are headquartered in Saudi cities — Jeddah and Makkah respectively — and their collaboration showcases Saudi soft power in action. This is consistent with a broader pattern in which Saudi institutions, from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to the King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center, work through multilateral and non-governmental channels to address development challenges. Such engagement strengthens the Kingdom’s diplomatic networks and its reputation as a responsible global actor.

The strategic dimension extends to information integrity. In an era of misinformation, coordinated efforts by reputable news agencies and scholarly institutions can help ensure that public debate on sensitive social issues is grounded in accurate information. The UNA’s professional standards and the MWL’s scholarly credibility together provide a measure of quality assurance that audiences and policymakers can rely on — an asset in any media environment.

Vision 2030 Alignment

How does this memorandum connect to Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030? The Vision, launched in 2016 under the leadership of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, places human capital development at its center, with explicit goals to expand educational access, increase women’s participation in the workforce, and elevate the Kingdom’s international standing. The MWL’s educational advocacy and the UNA’s media coordination both support these objectives indirectly but meaningfully: they help create the regional environment in which Saudi domestic reforms can thrive and in which Saudi-led initiatives gain international traction.

Vision 2030 also emphasizes the importance of a diversified economy and a globally connected society. By partnering with institutions that span the Islamic world, Saudi Arabia strengthens the networks through which ideas, trade, and talent flow. The girls’ education campaign, if effectively implemented, can contribute to a generation of better-educated women across OIC member states — a demographic shift with far-reaching economic consequences. In this sense, the memorandum signed in Islamabad is not merely a media arrangement; it is a small but concrete building block in a long-term project of regional development and renewal, consistent with the Kingdom’s vision of a prosperous and forward-looking Islamic world.

20 Questions

Q1. What organizations signed the memorandum of cooperation?

A1. The OIC Union of News Agencies (UNA) and the Muslim World League (MWL) signed the memorandum, according to the Saudi Press Agency, formalizing cooperation on media campaigns related to girls’ education.

Q2. Where and when was the memorandum signed?

A2. It was signed in Islamabad, Pakistan, on January 15, 2025, during the International Conference on Girls’ Education in Muslim Communities, which was hosted by the Pakistani government and organized by the MWL.

Q3. Who signed on behalf of the UNA?

A3. UNA Director-General Mohammed bin Abdrabuh Al-Yami signed the memorandum on behalf of the Union of News Agencies, representing the OIC’s media coordination body headquartered in Jeddah.

Q4. Who signed on behalf of the Muslim World League?

A4. Advisor Abdulkarim Bakhsh signed on behalf of the MWL, the Makkah-based international organization focused on Islamic outreach, education, and humanitarian work.

Q5. Who attended the signing ceremony?

A5. MWL Secretary-General and Chairman of the Muslim Scholars Association Sheikh Dr. Muhammad bin Abdulkarim Al-Issa attended the signing, underscoring the institutional importance of the agreement.

Q6. What is the main objective of the memorandum?

A6. The memorandum aims to coordinate media campaigns that raise awareness of girls’ right to education and to enhance joint action among news agencies and media outlets in Islamic countries.

Q7. What event provided the backdrop for the signing?

A7. The International Conference on Girls’ Education in Muslim Communities, hosted by the Government of Pakistan and organized by the MWL in Islamabad, provided the setting for the memorandum’s signing.

Q8. What is the OIC Union of News Agencies?

A8. The UNA is the media arm of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, based in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, coordinating news exchange and professional journalism among national news agencies of OIC member states.

Q9. What is the Muslim World League?

A9. The MWL is an international non-governmental organization founded in 1962 and headquartered in Makkah, Saudi Arabia, active in education, interfaith dialogue, humanitarian relief, and Islamic outreach worldwide.

Q10. Why is media coordination important for girls’ education?

A10. Media campaigns can shift public attitudes, address social and cultural barriers, and share evidence and success stories that encourage families and communities to support schooling for girls.

Q11. How does this agreement benefit Islamic countries?

A11. It enables national news agencies to distribute coordinated, accurate content on girls’ education, amplifying reach and supporting government and civil society efforts to improve female enrollment and literacy.

Q12. What role does Saudi Arabia play in this partnership?

A12. Both institutions are headquartered in Saudi Arabia — the UNA in Jeddah and the MWL in Makkah — reflecting the Kingdom’s convening role and its commitment to multilateral cooperation in the Islamic world.

Q13. How does the memorandum relate to Vision 2030?

A13. Vision 2030 prioritizes education, women’s empowerment, and global engagement; the agreement supports these goals by fostering a regional environment conducive to educational reform and social development.

Q14. What might the media campaigns include?

A14. Campaigns are expected to feature news reports, features, digital content, and public awareness messaging produced collaboratively and distributed through UNA member agencies and MWL channels.

Q15. Why was Pakistan chosen as the conference host?

A15. Pakistan is a founding OIC member with a large population and active national dialogue on female education, making it a fitting venue for engaging South Asian stakeholders on this issue.

Q16. What are the broader implications for Islamic media?

A16. The agreement could serve as a model for joint campaigns on other social priorities, encouraging a shift from reactive reporting to proactive agenda-setting across OIC media networks.

Q17. How does girls’ education affect economic growth?

A17. Educating girls is linked to higher workforce participation, better health outcomes, and increased household income, all of which contribute to long-term economic development in OIC member states.

Q18. What is Sheikh Dr. Al-Issa’s role in the MWL?

A18. He serves as Secretary-General of the Muslim World League and Chairman of the Muslim Scholars Association, leading the organization’s global outreach, education, and interfaith initiatives.

Q19. What distinguishes this memorandum from previous declarations?

A19. It establishes a concrete coordination mechanism between a major media network and a leading Islamic organization, moving beyond statements to operational collaboration on campaigns and content distribution.

Q20. What are the next steps after the signing?

A20. The UNA and MWL are expected to develop joint campaign plans, align editorial content, and mobilize member news agencies to implement awareness initiatives in line with the memorandum’s objectives.

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