Organization of Islamic Capitals and Cities

The Organization of Islamic Capitals and Cities (OICC) is an affiliated organ of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) concerned with cooperation among capitals and major cities in the OIC member-state community. Based in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, it focuses on urban areas rather than on the development of entire countries. Its stated areas of interest include the preservation and promotion of cultural heritage, municipal and urban development, sustainable development, and capacity-building programs for cities. The organization emerged from a series of OIC resolutions and was formally established under the name Organization of Islamic Capitals in 1980. Its institutional formation followed an OIC Council of Foreign Ministers resolution and subsequent consideration at Islamic and general conferences. The organization’s original name was later revised to Organization of Islamic Capitals and Cities through a resolution adopted at the second session of its general conference in Islamabad in April 1982. The change reflected a scope extending beyond national capitals to include other important cities. OICC operates as a platform for coordination among municipal and city authorities. Its work is oriented toward exchanging experience, supporting administrative and technical capacity, and strengthening relations among urban institutions in OIC member states. Rather than functioning as a commercial consumer brand, it represents an intergovernmental and municipal-cooperation identity. Its activities are therefore better understood as institutional programs, forums, technical cooperation, awards, and knowledge exchange than as conventional products or services. A central theme of the organization is the relationship between urban development and cultural identity. Through its heritage-related mandate, OICC promotes attention to historic places, architectural traditions, and the cultural assets of Islamic cities while also addressing contemporary municipal-development needs. Its sustainable-development orientation places cities at the center of cooperation on planning, management, and public services, although the available reference material does not provide a complete current program list or detailed project portfolio. OICC also distributes annual awards, including a Municipal Services Award for organizations and groups working in relevant fields. Such awards form part of its recognition and knowledge-sharing role, highlighting municipal performance and initiatives rather than commercial sales. Publicly available material supplied for this dossier does not identify a founder, current secretary-general, detailed financial information, or a complete list of member cities. The organization’s present status and current activities should therefore be verified against its official website and recent OIC documentation.

The Organization of Islamic Capitals and Cities was created within the institutional framework of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation. Its origins lie in OIC resolutions concerning cooperation among Islamic capitals and cities. The organization’s historical development involved several stages of approval through OIC foreign-ministerial, summit, and general-conference processes. The supplied historical account associates the organization’s establishment with Resolution 9/9-P of the OIC Council of Foreign Ministers and with meetings held in the late 1970s. It also records a further resolution, numbered 25/10-P, adopted during the tenth session of the Council of Foreign Ministers in Fez, Morocco, in March 1979. The chronology in the available account contains inconsistent Gregorian and Hijri date pairings, so the individual conversion details should be treated cautiously. The broader institutional sequence is clear: the OIC developed the organization through formal resolutions before its establishment in 1980. OICC was formally established in 1400 Hijri, corresponding to 1980, following an Islamic Summit meeting in Mecca on 29 and 30 January 1980. The organization was ratified at that time, with amendments providing for an administrative council and a secretary-general. These arrangements gave it an institutional structure for coordinating with participating cities and for carrying out activities connected with municipal development and cooperation. The organization initially operated under the name Organization of Islamic Capitals. At the second session of its general conference, held in Islamabad, Pakistan, from 8 to 10 April 1982, Resolution 5/2-G revised the name to Organization of Islamic Capitals and Cities. The revised title signaled a broader mandate that included major cities in addition to national capitals. OICC’s substantive focus is urban rather than national. It seeks to support cooperation among city authorities in the OIC community, including the exchange of experience, capacity building, development of international relations among member cities, and attention to sustainable urban development. Cultural heritage is another defining area: the organization promotes the preservation and presentation of the historical and cultural assets of capitals and major cities in the member states. The organization also established annual awards, including a Municipal Services Award for organizations and groups active in related fields. The award program reinforces OICC’s role as a forum for recognizing municipal work and sharing examples of public-service practice. The available reference material does not provide a full chronology of later conferences, projects, leadership appointments, budgets, or current initiatives. Consequently, the organization’s early institutional history and stated mandate can be described with reasonable confidence, while contemporary operational details require confirmation from official OICC or OIC publications.

• 1982

  Name expanded to Organization of Islamic Capitals and Cities

  [1]Organization of Islamic Capitals and Citiesen.wikipedia.org

  Resolution 5/2-G, adopted at the second session of the organization’s general conference in Islamabad, revised the name from Organization of Islamic Capitals to Organization of Islamic Capitals and Cities.

• 1980

  Organization formally established

  [1]Organization of Islamic Capitals and Citiesen.wikipedia.org

  The Organization of Islamic Capitals was formally established in 1400 Hijri, corresponding to 1980, following an Islamic Summit meeting in Mecca. Its institutional arrangements included an administrative council and a secretary-general.

• 1979

  Further foreign-ministerial resolution adopted

  [1]Organization of Islamic Capitals and Citiesen.wikipedia.org

  A further OIC resolution, identified as Resolution 25/10-P, was adopted during the tenth session of the Council of Foreign Ministers in Fez, Morocco.

• 1978

  OIC resolution process begins

  [1]Organization of Islamic Capitals and Citiesen.wikipedia.org

  The organization’s historical account traces its origins to an OIC Council of Foreign Ministers resolution concerning the creation of an institution for Islamic capitals and cities. The supplied source contains inconsistent date conversions, so the exact chronology requires verification.

An intergovernmental urban-cooperation platform linking capitals and major cities in the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, with emphasis on cultural heritage, municipal capacity building, international relations, and sustainable urban development.

• Institutional program

  Municipal and urban-development cooperation

  OICC coordinates cooperation focused on cities rather than entire countries. The work is intended to support municipal development, exchange experience among participating urban authorities, and strengthen institutional relationships within the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation community.

• Cultural and heritage program

  Cultural-heritage preservation initiatives

  The organization promotes preservation and appreciation of the cultural heritage of Islamic capitals and major cities. The available sources describe this as a core area of the mandate but do not identify a complete catalog of individual heritage projects.

• Award program

  Municipal Services Award

  An annual award recognizing organizations and groups working in municipal services and related fields. It functions as a recognition and knowledge-sharing mechanism within the organization’s urban-cooperation mission.

1. 1Organization of Islamic Capitals and Citiesen.wikipedia.org
2. 2Organization of Islamic Capitals and Cities official websiteoicc.org