06.07.2012: II Experts’ Meeting on “LOCAL EMPLOYMENT, SKILLS AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP STRATEGIES IN THE MEDITERRANEAN: DEVELOPING PATHWAYS FOR THE FUTURE”
Edifici Media-TIC 22@, Barcelona – Start date: 06.07.2012
This conference is being organized by the Union for the Mediterranean in cooperation with the OECD LEED Programme (Local Economic and Employment Development), the European Training Foundation and the City of Barcelona.
What?
The UfM Secretariat, the OECD LEED Programme, and the City of Barcelona through Barcelona Activa, co-organised last year 18th July 2011 an expert meeting in Barcelona focusing on skills for employment and entrepreneurship development in the Mediterranean countries. The meeting was attended by Ministries, agencies, universities, specialised research centres, business organisations, development agencies, and non-for profit organizations from the Mediterranean region.
It was commonly agreed to set up a platform based in Barcelona to foster skills development, entrepreneurship and SMEs in the Mediterranean at national, regional and local levels, so all the actors concerned, public and private, could work together to share and produce knowledge about experiences and best implementation pathways for actions in a more effective and permanent bases.
Based on the Mediterranean Business Development Initiative, the Business Development division of the UfM, jointly with the OECD, UNCTAD, ETF, Barcelona Activa and the Business Development Centre of Jordan, have established a permanent Experts’ Board on Employment, Skills and Entrepreneurship Strategies in the Mediterranean, with the following objectives:
– Monitor, study and report on best practices in the field.
– Determine a strategy on the most effective way to disseminate and implement these best practices.
– Liaise, contact, promote and advocate these best practices to an agreed number of Ministries from the Mediterranean countries.
– Identify best practices in MPC and promote the empowerment of regional and local services.
– Establish a set of objective indicators to assess and evaluate the implementation of the aforementioned best practices.
To accomplish these objectives, a strategic conference foreseen on 6 July 2012 will be devoted to develop the key areas of work which were identified during the first expert meeting in July 2011. The meeting will be organized in the framework of the Transnational Workshop within the Med Ked project, a project funded by the EC and devoted to foster knowledge-based Entrepreneurship in the Mediterranean.
The identified key issues to be tackled in the Expert meetings next July 2012 are:
-Public – Private Partnerships (PPP) in the economic growth led by OECD.
-Skills and Education for Inclusive Growth led by ETF.
-Fostering Knowledge-based Entrepreneurship Development led by Barcelona Activa.
Key conclusions from each session and an operational working plan will be discussed in the final session of the experts’ meeting.
Who?
Policy makers from education and employment Ministries, government employment agencies, and local government bodies, from Mediterranean and OECD countries. Relevant employers, technical and vocational education and training institutions, SMEs associations and bodies, community-based organizations and institutions actively involved in labour, employment and entrepreneurship issues across Mediterranean countries.
