Euro-Mediterranean Civil Society Conference 2025
From vision to action: Reinforcing civil society engagement for an inclusive Mediterranean
26 November 2025, Barcelona. Marking 30 years of the Barcelona Process, the Euro-Mediterranean Civil Society Conference 2025 will bring together over 100 regional and institutional representatives to reinforce civil society’s role in shaping an inclusive and sustainable Mediterranean. Against the backdrop of pressing regional challenges, including climate risks, social justice, and economic integration, the event will launch an ongoing dialogue to transform shared insights into lasting cooperation, advancing people-centred governance, institutional collaboration, and long-term sustainability for a Mediterranean built not just for its people, but with them.
A central objective will be to move from consultation to co‑creation. Participants will consider how to open decision‑making, improve accountability and measure impact, while addressing the political, bureaucratic and cultural obstacles that often limit structured inclusion. The expected result will be a shortlist of governance innovations—formal and informal—that will inform forthcoming Euro‑Mediterranean agendas.
Another focus will be inter‑institutional cooperation. Regional bodies and networks will explore clearer roles, better information‑sharing and opportunities for alignment so that actors at regional, European and network level will work in concert with civil society. The aim will be to strengthen collaboration and avoid duplication, making support to civic actors more coherent and effective across the region.
Finally, the conference will turn to substantive priorities where civil society’s contribution will be decisive: inclusive economic development, climate action and people‑to‑people exchanges. Working discussions will surface sector‑specific roles and recommendations, with key messages to be reported in the closing session. These insights will feed into the Pact for the Mediterranean, relevant EU programming and the IEMed knowledge platform, helping to channel civic expertise into policy design, mainstreaming and monitoring across the Euro‑Med space.
Organisers
European Institute of the Mediterranean (IEMed), Union for the Mediterranean (UfM) and Government of Catalonia
