UfM Grant Schemes’ Stakeholders Dialogue: Making Development Work for Development
11 April 2025, in Barcelona. The Union for the Mediterranean (UfM), in partnership with the German Development Cooperation, will host the UfM Grant Schemes’ Stakeholders Dialogue on 11 April 2025 at the Palau Real in Barcelona. This event will focus on the UfM grant scheme to promote employment and entrepreneurship in the green economy, as well as the UfM grant scheme on inclusive digital trade.
Participants of project promoters, local implementing partners, and beneficiaries will join to share best practices, lessons learned, and areas for improvement. In addition, representatives of international development agencies will join the event to foster dialogue. The event will facilitate synergy-building, focused discussions, and explore the possibility of knowledge transfer when needed. Co-funded by the European Commission (DG for Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion), the Dialogue will also showcase success stories and inform the future UfM Secretariat’s efforts in grant forwarding.
The Dialogue will be preceded the day before by the Second UfM Development Actors’ Meeting, bringing together development cooperation actors from UfM Member States. The participation of these actors will enrich the Dialogue, bringing all components of the ecosystem together. An outcome document will be produced and shared with all stakeholders.
Context:
Challenges related to employment, digitalisation, and trade in the region are beyond the ability of any one country or entity to address comprehensively and conclusively, hence the need for a coordinated regional response. Part of this response that can deliver concrete results and eventually generate a sustainable impact is the awarding of funds targeting priority themes in the form of grant schemes.
Following the successful closure of the first UfM Grant Scheme on Employment Promotion in 2022, it became evident that the post-crisis reconfiguration of economies would be an opportunity to leverage lessons learned during the pandemic, with a view to advancing green transition, digitalization, and value chain management. In this spirit, the UfM Secretariat, with the support of the German and Spanish Development Cooperation, launched two new UfM Grant Schemes in 2024 within the framework of the UfM Hub for Jobs, Trade, and Investment.
