The UfM in action: acting today for a sustainable tomorrow

Tackling another regional priority, the UfM Secretariat has been working on implementing a regional mandate focused on strengthening the role of women in society in the Mediterranean. Four priority areas were identified aiming at increasing women’s participation in economic life and leadership positions as well as changing stereotypes and  combating violence against women. To monitor progress in these areas, the UfM member states established the first Intergovernmental Monitoring Mechanism on Gender Equality in the Euro-Mediterranean region.

The UfM also organized events and initiatives to address gender disparities and promote women’s entrepreneurship. The Women Business Forum focused on gender-smart financing models and highlighted the importance of investing in women entrepreneurs. Additionally, the UfM engaged with young people to gather their aspirations and recommendations for a more sustainable Mediterranean future, bringing young people’s voices to the 43 UfM Ministers of Foreign Affairs during its 7^th UfM Regional Forum.

In addition, the UfM Secretariat expanded its scope of action to include disability and social inclusion on its agenda. The first Conference on Disability and Social Inclusion explored the barriers faced by people with disabilities in accessing employment, the importance of gender perspectives, and accessible tourism.

With the support of the German Development Cooperation, the UfM Grant Schemes aim at improving the employment situation, particularly of those already more vulnerable to economic shocks, such as informal workers, blue-collar workers, youth and women. The grant schemes reflect the UfM’s determination to improve the citizens’ employment situation and the business environment for entrepreneurs and MSMEs.

In 2022, 4 projects were developed under the Grant, benefitting 18K individuals in 7 UfM States (Greece, Italy, Jordan, Lebanon, Malta, Morocco and Tunisia) with a total budget of 1.13M euros. The projects were FLOWER (Fostering Local Market Opportunities for Women’s Empowerment and Resilience); MAST (Mediterranean Alliance for Sustainable Tourism post COVID-19), RISE (Resilience & Innovation through Strengthened Entrepreneurship), SEARChED (Strengthening Employment and entrepreneurial Activities to Recover COVID-19 Epidemic Damages).

The UfM is committed to building resilience and sustainability in the Euro-Mediterranean region and sees research & innovation as a crucial tool in achieving this goal. While recognising the need to tackle pressing challenges faced by the current generation, including climate change, renewable energies and improvements in healthcare, it is clear that cutting-edge research and innovative solutions are key to ensuring a better future for all. In these efforts, the UfM held its first-ever Ministerial conference on research and innovation in June 2022, aimed at promoting international cooperation on science and knowledge in the region.

During its endeavors, the UfM worked to promote existing and potential solutions to tackle various issues. Collaboration through partnerships and initiatives was central to this approach in protecting both the environment and the people. The UfM recognized that marine litter, particularly plastics, posed a significant environmental threat. In response, the new project “Plastic Busters CAP: Fostering knowledge transfer to tackle marine litter in the Mediterranean” kicked off in January 2022 under the umbrella of the UfM-labelled project Plastic Busters, to become an instrument to improve Integrated Coastal Zone Management.

Another crucial aspect addressed by the UfM was access to finance, which played a vital role in the growth and development of the water and blue economy sectors. Conferences such as the UfM Blue Finance Conference and the EU-UfM High-Level Conference on Water Finance and Investment were organized to encourage investments in sustainable projects. These initiatives aimed to support the growth of small and medium-sized enterprises in fisheries, aquaculture, shipping, tourism, and coastal infrastructure.

Safeguarding people and the environment from natural and human-induced disasters was a key priority for the UfM and 2022 saw the launch of the Regional Dialogue Platform on Civil Protection to strengthen civil protection and enhance regional cooperation in disaster prevention, response, and preparedness. This initiative laid the foundation for a comprehensive regional strategy and fostered further collaboration among member states.

Recognizing the challenges posed by rapid urbanization and climate change, the UfM also focused on sustainable urban development and organised webinars and meetings to address crucial topics such as urban nature, green spaces, and data-driven urban policies. Exploring innovative models like housing cooperatives and port city transformations, the UfM aimed to foster sustainable urbanization and mitigate vulnerabilities. Enhancing regional connectivity and mobility was another crucial aspect of the UfM’s work. Member states collaborated to develop a new Regional Transport Action Plan (RTAP), which took into account global trends, climate considerations, and digital technologies, creating a shared vision for trans-Mediterranean integration in the infrastructure sector. The RTAP aimed to future-proof national transport policies, strengthen resilience, and promote evidence-based policy-making.

The COP27, held from November 6-18, 2022, hosted the first-ever Mediterranean Pavilion in the history of climate negotiations. At the initiative of the UfM Secretariat, the Mediterranean Pavilion was a coalition of like-minded partners: co-led together with the PRIMA Foundation and UNEP-MAP, along with a group of relevant organisations and a scientific committee, headed by the Mediterranean Experts on Climate and Environmental Change (MedECC) network.

The coalition aimed to highlight the urgent challenges faced by the region and the innovative solutions already being developed, while the Mediterranean Pavilion hosted over 60 events and working meetings, bringing together public and private, scientific and academic, technical, policymaking, civil society, finance, and business actors. The Pavilion also saw almost 42% female speakers, compared to an average of 37% female representation across all party delegations at COP27.