The Union for the Mediterranean launches a new initiative with the support of the German Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ), for universities, research centres and policymakers to share best practices and boost career opportunities in the Mediterranean region. The new initiative seeks to improve the nexus between research, innovation and employability as key tools for relaunching sustainable and resilient economies in the aftermath of the COVID-19 crisis.. 5 and 19 May 2020. Despite young people in the Southern Mediterranean being the most educated generation ever, graduates in the region still experience the highest level of unemployment, at 25% according to the United Nations Development Programme. To help galvanise innovation in the region, the… read more
The first UfM webinar gathered different youth representatives to highlight the Euro-Mediterranean Youth voluntary response during the Coronavirus crisis 14 May 2020. How are youth volunteers responding to COVID-19? How are local or regional organisations in the Euro-Mediterranean region mobilizing youth to respond to the pandemic? To answer these questions and many more, the UfM gathered different youth voluntary organisers including international, regional and local organisations and NGOs from the ufM Member States. The webinar called “the Euro-Mediterranean Youth voluntary response to the COVID-19 crisis” saw the opening of the UfM Secretary General, Nasser Kamel who stressed the fact that… read more
The ANIMA Investment Network, in collaboration with the UfM and the German Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ), is holding this month a series of workshops to help develop investments that contribute to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in the Mediterranean region. 28 April 2020. Increasing investments that contribute to the SDGs can be a development enabler: it can create jobs, build skills, spur innovation, provide essential infrastructure and services and boost economies. The ANIMA Investment Network, in collaboration with the Union for the Mediterranean (UfM), the German Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ) as well as other partners, organised the first session of the online workshop called “Developing Investments that Contribute to… read more
The UfM, the Mediterranean Water Institute (IME) and the Energy and Water Agency of Malta held a meeting to prepare for the 2020 Mediterranean Water Forum. The meeting aimed to further advance a regional strategy for action on water in line with the 2021 World Water Forum’s objectives. 21 April 2020. The 1st steering committee, organised by the Union for the Mediterranean (UfM), the Mediterranean Water Institute (IME) and the Energy and Water Agency of Malta, gathered online 27 water stakeholders to prepare key points of discussion for the 4th Mediterranean Water Forum, which is foreseen on the 11-13 of November 2020 in Malta. Participants agreed the Forum will provide a… read more
8 April 2020. The COVID-19 pandemic is prompting questions for the water supply and sanitation sector globally and with a special focus on the Mediterranean, already under stress due to the water scarcity caused by the climate crisis. The UfM and the Institut Méditerranéen de l’Eau (IME) met online for the first brainstorming session on the water, sanitation and COVID19, along with 25 partners and experts from Lebanon, Spain, France, Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia. This is the first of a series of meetings to exchange views on the water emergency response to the pandemic as well as to give policy recommendations on how to move forward. … read more
UfM Member States met this week to discuss actions to tackle the COVID-19 crisis through research and innovation as well as a strategic regional cooperation approach to accelerate evidence-based healthcare decision-making. 8 April 2020. Conscious of the pressure that COVID-19 puts on health systems, the Union for the Mediterranean (UfM) is exploring ways to speed and scale-up actions in the field of research and innovation. This was the objective of the virtual meeting of the UfM Regional Platform on Research and Innovation, held earlier this week. The wide spectrum of initiatives announced by the European Commission and UfM Member States showed the potential for regional cooperation in terms of establishing collaborative platforms, clinical data collection and access, creation of common databases on technologies and joint development of industrial research solutions and medical treatments/vaccines. The need for a strategic regional cooperation approach regarding the socio-economic implications was also underlined. UfM Secretary General,… read more
7 April 2020. This year, on World Health Day, we celebrate the work of nurses and midwives, and recall the critical role they play in keeping the world healthy. From China to Europe, the Mediterranean, Africa and beyond, unprecedented and firm policy measures have been taken to limit the rapid spread of the COVID-19. In the meantime, scientific, medical and pharmaceutical communities across the globe have stepped-up their efforts to deliver treatments and care for the sick. Restlessly, they have been providing high quality treatment and care, leading community dialogue to address fears and interrogations and, in some instances, collecting data for clinical studies. Put… read more
The Minister of Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation, Arancha González Laya, and the Secretary General of the Union for the Mediterranean (UfM), Nasser Kamel met today in Madrid to discuss ways to strengthen regional cooperation under the framework of the UfM. They signed a Memorandum of Understanding between the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation (AECID) and the Union for the Mediterranean to promote joint cooperation initiatives in priority sectors for the region linked to the sustainable development agenda. March 11, 2020. Spanish Foreign Minister González Laya and UfM Secretary General, Nasser Kamel took stock and analysed the future… read more
Geneva, 27-28 January 2020. Following UfM’s commitment to contributing to a greater economic integration in the Mediterranean, UfM Secretary General (SG), Nasser Kamel, held bilateral meetings in Geneva with Roberto Azevêdo, Director General of WTO, Mukhisa Kituyi , Secretary General of UNCTAD, Seth Nikhil, Executive Director of UNITAR, and OIga Algayerová, Executive Secretary of UNECE. On his first meeting with Roberto Azevêdo, Director-General of the World Trade Organisation (WTO), SG Kamel provided a background on the trade-related UfM scope of action, which includes the deepening of the South-South economic integration and a strengthening of the Euro-Mediterranean trade partnership, inter alia… read more
The plenary Session of the Euro-Mediterranean Regional and Local Assembly (ARLEM) gathered over 100 representatives of local and regional authorities at the UfM headquarters in Barcelona. The annual meeting of ARLEM centered its debates on action against Climate Change in the Mediterranean Barcelona, 23 January 2020. The 11th Plenary Session of the Euro-Mediterranean Regional and Local Assembly (ARLEM) gathered over 100 representatives of local and regional authorities at the UfM headquarters in Barcelona with climate action at the centre of the debates. UfM Secretary General, Nasser Kamel, welcomed participants to the UfM headquarters and recalled the launching, 25 years ago, of the Euro-Mediterranean Partnership, which laid the foundations for the… read more
