Caption: Carlo Buontempo, Director of Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S) and Grammenos Mastrojeni, UfM Deputy Secretary General The Union for the Mediterranean (UfM) and the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) signed a partnership agreement in Barcelona, to support all UfM countries to access the critical data they need to tackle Mediterranean climate change challenges. 25 October 2021, Barcelona. Over the next few years, ECMWF, as entrusted entity to implement the Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service (CAMS) and the Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S) and Union of Mediterranean will work closer and undertake joint initiatives to develop targeted training sessions and materials for knowledge… read more
The initiative provides a regional emergency solution to implement an innovative Rapid Response Mechanism (RRM) for Higher Education in the Euro-Mediterranean region. This project will enable 300 refugees and students from the host communities to access higher education institutions in the next 3 years. 21 October 2021, Barcelona. The Member States of the Union for the Mediterranean (UfM) met today at the level of Senior Officials from the Ministries of Foreign Affairs. They endorsed a new regional initiative to support access to higher education for the refugee and displaced populations. They also discussed the preparations of the 6th UfM Regional… read more
Barcelona, 12 October. UfM Secretary General Nasser Kamel participated online in the high-level segment of the 2021 OSCE Mediterranean Conference held in hybrid format in Vienna on the 12 and 13 of October dedicated to the theme “Road to resilience: post-pandemic recovery and security in the OSCE and Mediterranean regions”. On his intervention, the Secretary General recalled the need to focus on three elements in a sustainable post pandemic recovery: an effective regional integration that will unleash the full social and economic potential of the Mediterranean region; an inclusive development axed in a digital transition; a recovery based in climate-resilient… read more
Ministers from the 42 Member countries of the Union for the Mediterranean (UfM) gathered today in Cairo at the 2nd UfM Ministerial Conference on Environment and Climate action under the Co-Presidency of Jordan and the European Union. They agreed on a common agenda to strengthen efforts in the Euro-Mediterranean region to urgently tackle the multiple climate and environmental challenges it faces. This commitment reflects the highest possible ambition in accelerating transition towards sustainable, climate-neutral and green economies. Cairo, 4 October 2021. The Ministerial Conference was chaired by Frans Timmermans, European Commission Executive Vice-President for the European Green Deal, on behalf… read more
27 September 2021, Barcelona. UfM Secretary General Nasser Kamel met with Ms. Ada Colau, Mayor of Barcelona, city where the Euro-Mediterranean Partnership was launched back in 1995 and where the Secretariat of the Union for the Mediterranean is based. During their meeting, SG Kamel and Mayor Colau discussed the preparation of the Day of the Mediterranean and the celebration of its first edition this year in the city of Barcelona. In their first in-person meeting since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Secretary General further emphasized the central role Barcelona has played in Euro-Mediterranean relations since the launch of… read more
20-22 September 2021, New York. UfM Secretary General Nasser Kamel attended the 76th Session of the United Nations General Assembly where he showcased the work of the Union for the Mediterranean and strengthened its partnerships with key UN institutions and agencies, such as the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the United Nations Alliance of Civilisations (UNAOC). Together with Assistant Secretary-General and Director for the Regional Bureau for Arab States of the UNDP Khalida Bouzar, Secretary General Kamel presented the main findings and recommendations of the UfM Regional Integration Report. They further agreed on renewing the Memorandum of Understanding between… read more
17 September 2021, Barcelona. UfM Secretary General, Nasser Kamel and Spanish Minister for Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation José Manuel Albares Bueno met today in the headquarters of the UfM in Barcelona. In their first meeting, they discussed cooperation in the Mediterranean, as well as the preparations of the next UfM Regional Forum, that will gather the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the UfM Member States in Barcelona by the end of this year. The Regional Forum 2021 in Barcelona will provide the opportunity to take stock and analyse the future prospects for cooperation in the Euro-Mediterranean region and will take place in the framework of the first Day of the Mediterranean…. read more
The 2021 Creative Forum, hosted by the Slovenian Presidency of the Council of the EU and organised by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Slovenia, in collaboration with the UfM, took place from 12th until 15th of September in Ljubljana. Under the slogan Future Unlocked, the event gathered creative entrepreneurs and policymakers of the Euro-Mediterranean region to highlight the unique contribution of cultural and creative sectors to peace and stability. Ljubljana, 12-15 September 2021. The third edition of Creative Forum, which constitutes a unique High-level event fully dedicated to the promotion of Creative economy in the Mediterranean region, took place… read more
IUCN World Conservation Congress, organised by the International Union for Conservation of Nature has been held from 3rd until 10th of September in Marseille. The UfM Secretary General, Nasser Kamel, participated in the launch of the Action Plan for an Exemplary Mediterranean Sea. Marseille, 10 September 2021. UfM Secretary General, Nasser Kamel intervened at the IUCN World Conservation Congress in Marseille, that was organised by the IUCN from 3rd until 10th of September. The Congress provided an opportunity for the Mediterranean conservation community to address the challenges of the region on biodiversity, nature-based recovery and climate change. France took this… read more
30 July 2021, Rome. UfM Secretary General Nasser Kamel addressed the Ministers of Culture of the Group of 20 (G20) today at the G20 Culture Summit in Rome, Italy. This meeting paved the way for a new G20 Ministerial Declaration on Culture to which the UfM contributed. Speaking at the panel “Addressing the Climate Crisis through Culture”, focusing on cultural heritage, creativity and indigenous people’s knowledge on climate action, mitigation and adaptation, Secretary General Kamel highlighted the Mediterranean experience of human adaptability to climate and sustainable usage of natural resources, while preserving biodiversity. He also stressed the need to raise… read more
