News

The UfM is hosting a virtual conference on the 5th of March to analyse gendered barriers to leadership, present the EU’s Gender Action Plan in External Action 2021-2025 and showcase UfM-supported projects and initiatives in the region. Data gathering on gender equality in leadership in the Euro-Mediterranean region remains a challenge. This year, the first exercise of the UfM’s Intergovernmental Monitoring Mechanism on Gender Equality will be launched to bridge this gap. Achieving gender equality for the current generation of working-age women in MENA could add as much as USD 3.1 trillion to regional wealth, according to the World Bank…. read more

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), cancer is the second leading cause of death globally, accounting for an estimated 9.6 million deaths in 2018. In 2020, the number of breast cancer cases amounted to more than 2 million, meaning breast cancer is predicted to be the most commonly occurring cancer this year. The UfM-supported project ‘Women’s Right to Health’ has compared different strategies for early cervical cancer screening, highlighting the importance of increasing the skills of health professionals and the general awareness of the population. 29 January 2021. Around 10 million people die each year from cancer. According to… read more

Cairo, 7 December 2020. The UfM Secretary General, Nasser Kamel signed today December 7th, 2020, in Cairo, a Memorandum of Understanding for institutional cooperation (MOU) on behalf of the Secretariat with the Prince Muhammad Bin Fahd International Foundation, represented by its Executive Manager, Zaidan Ali Al-Zaidan and the Arab Voluntary Union represented by its President, Hassan Mohammed Buhazza. The signing of the MoU comes at a timely moment within the context of the celebration of the International Volunteer Day and in the perspective to enhance the UfM engagement in favour of Youth Voluntary actions in the coming years. This MOU establishes… read more

Barcelona, 25 November 2020. According to recent data (UN Women, 2020), 243 Million women and girls aged 15-49 have been subjected to sexual and/or physical violence worldwide by an intimate partner in the previous 12 months. Rooted in structural gender inequalities, violence against women and girls (VAWG) is a violation of human rights and a form of gender-based discrimination. Estimates of the scale of the problem are alarming. Such violence has a major and long-lasting impact on victims and imposes a significant cost burden on society. On top of that, VAWG tends to increase during every type of emergency, including… read more

Over 700 experts, policymakers and representatives from the private sector, the civil society and international organizations are gathering virtually this week to discuss the state of gender equality in the Mediterranean region in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. The 5th UfM Women4Mediterranean Conference kicked-off yesterday with the launch of the first-ever Intergovernmental Monitoring Mechanism on Gender Equality in a meeting of the UfM Member States. This new reporting exercise will allow to measure and report the progress made on women’s rights and provide policy recommendations to close the gender gap in the region. Barcelona, 17 November, 2020. The UfM Secretariat… read more

· The emergency situations the Euro-Mediterranean region faces are common and have cross-border implications, which require a joint effort and a common agenda on disaster risk management at regional and sub-regional levels. · Since the general public plays an important role in risk prevention and preparedness for emergencies, citizens can be the first responders to disasters. The involvement of citizens in disaster risk management is a key factor to save lives, particularly for vulnerable groups. · Investing in youth and trained volunteers as a driving force for community service are crucial elements to build solidarity and resilience among societies. Digital… read more

With COVID-19 still spreading, and with regional inequalities rising, we have a responsibility to collaboratively tackle gender equality, economic empowerment and climate change. Evidence shows that in the pandemic, women’s livelihoods are more vulnerable to unemployment and economic instability. As we recover from this pandemic, we must leverage the opportunity to create new inclusive societies that ensure that young people and women can fulfil their potential as catalysts of change and contributors to the region’s economy as a whole. ‎ 8 October 2020.  The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated existing inequalities. The impacts of crises are never gender neutral, and COVID-19… read more

The ever-growing tourism sector is facing a current decline of 60%, a number which could potentially increase to 80% if recovery is delayed until December 2020, according to the OECD. The worst affected countries during the COVID-19 crisis have been those positioned on both shores of the Mediterranean Sea, accounting for a third of the income of international tourism. 2 October 2020. Tourism being one of the sectors most affected by the COVID-19 pandemic is more than ever required to adapt to the new normality. Which solutions is the sector offering to ensure a safe and accessible tourism for all… read more

VIENNA, September 21, 2020 – The Principality of Monaco has recently signed its first funding agreement with the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) and the two parties have agreed a tripartite declaration together with the Union for the Mediterranean (UfM) on empowering women in Tunisia through inclusive and sustainable industrial development. At a meeting today LI Yong, Director General of UNIDO, and Isabelle Rosabrunetto, Director General of the Department of External Relations and Cooperation of the Principality of Monaco, confirmed the strong willingness of the partners to collaborate further in this field. Li recalled that “the empowerment of women is a… read more

The Union for the Mediterranean (UfM) Member States endorsed a regional intergovernmental mechanism that will provide data for scientific-based policies and support the implementation of gender-related Sustainable Development Goals to ultimately tap into the full potential of women in the Euro-Mediterranean region.  Barcelona, 30 July 2020. The UfM Member States endorsed an intergovernmental set of indicators as part of a UfM Ministerial follow-up mechanism that will allow to monitor the progress made on gender equality in the Euro-Mediterranean region. This mechanism has been developed as a follow-up to the UfM Ministerial Declaration on Strengthening the Role of Women in Society, adopted in 2017 in Cairo.    Following consultations with the Member States, the UfM Secretariat had proposed and designed a set of 20 gender indicators within the following 4 priority areas, in addition to a proposal of tools… read more