Celebrating its 6th edition, and informed by 5 years of knowledge and experience, the Women Business Forum is an excellent regional platform that offers women-owned and women-led businesses a unique opportunity to take their business to the next level. Women face a persistent gender gap in terms of access to and use of digital technologies – a gap which increased from 19% to 24% between 2013 and 2019 in the Arab Countries. Technological changes, including digitalisation, have been accelerated by the COVID-19 health crisis. Now more than ever, we need to ensure that women are not left behind as… read more
The UfM held an online event “Young people against Hate Speech on Social Media” with the participation of young experts from the region to address the forms and practices of hate speech and discuss the necessary measures required to combat hate speech on social media. The UfM held this online event in collaboration with the Mediterranean Forum for Youth (FOMEJE) and Sustainable Cooperation for Peace and Security (SCAPS). Young experts on the theme from the region participated and enriched the debate by addressing the forms and practices of hate speech while exploring the necessary measures required in combating hate speech… read more
27 May 2021. The second meeting of the Regional Dialogue on Women Empowerment Working Group took place yesterday, co-chaired by Tunisia and with the UfM Secretariat as facilitator. The Working Group assesses progress on data gathering for the first ever intergovernmental reporting exercise monitoring progress on gender equality and women empowerment, launched earlier this year. The reporting exercise seeks to gather data on six of the 20 indicators agreed by UfM Member States, which cover four main areas of gender equality: leadership, economic empowerment, violence against women and girls, and gender stereotyping. The results of the exercise will be included… read more
The first high-level coordination meeting between the Union for the Mediterranean (UfM) and World Health Organization (WHO) took place on Thursday 28 April. The meeting brought together more than 30 representatives and experts from the UfM and WHO to discuss and explore various avenues for collaboration in order to implement the Joint Action Plan following the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed by both parties on 5 March 2020. We need to continue exploring other common and horizontal areas of cooperation related to health to find better solutions for the common challenges we face. 28 April 2021. The global pandemic has put… read more
14 April 2021. The UfM has joined CIHEAM and CMI Marseille in launching the 41st edition of the CIHEAM Watch Letter, to give a voice to young researchers, entrepreneurs, and activists who have ideas for more sustainable and inclusive food systems in the Mediterranean region. Food systems in the Mediterranean are faced by multiple threats: climate change, pollution and environmental degradation, unemployment and economic hardship, and of course the COVID-19 health crisis. We need green, climate-resilient and sustainable solutions for agriculture, blue economy, fishing and the food systems of the future – and we need the inclusion of young people to make it happen. CIHEAM… read more
Rai Radio 1 is giving a new momentum to the European campaign “No Woman No Panel – Senza donne non se ne parla,” designed two years ago by the European Commissioner Mariya Gabriel, praised by Italian President Sergio Mattarella and supported by the European Commission office in Italy. The Union for the Mediterranean is joining this campaign to further mainstream gender equality throughout its activity. 25th of March 2021. The Union for the Mediterranean is proud to participate in Rai1’s campaign “No Woman No Panel – Senza donne non se ne parla” to improve gender representation and equality in the… read more
An initiative from the three partners, Monaco, the UfM and UNIDO aims to facilitate access to finance, markets, technology and business networks for women-led micro, small and medium-sized enterprises. Hajer Derouiche, the founder of an innovative startup that produces plant extracts based on natural raw materials from the Mediterranean, shares her story. 8 March 2021 – “Promoting the empowerment of women for inclusive and sustainable industrial development in Tunisia” is the objective of the joint declaration recently signed by Monaco’s Department of External Relations and Cooperation, the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO) and the Union for the Mediterranean (UfM)…. read more
International Women’s Day is an opportunity to reflect and take stock of the progress made on gender equality, but above all, today should serve as a date to acclaim and recognize women’s societal role. Women’s leadership is essential to ensure that women’s needs are prioritized in the pandemic response and recovery, and we do not fall back in the progress made towards achieving gender equality. COVID-19 has shown that without women, we cannot fight the pandemic and build back better. 8 March 2020. On this date over 100 years ago, women across the world began to protest and march to… read more
The UfM hosted 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. Barcelona,… 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
