International Women’s Day 2022 UfM to shed light on women’s economic participation in the Euro-Mediterranean region The first publication of the UfM Intergovernmental Monitoring Mechanism on Gender Equality will be published on the 4th of March, sharing the latest information on women’s economic participation, entrepreneurship and leadership in the Euro-Mediterranean region. This regular reporting exercise allows to measure and report the evolution of women’s rights and provide policy recommendations to close the gender gap in the region. The first exercise was conducted during the pandemic and the figures show the impact this crisis had on women. To face some of… read more
The call for applications launched in November led to the selection and sponsorship of 136 women entrepreneurs and female executives from the MENA region looking to expand their network and grow their business within the region. 3 February 2022. Today, the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO), in partnership with the Union for the Mediterranean (UfM), have joined forces with Business Club Africa, to create and launch the first MENA Women Business Club. The 136 selected women entrepreneurs met with other members, exchanged views and attended the first masterclass on digital marketing. Women entrepreneurs in the MENA region who own or… read more
Over 1 in 7 persons are experiencing some form of disability globally (WHO, 2021), and they face many barriers to inclusion in some key aspects of society, even more so in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. Women with disabilities are at least two to three times more likely than other women to suffer violence. Only in the EU, accessible tourism has a potential economic market of 130 million people 26-27 January 2022. This 1st Conference on Disability and Social Inclusion in the Euro-Mediterranean Region, hosted in partnership between the Union for the Mediterranean (UfM) and the Spanish ONCE Social… read more
Tuesday 18 January 2022. The Commissioner General for Italy, Paolo Glisent, and the Secretary General of the Union for the Mediterranean, Nasser Kamel, announce the signature of the Memorandum of Understanding for the European Commission’s “No Women No Panel” campaign, taken up a year ago by Rai Radio1 . The Union for the Mediterranean announced its participation in March 2021 in the campaign seeking to improve gender representation and equality in the public debates in the Euro-Mediterranean Region. The UfM Secretary General highlighted: “The UfM is very proud to formally support and sign the MoU for the initiative No Women No… read more
Sharm el Cheikh, 10-13 January 2022 – The Secretary General of the Union for the Mediterranean, Nasser Kamel, participated at the 4th edition of the World Youth Forum (WYF) held in Sharm el Cheikh under the auspices of Egyptian President Abdelfattah El Sisi. This year’s edition was titled “Back together” and discussed Post-COVID effects, climate change, and human rights among other topics. The World Youth Forum is a platform built by promising youth engaging young people from around the world and allowing them to exchange views and recommend initiatives to decision-makers and influential figures. It is a chance for youth… read more
Barcelona, 9 December 2021. During the last meeting of the UfM Senior Officials for 2021, and just ahead of the 2022 European Year of Youth, the 42 member states adopted unanimously the UfM Youth Strategy 2030 – Euro-Mediterranean Youth towards a common goal. The Euro-Mediterranean region has one of the youngest populations in the world, with one in every three people being younger than 25 years old, and with this number reaching almost half of the population for the Southern and Eastern Mediterranean countries. Moreover, youth are among the most vulnerable groups in the face of the pressing challenges our… read more
25 November 2021. Nearly 1 in 3 women around the world have been subjected to physical or sexual violence at least once in their lifetime. These numbers do not reflect the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic or the full continuum of violence that affects women and girls in their lifetime including sexual harassment, online violence, domestic violence amongst many other forms of violence. Combating gender-based violence on national and regional levels is to remain the key priority in gender equality strategies and implementations. Fighting to eradicate gender-based violence is fighting for human rights. The UN Secretary-General’s UNiTE by 2030 to… read more
Women’s Entrepreneurship Day – 19th of November The MENA Women Business Club will offer hundreds of women-owned and women-led businesses from across the MENA region the opportunity to grow their business, expand their network and develop new competencies through dedicated mentoring and networking programmes. To join the initiative, MENA Women entrepreneurs and businesswomen are called to submit their candidatures HERE. This initiative is launched by UNIDO and the Union for the Mediterranean (UfM) in partnership with Business Club Africa. 17 November 2021. In order to stimulate the creation of business networks for women entrepreneurs and women-led businesses in the… read more
22 September 2021 – In the framework of the Union for Mediterranean (UfM) initiative aimed at evaluating progress made in gender equality in the region, the UfM Regional Dialogue on Women Empowerment, it was decided to establish a follow-up mechanism backed up with indicators to monitor and measure progress and provide policy recommendations to close the gender gap. These findings will be included in the 2nd UfM Regional Progress Report on gender equality which provides statistical data, data analysis and policy recommendations for the 2022 UfM Ministerial Declaration. In order to prepare for this Report, a first Ad-Hoc Working Group was… read more
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
