News

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

15-17 July 2020.  Women have not benefitted equality from industrial and technological development and have been profoundly tested by the Covid-19 health crisis, where women-led businesses have been specially hit. Half of the women-led enterprises in the Euro-Mediterranean region have had to suspend all activity. To focus on these challenges, the UfM partnered with UNIDO for the conference Women in Industry and Innovation – Building women‘s resilience to global challenges and emerging crises which took place online on 15-17 July 2020, gathering over 1600 users. The conference addressed how to improve resilience along value chains, realising emerging opportunities through ICTs… 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 UfM Secretariat and the European Commission’s Directorate-General for International Cooperation and Development discussed with EU mayors and other local and regional authorities the challenges presented by the COVID-19 pandemic.  17 April 2020. The UfM Secretariat participated in an online discussion organised by PLATFORMA, the pan-European coalition of towns and regions, along with their national, EU and global associations that are also active in city-to-city and region-to-region development cooperation.  This online meeting was held to discuss the actions of the EU and the local governments, municipalities and regions to address the challenges presented by COVID-19, as they represent some of the main authorities acting on the… read more

The Union for the Mediterranean signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the World Health Organization (WHO) in the field of women’s access to health. The agreement will promote the engagement of UfM Member States in women’s empowerment, improving women’s access to health and addressing violence against women. Collaboration between the UfM and WHO started in 2016 to promote the project “WORTH – Women’s Right to Health,” which aims to reduce the incidence and mortality of cancers affecting women in Albania, Montenegro and Morocco, through the design and implementation of a comprehensive control strategy for cervical and breast cancer. 5 March… read more

UfM Member States will adopt a regional intergovernmental mechanism to monitor the progress made on women’s rights, evaluate gender gaps and provide recommendations to policymakers. UfM projects and initiatives specifically addressing women’s empowerment and gender equality benefit women in 20 Euro-Mediterranean countries. Within the UfM region, gender parity is estimated at 76.7% in Western Europe and at 61.2% in the Middle East and North Africa, which indicates there is still a long way to go.  #EachforEqual #IWD2020 #UfM4Women #Women4Mediterranean Barcelona, 2 March 2020. The Union for the Mediterranean embraces the celebration of the International Women’s Day with the implementation of… read more

With the support of the UfM, the project “Women´s Right to Health” (WoRTH) aims at reducing the incidence and mortality of women’s malignancies (breast and cervical) in Albania, Montenegro and Morocco Among women, breast cancer accounts up to a third of all cancers, followed by cervical and colorectal cancer. General cancer rates are expected to double by 2030, especially in the Eastern Mediterranean Region, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). 4 February 2020, Barcelona. The 4th of February marks the International World Cancer Day, highlighting the need to increase awareness on cancer and encouraging prevention and early screenings. Only… read more

More than 7000 participants gathered at the third Edition of the World Youth Forum in Egypt, where the President of Egypt, Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, attended the closing session and commended youth on their crucial role in shaping the future of the region. In a unique partnership, the World Youth Forum hosted the first-ever Model Union for the Mediterranean, where 90 young delegates drafted ministerial declarations to address pressing issues such as youth unemployment and the impact of climate change and called for a stronger regional cooperation. The UfM collaborated with the World Youth Forum and interacted with key actors promoting… read more

The UfM gathers young entrepreneurs who presented their projects and success stories in the tourism sector, even in rural areas. Barcelona, 4 December 2019. More than 30 participants, stakeholders, members of the academia and entrepreneurs from the tourism sector gathered at the Headquarters of the UfM to discuss the sector’s role as a catalyst for job creation on both shores of the Mediterranean, especially for youth and women. The workshop was a follow-up activity of the brainstorming meeting held on sustainable tourism in November 2018.  Marisa Farrugia, UfM Deputy Secretary General for Social and Civil Affairs and responsible for the… read more