Barcelona, 18 July 2025 – The Union for the Mediterranean (UfM) backed a project developed within its Academic Advisory Group of Schools of Architecture and Urban Planning that has secured €769,000 in Erasmus+ funding under the highly competitive 2025 Capacity Building in Higher Education (CBHE) call, which had a success rate of just 6%. The selected initiative, GET-MED – Grounded Ecological Transition for the Mediterranean, brings together a diverse network of universities from Barcelona, Cagliari, Lisbon, Cairo, Al Alamein, Rabat, Fez, Tirana, and Podgorica, forming a unique alliance of ten institutions across the Euro-Mediterranean region. Anchored in the UfM’s longstanding… read more
26 June 2025, online. The Union for the Mediterranean (UfM) convened the Regional Platform on Transport Connectivity and its thematic Working Groups on Land, Air, and Maritime Transport and Logistics in an online session on 26 June 2025. The meeting brought together national transport coordinators and focal points from UfM Member States, along with representatives from key regional and international organisations, to assess and advance the implementation of the Regional Transport Action Plan for the Mediterranean (RTAP) 2021–2027. Co-chaired by the UfM Co-Presidency – comprising the European Commission’s DG MOVE and the Jordanian Ministry of Transport, the event follows up on… read more
21 May 2025, Leipzig, Germany – The Union for the Mediterranean (UfM), in collaboration with the International Road Federation (IRF) and the International Federation of Consulting Engineers (FIDIC), and with the financial support of Sweden (Sida), organised the Official Side Event titled “Effective Qualifications-Based and Gender-Responsive Procurement as a Tool to Enhance the Resilience of Transport Systems” on 21 May 2025 during the ITF 2025 Summit held in Leipzig, Germany. Transport systems in many LMICs remain under development, making the current decade crucial for avoiding inefficient investments and costly retrofitting in the future. Natural hazards cause an estimated USD 15… read more
6 May 2025. The Union for the Mediterranean (UfM) is launching a call for exemplary university-led initiatives in the fields of Architecture and Urban Planning that contribute to sustainable, resilient, and inclusive urban development in the Mediterranean region. Selected case studies will be featured in an upcoming UfM publication focused on greening the curricula in architecture and planning schools across the Euro-Mediterranean region. This initiative is part of the UfM Strategic Urban Development Action Plan 2040, aiming to highlight innovative academic practices that address today’s most pressing urban challenges—while bridging the gap between academia and society. This call seeks to… read more
13-14 March 2025, Marseille, France. Can the ancient building techniques of the Mediterranean help tackle today’s climate challenges? The UfM Field Visits: Traditional Building Skills event, held in Marseille on 13-14 March 2025, explored how heritage-based construction methods can provide sustainable solutions for the future. The two-day event brought together experts, educators, and policymakers from Morocco and Tunisia to examine successful programmes that integrate traditional building skills into certified training schemes. These efforts aim to enhance sustainable construction, create skilled employment opportunities, and reinforce heritage protection. Traditional building methods offer valuable lessons for climate adaptation and mitigation. Many Euro-Mediterranean countries… read more
16 December 2024, online – The UfM Webinar and Workshop on Violence against Women and Girls with a focus on Safety in Public Transports was held online on 16 December 2024, following the United Nations’ 16 Days of Activism against Violence against Women and Girls. Transport safety and security are inherently gender-sensitive issues. Women’s transport behaviour across all modes is significantly shaped by safety concerns, which are more pronounced than those of men. Studies reveal that the majority of women worldwide feel unsafe on public transport, with many reporting incidents of verbal or physical harassment when using it or moving… read more
Córdoba, 5-6 June 2024 – The Final Meeting of the programme on “Urban Heritage and Traditional Building Skills in the Southern Mediterranean Region”, organized with the financial support of AECID and in collaboration with the UNESCO Maghreb Office at Casa Árabe in Córdoba, Spain, on 5-6 June 2024, built on the results of each of the national workshops held in Algeria, Morocco, Mauritania and Tunisia in 2023-24. The Final Meeting also served to jointly design concrete regional actions to be implemented during the second semester of 2024 and 2025. The programme, launched by the UfM and the UNESCO Office for… read more
30-31 May 2024, Ben Guerir, Morocco. The 4th Meeting “UfM Advisory Group Meeting – Network of Schools of Architecture of the Euro-Mediterranean Region”, hosted by the University Mohammed VI Polytechnic in Ben Guerir, Morocco on 30-31 May 2024, built on the concrete outcomes of this cooperation, and served to further consolidate the group with a view to create consortiums of schools from the region to participate in EU calls among other joint activities. The Advisory Group aims to set in motion the process of review and update of curriculums of schools across the region, improving teaching methodologies to better respond to… read more
The International Road Federation (IRF) and the Union for the Mediterranean (UfM) mark a milestone in their collaboration by signing an agreement aimed at reinforcing their partnership in advancing road transport and mobility. 23 May 2024, Leipzig. With a rich history of collaboration spanning over the years, the IRF and UfM have come together at the sidelines of the annual Summit of the International Transport Forum to formalise their commitment to mutual cooperation by signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU). This strategic alliance will allow them to pool their expertise and resources, address pressing challenges and seize opportunities in the… read more
Comprising over 70 per cent of land use in most cities, housing is evidently central to future cities and urban development. Housing is central to the achievement of Sustainable Development Goal 11: ‘Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable. Access to dignified housing is recognized in various fundamental human rights texts, and by several national constitutions. Dublin, 15-16 May 2024. The Third Meeting of the UfM Thematic Working Group on Affordable and Sustainable Housing held in Dublin, Ireland on 15-16 May 2024, shared successful policy measures to boost housing affordability and ensured a comprehensive overview of national… read more
