Barcelona, 29 November 2021 – Climate action, economic integration and support for women and youth are some of the key areas of partnership under a new Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed today between the Union for the Mediterranean (UfM) and the the Regional Bureau for Arab States of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). The three-year agreement strengthens the collaboration between both entities to address common challenges across the Mediterranean and Arab States regions, enabling them to work together to build peace and prosperity through policy development, project implementation and knowledge sharing. Actions to support countries to adapt to and… read more
• 28th of November 2021 had marked the first annual celebration of the Day of the Mediterranean, recognising Mediterranean culture, cooperation and embracing the rich diversity of the region. • Home to more than 480 million people living across three continents, with a coastline of 46,000 km, the Mediterranean region offers an unparalleled wealth of human and natural diversity. • More than 50 events and initiatives have been held across the region to celebrate this first edition. The Union for the Mediterranean (UfM) hosted a Meeting of Ministers of Foreign Affairs and a Conference on Regional Integration on 29… 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
27 to 29 October 2021. An Online Workshop entitled “Increasing Awareness of Science Diplomacy in The Mediterranean” was held by the UfM from 27 to 29 October with the support of CREAF. This training programme was aimed at exploring how regional multi-stakeholder cooperation across the Mediterranean can help achieve long-term sustainability and prosperity in the region through science and innovation. With more than 20 speakers and 100 registered participants across the Mediterranean region, this training showed a strong interest from all stakeholders in deploying Science Diplomacy as a policy tool at the service of regional dialogue. Participants came from ministries,… read more
UfM and ECMWF join forces to fight climate change through data-driven solutions in the Mediterranean
Caption: Carlo Buontempo, Director of Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S) and Grammenos Mastrojeni, UfM Deputy Secretary General The Union for the Mediterranean (UfM) and the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) signed a partnership agreement in Barcelona, to support all UfM countries to access the critical data they need to tackle Mediterranean climate change challenges. 25 October 2021, Barcelona. Over the next few years, ECMWF, as entrusted entity to implement the Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service (CAMS) and the Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S) and Union of Mediterranean will work closer and undertake joint initiatives to develop targeted training sessions and materials for knowledge… read more
After a digital training held on 1-13 September, two additional pilot trainings were provided in Jordan and Tunisia. A high-level follow-up Forum on Innovation and Employability will be held on 18 November. Jordan, 27 and 29 September 2021 / Tunisia, 21-22 October 2021. Decision-makers of higher education institutions (HEIs) and research centres, policymakers, as well as industry representatives from Jordan and Tunisia participated in the last few weeks in two trainings of two days each linking academic research to industry needs. Each course was adapted to the national contexts. After having offered a theoretical overview of the Triple Helix Model of… read more
22 October 2021. This 2021 is the “make or break year for action on energy transition”, according to the United Nations. In this very year, COP26 is also expected to bring significant implications for the energy sector towards a sustainable energy future. And in this very moment where the COVID19 pandemic has recalled us all how interlinked nature, energy, climate, health and economy are in our society, energy will allow us to recover, building back better together. 2021 is also the year when the 42 members of the Union for the Mediterranean have approved a Ministerial Declaration on Energy that raises the ambition… read more
The initiative provides a regional emergency solution to implement an innovative Rapid Response Mechanism (RRM) for Higher Education in the Euro-Mediterranean region. This project will enable 300 refugees and students from the host communities to access higher education institutions in the next 3 years. 21 October 2021, Barcelona. The Member States of the Union for the Mediterranean (UfM) met today at the level of Senior Officials from the Ministries of Foreign Affairs. They endorsed a new regional initiative to support access to higher education for the refugee and displaced populations. They also discussed the preparations of the 6th UfM Regional… read more
Barcelona, 12 October. UfM Secretary General Nasser Kamel participated online in the high-level segment of the 2021 OSCE Mediterranean Conference held in hybrid format in Vienna on the 12 and 13 of October dedicated to the theme “Road to resilience: post-pandemic recovery and security in the OSCE and Mediterranean regions”. On his intervention, the Secretary General recalled the need to focus on three elements in a sustainable post pandemic recovery: an effective regional integration that will unleash the full social and economic potential of the Mediterranean region; an inclusive development axed in a digital transition; a recovery based in climate-resilient… read more