15 July 2020. The coronavirus has challenged the core of what makes cities vibrant and successful: busy streets full of people. Will these cities ever come back to be the same? The webinar on Euro-Mediterranean cities in the post-pandemic era, organised by the Union for the Mediterranean (UfM) in cooperation with the UNESCO World Heritage Centre reflected on sustainable urban development in the Mediterranean region after COVID-19, climate change, cultural heritage, and on the approach of the 2011 UNESCO Recommendation on the Historic Urban Landscape. The event was opened by the UfM Secretary-General, Nasser Kamel, chaired by the Deputy Director of the UNESCO World Heritage Centre, Dr Jyoti Hosagrahar, and structured around a conversation with Prof. Richard Sennett, Senior Fellow at the Centre on Capitalism and Society at… read more
PRIMA and UfM together call for greater attention to innovation and sustainability for rebuilding the region 16 July 2020. New Challenges, emerging trends and need of transformations: PRIMA and Union for the Mediterranean have promoted an online debate, discussing the first results of the survey on the agrifood sector, as well as concrete solutions and initiatives to address the challenges that are affecting the Mediterranean area. At the presence of UfM Secretary General and PRIMA Co-Chairs, the focus of the conversation has been from the very beginning on how to promote a rebound for the region after the pandemic has exacerbated the already existing problems from an economic, social and environmental point of view. To debate these challenges and the potential solutions ahead is even more relevant… read more
The 2020 UfM Mediterranean Climate Week discussed, among other topics, the progress of international public and private climate finance flows and how to optimise their mobilisation. Under the current scenarios, Southern and Eastern Mediterranean countries per capita energy demand is estimated to increase by about 60% by 2040. These countries have attracted 9% of the international public climate finance commitments each year. Considering these countries are representing 4.1% of the global population, it shows the region attracts a high flow of investment. 14 July 2020. The limit of a 1.5ºC increase in the average temperature, not to be surpassed as… read more
The below expert article is provided by the European School of Intermodal Transport. The Barcelona-based school is a specialized training and knowledge transfer centre, which, over the past ten years, has acquired outstanding experience in staff training and capacity building activities related to efficient and sustainable transport solutions. The school is also the promoter of the UfM-labelled project “TransLogMED”, which aims to establish an efficient, interoperable and sustainable transport infrastructure network in the Euro-Mediterranean region. By Lidia Slawinska In recent times a vast number of technological transformations has encompassed the maritime sphere. A recent study (2020) commissioned by the European Commission’s… read more
Meet Raneem Al Jaouni, Jordanian student who just graduated in accounting at Princess Sumaya University for Technology in Amman. Her final year studies included a course called ‘Business Skills’, a university module of the wider Maharat MED programme, part of the UfM Med4Jobs initiative to help increase the employability of youth and women. 13 July 2020. Jordanian student Raneem Al Jaouni has always preferred working with numbers. Growing up in Saudi Arabia, she was drawn to numerical subjects, and this interest led to her to study for a degree in accounting at Princess Sumaya University for Technology in Amman, Jordan. Professionally, she is drawn… read more
Part of a wider UfM supported Plastic Busters Initiative spanning across the whole Mediterranean basin, Plastic Busters MPAs is an Interreg Med project aiming at maintaining biodiversity and preserving natural ecosystems in pelagic and coastal marine protected areas. Marine litter research expeditions have been carried out in the Pelagos Sanctuary (Italy), the Tuscan Archipelago National Park (Italy), the National Marine Park of Zakynthos (Greece) and the Cabrera Archipelago Maritime-Terrestrial National Park (Spain). 13 July 2020. Everyday life in the Mediterranean has been disrupted and changed over the last few months but the work that Plastic Busters MPAs carried out first at sea and then in the lab can… read more
The Diplomatic Academy in Vienna gave the Union for the Mediterranean (UfM) the opportunity to share its vision of how the region must look in the future as the UfM Secretary General, Nasser Kamel, participated in discussions that explored what a post-pandemic world might look like. Vienna, 1 July 2020. The conference ‘From Victory Day to Corona Disarray: 75 years of Europe’s Collective Security and Human Rights System’ was co-organised by the International Institute for Middle East and Balkan Studies (IFIMES) and the EU media platform Modern Diplomacy to underline how the post-COVID 19 world is a near yet unchartered future… read more
The UfM Webinar on “Access to Finance: Introduction to the Funding Landscape” introduced the public to the basics of funding and the various categories and instruments available to startups and young entrepreneurs. The Webinar is part of a series of webinars targeting the general public with more focus on younger stakeholders, as part of the UfM Secretariat’s efforts to reach out to a broader audience during times of crisis. Barcelona, 17 June 2020. The second Webinar to be delivered by the UfM Business Development and Employment Division took place today, anchored to the UfM Secretariat’s efforts to contribute to the… read more
The social economy is an enterprise model based on participatory management, the primacy of people over capital, and where profits are reinvested. It is a key player in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals and in reducing inequalities in the Euro-Mediterranean region The social economy currently consists a total of 3.2 million enterprises and 15 million jobs in the EU and eight southern Mediterranean countries The Union for the Mediterranean, the European Commission and national governments came together to promote and develop the social economy sector in the Mediterranean, in dialogue with key organisations and stakeholders Barcelona, 26 June 2020. The… read more
The Spanish Secretary of State for International Cooperation, Ángeles Moreno Bau, and the Secretary General of the Union for the Mediterranean (UfM), Nasser Kamel, met today to discuss the progress of the Desalination Facility for the Gaza Strip project, with the Palestinian Minister of Water, Mazen Ghunaim, in a virtual meeting. During the meeting, Spain unveils 1 Million euros of financing for the construction of a Desalination Facility for the Gaza Strip The desalination plant will supply drinking water to 2 million Palestinian inhabitants, thereby ensuring a sustainable solution for the chronic and longstanding water shortage and humanitarian crisis in… read more
