Nicosia, 2 December 2019. Upon the invitation of Nikos Christodoulides, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Cyprus, UfM Secretary General, Nasser Kamel, paid his first official visit to Nicosia, in the framework of his outreach to the UfM member states. During their meeting, Secretary General Kamel expressed his appreciation to the Minister for the determination of his Government to continue to play an active and constructive role within the framework of the Union for the Mediterranean. On his side, Minister Christodoulides expressed the value and potential he sees in the very promising relationship between Cyprus and the UfM…. read more
The UfM Secretariat gathered representatives from Ministries for Higher Education and Research, regional networks of universities and of students, higher education institutions and research centers. Participants recommended a change of scale in the support mechanisms and to aim for an ambitious higher education initiative embracing the whole UfM region. 1 December, Cairo. The Union for the Mediterranean (UfM) organized, in partnership with the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research of Egypt, a regional meeting on higher education regional cooperation on 1 December in Cairo. Building on inputs received through prior consultation, the purpose of the meeting was to initiate reflection… read more
To date, the MedNC programme has given hope to 29,000 young people through its 100 partner centres in 9 countries with programmes focusing on education, training and confidence-building. The UfM is hosting the 2019 MedNC Annual Conference, in order to support an agenda for the region based on employability for the Mediterranean youth. 25-27 November 2019, Barcelona. The Union for the Mediterranean (UfM) is co-organising together with the Institut Européen de Coopération et de Développement (IECD) the 2019 Mediterranean New Chance (MedNC) Annual Conference, to be held back to back with the 12th MedNC Steering Committee, which is taking place… read more
Marseille, 26 November 2019. The Secretary General of the Union for the Mediterranean, Mr Nasser Kamel, participated today in Act III of the conference “ Mediterranean of the Future”, organised by the Région Sud under the patronage of the French Prime Minister, Mr Édouard Philippe. After an Act I (21 November 2017) on the theme of climate, and an Act II (13 November 2018) on the theme of youth, the third edition of this meeting designates investment as its theme. The event brought together, in addition to various ministers from around the Mediterranean region, investors and project leaders who are… read more
27 November 2019, Barcelona. On the occasion of the 2019 MedNC Annual Conference, held at the UfM’s Headquarters in Barcelona (Spain), the UfM signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Institut européen de coopération et de développement (IECD), promoter of the UfM-labelled regional project Mediterranean New Chance (MedNC), and the consortium led by The WonderPick Limited. Following a previous agreement signed on 17 October 2019, the purpose of this MoU is to facilitate collaboration by and among the UfM Secretariat, IECD and The Consortium for the financing and implementation of the MedNC project. In line with this, the Consortium,… read more
26 November 2019, Brussels. Around 70 participants hailing from the national Civil Protection Units from the UfM Member States convened in Brussels for a Technical Working Group on “Preparing for efficient mutual assistance in the Euro-Mediterranean Area” under the framework of the UfM and jointly organised by the European Commission. The discussions during the meeting focused on the following three areas: host nation support, preparedness for response, risk assessment and situational analysis to support rapid response in case of natural and man-made disasters. The purpose of this working group served to facilitate the identification of priorities for an action plan for efficient… read more
Turin, 25 November 2019. The Secretariat of the Union for the Mediterranean and the European Training Foundation have joined efforts to co-organize the UfM Workshop on the Future of Work and Skills for the Future in partnership with the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH commissioned by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), with a focus on three key thematics, namely Entrepreneurial Skills, Digital Skills and Green Skills. The Workshop brought together over 50 stakeholders and active actors from regional and international organizations, business support organizations, the private Sector, the civil society, development cooperation and… read more
Country representatives in charge of Research and Innovation took stock of the progress achieved since the Valletta Ministerial Declaration (May 2017) Barcelona, 25 November 2019. The 24th meeting of the EU-Med Group of Senior Officials (EU-Med GSO) in Research and Innovation took place at the headquarters of the Union for the Mediterranean (UfM) in Barcelona on 25 November 2019 in presence of UfM country representatives and partners of EU-funded projects with a focus on the Mediterranean. The meeting was co-chaired by Maria Cristina Russo, Director for International Cooperation at the Directorate-General for Research and Innovation of the European Commission and… read more
19-21 November 2019. The UfM Women Business Forum 2019 took place in Barcelona on 19-21 November within the margins of the Smart City Expo World Congress. It convened women entrepreneurs, national women business organizations, international leading organizations and business support schemes from the Euro-Mediterranean region to share knowledge and ideas on various business opportunities, good practices and innovative and successful business models. This year’s forum focused on promoting the role of women in the circular economy and in tech and innovation. During the roundtable on Women in the Circular Economy, challenges and opportunities for women in the Euro-Mediterranean region were discussed and different business models were presented. Circular economy models are complex and require the mobilization and… read more
Barcelona, 19 November 2019. UfM Secretary General, Nasser Kamel, was received on Tuesday 19 November 2019 by Ada Colau, Mayor of Barcelona, host city of the UfM Secretariat. During their first meeting since her re-election last April, SG Kamel took the opportunity to commend Mayor Colau on her ambitious programmes for the city, reiterating the importance of cities and local governments in pushing forward inclusive and sustainable development agendas, localizing the Sustainable Development Goals. Kamel further highlighted the UfM Secretariat readiness to further enhance its action at local level, notably to address more effectively the climate emergency faced across the… read more
