Representing more than half of the total population, young people constitute one of the greatest assets for stability and development in the Euro-Mediterranean region. Yet, more than a quarter of the region’s youth are unemployed and youth unemployment has been twice higher than adult unemployment in recent years. To face this, the UfM Mediterranean Initiative for Jobs (Med4Jobs) aims at cultivating an entrepreneurial culture and support the development of necessary skills for the youth. Framed within this regional initiative, the Mediterranean New Chance (MedNC) and the High Opportunity for Mediterranean Executive Recruitment (HOMERe) projects have improved the socio-professional integration of… read more
Barcelona, 18-19 July 2019. UfM Ministries in charge of gender equality and women issues, national statistic institutions, regional and international organisations, business women associations, cooperation agencies, donors and civil society regional networks gathered in Barcelona for the UfM Regional Dialogue on Women’s Empowerment on 18-19 July 2019. The meeting was the opportunity to present a first set of indicators that will allow to accurately assess and monitor the progress made on women’s rights and gender equality. Participants also opened a dialogue to start building a regional framework of gender data and statistics based on the selected indicators. The launch of this monitoring mechanism… read more
The energy demand is estimated to increase by 62% in the Southern and Eastern Mediterranean countries by 2040. Showcased as a best practice in the region, the UfM-supported Tafila Wind Farm project powers 83 000 homes, represents almost 25% of Jordan’s energy produced from renewable sources and serves as a good example of involving local authorities to benefit from new renewable energy sources Lisbon, 18 July 2019. The UfM is organising the second edition of the Energy and Climate Business Forum today in Lisbon, in partnership with the Portuguese Ministry of Environment and Energy Transition and the Portuguese Energy Agency… read more
19 July 2019, Brussels. The Senior Officials of the Union for the Mediterranean held their third meeting of the year on 18 July 2019 in Brussels. They discussed three new projects to be labelled by the UfM next October, as well as set key priorities for the fall. The meeting provided an opportunity to follow up on the 4th UfM ministerial Meeting on Employment and Labor and to agree on the organization of Ministerial Conferences on Environment and Climate Change, Blue Economy and, eventually, on Digital Economy. Senior officials also discussed the preparations of the IV UfM Regional Forum, that… read more
Social Economy constitutes a significant part of the private sector in the euromed region with more than 3,2 million enterprises and organisations and 15 million jobs. The UfM Workshop on Social Economy in the MENA Region and the Balkans is the first ever UfM event fully dedicated to social economy, with a focus on job creation, entrepreneurship and social impact. The Workshop was inaugurated by the Acting Secretary of State for Employment, Spain, and the State Secretary to the Minister for Tourism, Air Transport, Craft and Social Economy, Morocco. The UfM firmly believes that Social Economy is not only an… read more
30 chief scientists and senior advisors for research centers, universities, governments and public agencies from across the world gathered in Barcelona to reinforce their skills, knowledge and network on science & technology diplomacy. The first edition of the Summer School on science and technology diplomacy jointly delivered by the Barcelona Science and Technology Diplomacy Hub and the Barcelona Institute of International Studies was concluded with a keynote address of UfM Secretary General Nasser Kamel. Barcelona, 5 July 2019. The UfM actively took part in the first edition of the Science and Technology Diplomacy Summer School which gathered over 30 chief… read more
Madrid, 26 June 2019. The UfM Secretary General, Nasser Kamel, participated in the Concordia Europe AmCham Summit in Madrid, moderating a round table session on relations among the MENA region countries, the U.S., and Europe aiming to assess the potential of such trilateral cooperation in a rapidly changing global landscape. In his introductory speech, SG Kamel highlighted that “cooperation and joint action remain indispensable”, especially when dealing with such issues as “sustainable economic development”, a challenge “critical to tackle the root causes of many modern time difficulties that we encounter today”. The panel included Alfonso Bosch, CEO of Equatorial Coca-Cola… read more
More than 40 experts and representatives of think tanks and diplomatic institutions from the Member States of the 5+5 Dialogue are debating on how to foster an environmentally-friendly and resilient socioeconomic model for the region at the 4th MedThink 5+5 Forum, held in Malta on 1-2 July 2019. Malta, 1-2 July 2019. The fourth edition of the Forum held in Malta is co-organised by the European Institute of the Mediterranean (IEMed) – Secretariat of the MedThink 5+5 network – and the Union for the Mediterranean (UfM), in collaboration with the Ministry for Foreign Affairs and Trade Promotion of Malta and the… read more
28 June 2019, Sofia. The Secretary General of the Union for the Mediterranean (UfM), Nasser Kamel, participated today in the 40th Meeting of Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the Organization of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation (BSEC), held in Sofia at the end of the Bulgarian Chairmanship-in-Office of that regional organization. Secretary General Kamel highlighted the important role of cooperation platforms in addressing regional challenges, through the definition of a common agenda and by creating a multiplier factor that allows for better projects and bigger positive impacts to be achieved. At this regard, the Secretary General reiterated that the objective… read more
The Mediterranean New Chance Network (MedNC) recognised by the ten States of the 5+5 dialogue at the Summit of the Two Shores in Marseille on 24th June Marseille, 24 June 2019 – Aware that youth unemployment is a major challenge for countries within the Mediterranean region, Foreign Ministers of the ten countries that make up the 5+5 dialogue (France, Spain, Portugal, Italy, Malta, Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, Mauritania) welcomed the Mediterranean New Chance Network (MedNC) project at the Summit held on June 24th in Marseille, in the presence of the President of the Republic Emmanuel Macron. This important initiative will… read more
