The present article, written by the UfM Secretary General, Nasser Kamel, is based on the findings of the UfM Progress Report on gender equality endorsed by the UfM Ministers during the Ministerial meeting on Strengthening the role of women in society held in November 2017 in Cairo (Egypt). It was first published in the Bled Strategic Times, a publication of the Bled Strategic Forum. Despite numerous international agreements affirming their basic rights, and universal recognition of their key role in society, poverty and illiteracy rates remain higher among women than men. Women are also more likely to be victims of… read more
The Union for the Mediterranean joins forces with FAO and CIHEAM to highlight regional initiative to counter land degradation in the Mediterranean, Near East and Eastern Europe at the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) 2-13 September New Delhi, India. The Mediterranean region is characterized by an acute scarcity of land resources suitable for production, due to aridity, inherently poor soils in many areas, and poor land management. To tackle desertification, the 14th session of Conference of the Parties (COP) to the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) will take place from 2-13 September… read more
3 September 2019 – Bled. In the framework of an official visit to Slovenia, UfM Secretary General Nasser Kamel was invited to address the 14th Bled Strategic Forum, a platform for high-level strategic dialogue among leaders from the private and public sectors on key issues of the 21st century. Held on 2-3 September 2019 under the title ‘(Re)sources of (In)stability’, this edition was dedicated to discussing the role of (re)sources regarding peace and security, sustainable development and economic progress. Secretary General Kamel took part of the panel discussion entitled ‘(Re)sources in Women’s Hands: Tapping the Potential’, moderated by the Slovenian… read more
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
