Investing in a Mediterranean Generation: UfM participates in the Malta Forum on Youth, Education and Mobility

• Following the Algiers forum on energy, this is the second thematic forum, organised by the Maltese Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade Promotion, in the run up to the Summit of the Two Shores (24 June, Marseille).
• Two UfM-labelled projects have been retained as part of the initiatives that will be presented in a pre-Summit Forum in Tunis next 11 June.

Malta, 25 April, 2019. The Malta Forum on Youth, Education and Mobility entitled “Investing in a Mediterranean Generation”, gathered over 160 participants to highlight the importance of civil society and youth-led initiatives with a focus on education and mobility.

In his opening speech, the Maltese Foreign Minister, Carmelo Abela, stressed the importance of youth empowerment for the future of the Mediterranean region and the necessity for the Mediterranean countries to work together and to share experiences in order to ensure peace and growth.  He also praised the UfM’s contribution to the Forum.

Following discussions on 4 key areas, namely education, virtual exchange, culturally intelligent schools co-designing the future and the potential of media, participants submitted 21 projects. Two UfM-labelled projects, Mediterranean New Chance (MedNC) and High Opportunity for Mediterranean Executive Recruitment (HOMERe) were retained by the Forum. In particular, MedNC was recognized as a model approach to addresses the challenge of socio-professional integration of young people and, particularly, of NEETs in the region. These projects will be finalized and proposed to a pre-Summit forum in Tunis (11 June 2019) with the participation of nominated civil society individuals from each of the associated countries to the Summit of the Two Shores (the “Call of the 100”).

A UfM delegation, including Higher Education and Research advisor, Itaf Ben Abdallah, and Social and Civil Affairs expert, Abdelkader El Khissassi, actively participated in this  second preparatory forum of the Summit of the Two Shores, reflecting the UfM’s institutional commitment in promoting regional dialogue and its ambition towards streamlining regional Euro-Mediterranean cooperation. The Summit of the Two Shores is a welcome initiative launched by France which aims to strengthen further collective engagement in Euro-Mediterranean integration and promote a pragmatic regional socio-political dialogue with a view to enhancing regional cooperation through the launch of specific initiatives in the region.

As such, the UfM is actively engaged in coordinating efforts towards the Summit, set to take place in Marseille on 24 June. The UfM Secretary General, Nasser Kamel, had stressed earlier in an intervention in Marseille that “the best way to collectively strengthen our Mediterranean policy framework is to take advantage of existing institutions and relevant expertise established over the past few years to jointly build, hand in hand, a new dynamism capable of fulfilling all expectations and meeting all hopes”. In an effort to foster pragmatic regional dialogue in the context of the Summit of the Two Shores, the UfM is currently organising a regional dialogue forum under the title “Shared views on key issues in the Mediterranean”  on 22 and 23 May 2019 in Barcelona. This event seeks to gather valuable insights of youth and civil society representatives as well as non-state actors from across the region on current challenges in the Mediterranean. Its conclusions will feed the discussions of the pre-Summit forum of Tunis.

In preparation of the Summit, a far-reaching process is taking place from January to mid-June aimed at putting civil society at the heart of renewed regional cooperation, including five other preparatory fora on the main themes of the Summit: “Youth, Education and Mobility” (Malta); “Economy and Competitiveness” (Morocco); “Energy” (Algeria);” Environment and Sustainable Development” (Italy); and “Culture, Media and Tourism” (France). The output will be central to a pre-Summit forum in Tunis on “Towards a common space of intercultural dialogue” with the participation of nominated civil society individuals from each of the associated countries (the “Call of the 100”).

More information: 

• The UfM participates in Algiers in the first thematic forum leading to the Summit of the Two Shores
• Foreign Ministers of the Western Mediterranean called for reinforced regional collaboration to face pressing challenges and commitment to a shared vision of a sustainable future
• “Mediterranean of the Future”: UfM Secretary General participates in the conference on youth in Marseille
• “Creating new cultural momentum in the Western Mediterranean”: UfM participates in the Montpellier Forum on Culture, Media and Tourism Forum