Partners of the “Mediterranean New Chance” UfM-labelled project discuss the main lines of action for the launching of a new phase for the period 2018-2020

The MedNC project aims at strengthening cooperation amongst stakeholders working in the field of socio-professional insertion of young people in the Euro-Mediterranean region.

13^th December 2017 – Barcelona. The Secretariat of the Union for the Mediterranean (UfMS) and the Office of Economic Cooperation for the Mediterranean and the East (OCEMO) organized, on the 13^th December at the UfMS headquarters in Barcelona, the 8^th Steering Committee of the Mediterranean New Chance UfM-labelled project.

Labelled by the 43 UfM Members States in 2014, in the framework of the Mediterranean Initiative for Jobs (Med4Jobs), the MedNC project has the objective of boosting the employability chances of young people who have dropped out of school before obtaining a degree and of unemployed graduates with a particular focus on young women. The project reinforces cooperation amongst stakeholders from the public and private sectors, as well from the civil society, working in the field of socio-professional insertion in the Euro-Mediterranean region.

The 8^th MedNC Steering Committee aimed at discussing the main lines of action for the launching of a second phase of the project for the period 2018-2020 which shall be marked by a change of scale in terms of number of participating countries, involved members and young beneficiaries along with an improvement of the exchange experiences and best practices.

In particular, participants discussed a Strategic Orientation Document and a concrete operational plan for 2018. They also identified future calls for project proposals that could be relevant to the MedNC project.

Moreover, the meeting included the presentation of the European Institute of Cooperation and Development (IECD) as a key member of the MedNC network.

Last but not least, representatives of national coordinators, local partner centers and interested institutions from Algeria, Egypt, Portugal, Spain and Tunisia reported on the developments made during the second semester 2017 and on the activities planned for 2018. Partners from France and Morocco, not present at the meeting, will also integrate the new dynamic of the MedNC project.