Partners of the UfM-labelled project “Mediterranean New Chance” exchange concrete best practices to improve youth employability in the Mediterranean
5 and 6 July 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 the 7th Steering Committee of the Mediterranean New Chance project on July 5 in Barcelona.
Labelled by the 43 UfM Members States in 2014 in the framework of the UfM’s cross-sector initiative Mediterranean Initiative for Jobs (Med4Jobs), the MedNC project aims to boost the employability of unemployed graduates and young people who have dropped out of school before obtaining a degree. The project supports a regional network of accredited training and professional integration centres to promote a shared and innovative teaching model, with the collaboration of the public authorities, the private sector and the civil society.
It not only addresses the challenges of youth unemployment (mainly of those who are Not in Education, Employment, or Training -the “NEETS”) and early school leaving but also builds on the huge potential offered by youth as driving force for development, therefore impacting the regional stability and integration in the Mediterranean.
The meeting brought together representatives of national coordinators and local partner centres in Algeria, Tunisia, Morocco and Spain which reported on the advancements made during the first semester 2017, the difficulties met and the best practices achieved. It also counted on the participation of members of institutions and organisations from Portugal, Palestine and Italy which expressed their interest in the project, along with donors, such as the French Development Agency, and other relevant stakeholders.
After a successful period of three years of implementation, discussions also focused on key aspects for the continuation of the project including the regional coordination, the financial strategy, the implementation of a common accreditation and the integration of new partners.
On the 6th of July participants visited the Fundació El Llindar, flagship social and educational entity, founding member of the Asociación Escuelas de Segunda Oportunidad (Spanish branch of MedNC project).
Algerian partners offered to host the next MedNC Steering Committee by the end of the year.
