• English
  • Français
  • العربية
Follow us
Union for the Mediterranean – UfMUnion for the Mediterranean – UfMUnion for the Mediterranean – UfMUnion for the Mediterranean – UfM     Mediterranean Day
  • Who we are
    • Who we are

      The Union for the Mediterranean is an intergovernmental institution bringing together the European Union Member States and 16 countries from the Southern and Eastern shores of the Mediterranean to promote dialogue and cooperation.

      Overview   

    • Who we are

      • Member States
      • Meet the team
      • Partners
      • History
    • Key documents

      UfM Annual Report 2021 Regional Integration
  • What we do
    • Notre action

      The UfM seeks to enhance regional cooperation, dialogue and the implementation of concrete projects and initiatives with tangible impact on our citizens to address three strategic objectives: human development, stability and integration.

      Overview   

    • Human development

      • Economic Development and Employment
      • Higher Education & Research
      • Social & Civil Affairs

      Sustainable development

      • Water, Environment and Blue Economy
      • Transport & Urban Development
      • Energy & Climate Action
    • How we work

      • Political Framework
      • Regional Dialogue Platforms
      • Projects and Initiatives
  • Work with us
    • The UfM Secretariat is the operational platform of the Union for the Mediterranean. The staff of the UfM is made of more than 17 nationalities working in a multicultural environment that fosters cooperation and intercultural communication and exchange.

    • Work with us

      • Vacancies
      • Secondments
      • Internships
      • Procurement
      • Roster of experts
  • Info center
    • Info center

      Find our latest press releases, press invitations, visual identity, key institutional documents, photos and other relevant information


      Download the UfM Visual Identity Guidelines and Logos (zip file)   

    • Info center

      • Media corner
      • News
      • Agenda
      • Publications and key documents
      • Human Stories of the Mediterranean
    • UfM in the Media

      23 November – mena.org.eg – السفير ناصر كامل لـ(أ ش أ): اختيار عاصمة ثقافية من شمال المتوسط وأخرى من الجنوب
      View article
      24 November – La Presse – 7e Forum Régional de l’Union Pour la Méditerranée : Les capitales culturelles et la jeunesse de la Méditerranée au menu
      View article
      24 November – DW – An Inside Europe special celebrating the Day of the Mediterranean
      View article
      See more
  • Contact

UfM Regional Dialogue on Youth

Social & Civil Affairs

Objectives

Youth Strategy

Key partners

Future steps

Key figures and context

The Euro-Mediterranean region has one of the youngest populations in the world, with one in every three people being younger than 25 years old, and with this number reaching almost half of the population for the Southern and Eastern Mediterranean countries. Moreover, youth are among the most vulnerable groups, mainly the issues of unemployment and gender equality. In 2021 15% of young women and men (between 15- 34) within the EU were neither part of the labour force nor receiving education or training. In North Africa and Middle East, 25% of young women and men were unemployed. The main reasons for these high rates of unemployment are the scarce decent work opportunities, underemployment, poor quality education with high dropout rates, skills mismatches in the labour market, and finally, the lack of institutional capacities and mechanisms that respond to the youth’s needs and concerns. These key challenges have significantly exacerbated the phenomenon of brain drain in the region.

15% of young women and men (between 15- 34) within the EU were neither part of the labour force nor receiving education or training

Unemployment is not the only challenge for young people. It is intertwined with other equally urgent and pressing obstacles that are related to access to higher education of good quality, mobility, environment, inclusive growth, economic development, and prevention of radicalization, hence, the need for a regional strategy and a coordinated action plan. This should be further supported with the mainstreaming of youth in national policies. Youth in the Euro-Mediterranean region is also closely concerned by other relevant topics, that fall under the UfM mandates, such as climate action, energy, rural and urban development, digitalization and so on. Climate change and sustainable development represent major challenges for the new generations, as the future of the region is at stake.

Objectives of UfM Regional Dialogue on Youth

The UfM considers that Youth should not only be subjects to policies and strategies, but rather be active actors in their implementation through a concrete involvement in their processes and frameworks. Youth should be given space and prominence in policy-making ‎across Euro-Mediterranean countries. ‎ Therefore, the UfM Youth Strategy worked closely with Youth-led organizations and networks, in addition to its Member States, that contribute to the development of skills and leadership, as well as civil society from the whole region, and will continue to do so during its whole implementation phases. The Regional Dialogue on Youth serves as a stepping stone towards proposing more aligned and impactful initiatives and actions in the Mediterranean, which will adequately address environmental, social and economic challenges faced by the Euro-Mediterranean Youth.

The youth strategy

The UfM has placed young people at the heart of its action, focusing on empowering and engaging them as agents for positive change. The UfM Youth Strategy 2030 is a milestone that comes as a targeted response to the call of the 42 UfM Ministers of Foreign Affairs, at the 2nd UfM Regional Forum held in 2017, to launch a “Positive Agenda for Youth in the Mediterranean”. Adopted on December 9th, 2021, in the UfM Senior Officials Meeting, the Strategy has gone through various stages on the creation of the National Focal Points Network, of which the first meeting took place on 11th November 2022, that aims to operationalize it and translate it into different concrete actions through a targeted Action Plan on Youth.

This Strategy is fully in line with UN Youth 2030 and the EU Youth Strategy. In this framework, the UfM will continue to support and mobilize youth in its main areas of action, cognizant of the fact that in addition to introducing fresh and alternative perspectives, they have direct knowledge and insights into the issues they continue to be at the forefront of. The success of this Strategy and its Action Plan that will follow in 2023, is based on the conviction that we must act with, and not only for, youth, in view of promoting an effective regional cooperation with tangible impact on the ground. The UfM is fully committed to be a reliable partner in the quest to facilitate increased impact and expanded regional and country-level action to empower the Euro-Mediterranean youth in building an inclusive and sustainable future in the Mediterranean. This Strategy has achieved the great objective of bringing together 42 Member States with different horizons to agree on a common Strategy that reflects the emergency to act in the Euro-Mediterranean region.

Focusing on priorities that fall under the UfM Mandate, the Strategy provides a vision to support the power to act and mobilize of youth, through proposing “Solutions for youth, by youth”, that invest in skills, education, quality jobs etc. The six priority areas of the UfM Youth Strategy are the following:

  • Youth, Climate Action, and Energy
  • Youth and the Environment
  • Youth and Urban and Rural Development
  • Youth and Economic Development
  • Youth and Education and Training
  • Youth and Social Inclusion and Participation

Main partners

The UfM Youth Strategy worked closely with Youth-led organizations and networks, in addition to its Member States, that contribute to the development of skills and leadership, as well as civil society from the whole region, and will continue to do so during its whole implementation phases.

Numerous communications took place between the Co-Presidencies, the Member States and the Secretariat on the creation of the National Focal Point Network on Youth. Member States have also nominated their own national experts and additional national and regional youth-led organizations that will be invited to participate in the Working Group meetings throughout 2023, to express their own views and recommendations for the elaboration of the Action Plan on Youth.

Moreover, the   UfM participated and contributed to different international relevant events, such as: the 4th edition of the World Youth Forum which took place in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt; the 33rd General Assembly of the European Youth Information and Counselling Agency (ERYICA), held in May 2022 in Barcelona to intensify European and international cooperation in the field of youth information work and services; the United Nation Alliance of Civilizations MENA Youth Forum, organized on 17-23 June 2022 in Rabat to focus on the role of Youth in preventing violent extremism through sport; and the Mediterranean Youth Academy (MYA), which took place in Alexandria, Egypt, that aims at training on different cluster topics more than 100 young participants from the Euro Mediterranean region. UfM representatives participated in the second edition of the MYA in Alexandria, Egypt, to explain the UfM work on Youth and Employment and Youth and Gender Equality.

Future steps

As mentioned, the First Meeting of the National Focal Points Network (NFPN) took place on 11th November 2022 online, counting with the active participation of Focal Points from twelve (12) Member States – namely Algeria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Egypt, Hungary, Italy, Lithuania, Malta, Palestine, Portugal, Slovenia, Spain, and Türkiye. Moreover, representatives of the UfM Co-presidency from the Jordan Ministry and DG NEAR were present and delivered the opening remarks. Representatives of the EU Delegations and of the Directorate on Education, Youth, and Culture participated as well.

The First Meeting of the NFPN on Youth served as an opportunity to exchange views on the priority elements to focus on during the 2023 Working Group meetings for the operationalization of the Youth Strategy, that will lead to the Action Plan. A tentative calendar for the Working Group meetings and for the Ceremony of adoption and presentation of the Action Plan was presented.

The countries have been active and available to nominate national experts that will participate in the four (4) thematic Working Group meetings that will gather throughout 2023 in order to collect recommendations and suggestions for the elaboration of the Action Plan on Youth. The Working Group Meetings will count with the participation of Civil Society and Youth-Led Organizations that previously contributed to the Strategy and still show interest in cooperating on the draft of the Action Plan, to be adopted and presented by October 2023 in Barcelona, Spain.

Moreover, the Mediterranean Youth Foundation and the UfM met to discuss the possibility to organize the 3rd edition of the Mediterranean Youth Academy in Barcelona in the second semester of 2023.

Related News

Adoption of the UfM Youth Strategy 2030: Euro-Mediterranean Youth towards a common goal
See more

Who we are

  • Member States
  • Meet the team
  • Partners
  • History

What we do

  • Economic Development & Employment
  • Higher Education & Research
  • Social & Civil Affairs
  • Water, Environment and Blue Economy
  • Transport & Urban Development
  • Energy & Climate Action

How we work

  • Political Framework
  • Regional Dialogue Platforms
  • Projects and Initiatives

Work with us

  • Vacancies
  • Secondments
  • Internships
  • Procurement
  • Roster of experts

Info centre

  • Media corner
  • News
  • Agenda
  • Publications and key documents
  • Human Stories of the Mediterranean
  • Photo gallery
  • Video gallery
Co-financé par l'Union européenne  -  Cookie Privacy  |  Privacy Privacy  |  Legal notice
  • Who we are
    • Member States
    • Meet the team
    • Partners
    • History
  • What we do
    • Economic Development and Employment
    • Higher Education & Research
    • Social & Civil Affairs
    • Water, Environment and Blue Economy
    • Transport & Urban Development
    • Energy & Climate Action
  • How we work
    • Political Framework
    • Regional Dialogue Platforms
    • Projects and Initiatives
  • Work with us
    • Vacancies
    • Secondments
    • Internships
    • Procurement
    • Roster of experts
  • Info centre
    • Media center
    • News
    • Agenda
    • Publications and key documents
  • Contact
  • Social media
    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • Youtube
    • Linkedin
    • Flickr
  • English
  • Français
  • العربية
  • English
  • Français
  • العربية
Union for the Mediterranean – UfM
/* ----------------------------------------- */ /* Content Template: Loop item in Megamenu – Latest Ufm in the news - start */ /* ----------------------------------------- */ /* ----------------------------------------- */ /* Content Template: Loop item in Megamenu – Latest Ufm in the news - end */ /* ----------------------------------------- */ /* ----------------------------------------- */ /* Content Template: Template for Platforms - start */ /* ----------------------------------------- */ /* ----------------------------------------- */ /* Content Template: Template for Platforms - end */ /* ----------------------------------------- */ /* ----------------------------------------- */ /* Content Template: Loop item in Platforms – Related News (Sidebar) - start */ /* ----------------------------------------- */ /* ----------------------------------------- */ /* Content Template: Loop item in Platforms – Related News (Sidebar) - end */ /* ----------------------------------------- */

 

We are using cookies to give you the best experience on our website.

You can find out more about which cookies we are using or switch them off in settings.


3rd Party Cookies

Powered by  GDPR Cookie Compliance
Cookies Overview

This website uses cookies so that we can provide you with the best user experience possible. Cookie information is stored in your browser and performs functions such as recognising you when you return to our website and helping our team to understand which sections of the website you find most interesting and useful.

Read more

3rd Party Cookies

This website uses Google Analytics to collect anonymous information such as the number of visitors to the site, and the most popular pages.

Keeping this cookie enabled helps us to improve our website.

Please enable Strictly Necessary Cookies first so that we can save your preferences!