UfM and Spanish Civil Society Platform for Cooperation team up to support women’s empowerment in the Southern Mediterranean

Barcelona, 24^th October, 2012. The UfM Secretariat met with members of the Spanish Civil Society Platform for Cooperation in the Mediterranean – ECEM (Encuentro Civil Euro-Mediterráneo) in an effort to discuss future project cooperation. Deputy Secretary General Ambassador Cecilia Attard-Pirotta presented the historic development of the Union for the Mediterranean, the role and mission of the Secretariat, its structure, institutional partners and major achievements in delivering projects. With particular attention given to the activities of the Social and Civil Affairs Division, the participants were familiarized with the project assessment cycle and the requirements every project proposal needs to meet in order to benefit from the label of the Union for the Mediterranean.

The ECEM Secretariat presented a draft project on training and exchange of experiences for economic empowerment of women in the Southern Mediterranean, with the improvement of social and economic situation of women in the region as the project proposal’s core element. The meeting provided an opportunity for both sides to exchange views on the first draft of the future UfM-ECEM project and to define the next steps in project elaboration. A follow-up meeting will be held in the coming months in an effort to revise the Concept Note and prepare it for internal assessment in the Union for the Mediterranean.

The Spanish Civil Society Platform for Cooperation in the Mediterranean ECEM (Encuentro Civil Euro-Mediterráneo) is a diverse network of civil society organizations, gathering workers’ unions, business confederations, foundations, academic institutes, youth councils and different development organizations, acting as the official Spanish representative in the Euro-Mediterranean Non-Governmental Platform. TheECEM’s engagement in the Euro-Mediterranean area and their strong will to contribute to the region’s socio-economic development with concrete projects is an excellent opportunity for the Union the Mediterranean to promote its mandate with civil society in Spain and the region and to deliver concrete projects with tangible and immediate results for the region’s most vulnerable population.