From Detroit to Lahore, most cities around the world are facing financing challenges. Bankruptcy, budget deficits, unmaintained infrastructure, declining quality of services and increasing urban poverty are unfortunately too common headlines. At the same time, the world is becoming more complex and municipal officials are not only dealing with the...

This document compiles the main points discussed during the trilingual TV show on the Syrian Refugee crisis. The show was co-produced by France24, the Center for Mediterranean Integration and the MuCEM. It included three separate discussions, one in Arabic, one in English and one in French with four panelists each. It was recorded and broadcasted...

115 City Leaders, Practitioners and National Officials from Jordan and West Bank and Gaza Participate in Intensive 5-Day Training    From May 24-28, the World Bank and the Center for Mediterranean Integration (CMI), with support from other partners, convened the first Municipal Finance and Creditworthiness Academy for cities in the Middle East...

The World Bank and the Center for Mediterranean Integration (CMI), in partnership with several development institutions as well as with the Government of Jordan and the Palestinian Authority, are organizing a 5-day intensive training on Municipal Finance and Creditworthiness from May 24-28, 2015 in Amman, Jordan.   The training aims to...

Unprecedented in scale and, with 16 million people already displaced and more living under the threat of displacement, the current crisis in the Middle East seems unlikely to go away anytime soon. The crisis is rare in that it largely affects middle income countries with fairly well developed education systems. The worst hit country is Syria,...

Observers of the educational landscape in the Maghreb countries are often left with the impression that early childhood education is more a luxury than a necessity. While child-care centers, kindergartens, and other preschool institutions are thriving in the big cities, backed by a private sector that is filling the void left by the public...

Graduation—a long-awaited day in most students' lives. Yet, according to Amir Fakih, himself a recent graduate from Lebanon’s Notre Dame University, a graduation ceremony also comes with grievances. To illustrate his perception of the future for Lebanon’s young university graduates, he decided to dress himself in his graduation gown doing low-...

In September 2015, Arab countries will need to commit to contributing to the ambitious Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Achieving them poses an even greater challenge since the Arab Spring has reversed the social and economic progress that these countries had experienced at the beginning of the 21st century. An original nexus approach should...

Starts: Nov 06, 2015 Ends: Nov 06, 2015   Location: Villa Mediterranée, Marseille, France   Event organized as part of the Mediterranean Economic Week, held in Marseille on November 4-7th, 2015, on the topic of « Cities and Territories, Drivers of Economic Development in the Mediterranean »   Lead Organisations Center for Mediterranean...