[National Experts Meeting] An Innovation Barometer for the MENA Region
Sep 28, 2016 / Highlight
Innovation Barometer ”"لوحة مؤشرات الإبتكار for MENA Countries:
Following-up on the last innovation scoreboard workshop held in Amman in 2015, the 12 national experts (including Palestine, Iraq and Oman) and institutional partners of the program (ISESCO, ALECSO, ESCWA, UNESCO, AIDMA) met to finalize an Innovation Scoreboard for the MENA region...
[Report] Forced Displacement: Toward a Development Approach Supporting Refugees, the Internally Displaced, and Their Hosts
Sep 28, 2016 / Highlight
Rooted in 10 conflicts, majority of refugees have been hosted by 15 countries, says new World Bank report
Forced displacement is a crisis centered in developing countries, which host 89 percent of refugees and 99 percent of internally displaced persons, says a new World Bank report. At its root are the same 10 conflicts which have accounted for...
The Mediterranean Host Municipalities Learning Network
Sep 28, 2016 / Highlight
Context/ Rationale
The high influx of refugees in the Eastern Mediterranean region continues to pose challenges to host local governments, as according to UNHCR the vast majority of Syrian refugees live in urban areas, with around only 8 per cent accommodated in refugee camps. Most of the refugees have limited financial resources and live in...
Arab World Start-ups Need Partners, Pathways, and Talent to Access Markets
Sep 26, 2016 / Blog entry
Market access is critical to the growth of start-ups in the Middle East and North Africa(MENA). Start-ups seeking to scale up their operations need to think in terms of regional, rather than solely national, growth strategies from day one. However, maneuvering themselves into new countries is a complex process, and one that hinges on finding the...
Management of Groundwater Resources as Common Goods
Sep 26, 2016 / Library
Synthesis report including i) a presentation of the theoretical background of common-pool resources management and the main instruments available, with emphasis on decentralized, local-level solutions as elaborated by Elinor Ostrom (Nobel Prize 2009) and her followers, and ii) a series of groundwater management case studies from Northern and...
UN Refugee Summit Issues a New Declaration for Refugees and Migrants
Sep 26, 2016 / Highlight
On Monday, September 19th, 2016 world leaders came together at the UN General Assembly to adopt the New York Declaration for Refugees and Migrants expressing their commitment to protect the rights of refugees and migrants, to save lives and to share responsibility for large movements on a global scale. The Declaration was adopted in the context of...
How Many Years Do Refugees Stay in Exile?
Sep 26, 2016 / Blog entry
"The average length of time that refugees spend in camps is 17 years." This cruel statistic has been quoted many times, influencing our perception of refugee crises as never-ending events which are spinning out of control. It has significant implications when deciding the type of aid that is needed, the combination of humanitarian and...
Forced Displacement: Toward a Development Approach Supporting Refugees, the Internally Displaced and Their Hosts
Sep 26, 2016 / Library
One global issue at the forefront of World Bank Group work this year and beyond is the forced displacement of people and its impact on ending extreme poverty. Forcibly Displaced: Toward a Development Approach Supporting Refugees, the Internally Displaced, and Their Hosts, prepared by The World Bank Group and the United Nations High Commissioner...
Digital Technologies for Economic Development in the Mediterranean
Sep 26, 2016 / MDF
Starts: Nov 4, 2016 Ends: Nov 4, 2016
Location: Villa Méditerranée, Marseille, France
A multi-partner dialogue to try to answer the following questions: What is the impact of digital technologies on economic development? How can digital technologies provide solutions to operational improvements to promote growth, employment and fight...
Summary Report: National Experts Meeting - Towards an Innovation Scoreboard for the MENA Region
Center for Mediterranean Integration (CMI) Newsletter #25 [July - August 2016]
Mediterranean Refugees and Migrants Newsletter - Issue 4
REACH in Jordan: Monitoring the Jordan Emergency Services and Social Resilience Project
Reach in Jordan: Assessing Livelihood Vulnerabilities to Inform a Resilience-Based Approach to The Refugee Response
Municipalities at the Forefront of the Syrian Refugee Crisis
Aug 22, 2016 / Blog entry
Due to the protracted conflict in Syria, refugees are turning into a serious challenge for the Mediterranean region with a significant spillover to Europe. Neighboring Turkey, Lebanon and Jordan, have absorbed the bulk of close to 5 million Syrian refugees since 2011, constituting approximately 86% of all Syrian refugees, compared to 8% hosted by...
Young, Loud and Clear
Jul 20, 2016 / Library
In the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), being young is a superpower. It is the youth who have started revolutions, led their countries to freedom and made history. In this set of videos, ten of the region’s most aspiring youth speak about their generation’s achievements, challenges, dreams and legacy.
You may also wish to watch the full...
Center for Mediterranean Integration (CMI) Newsletter #24 [June 2016]
Municipalities Seek to Secure the Welfare of Both Refugees and Host Communities
Jul 13, 2016 / Library
The complex and protracted nature of today’s conflicts has led forced displacement to reach an unprecedented level since World War II; substantially over 60 million people are now uprooted around the world, of which 4 million Syrian refugees. 86% of Syrian refugees live in Syria neighboring countries, and particularly in cities, which raises a...
[Conference] MEDCOP22: Energy Transition and Mediterranean Integration
Jul 12, 2016 / Highlight
Lead Organization
CMI
Partners
World Bank, Mediterranean Observatory of Energy (OME), Mediterranean Association of the National Agencies for Energy Conservation (MEDENER)
Rationale
Given its geographic position, the Mediterranean region plays a key role in the implementation of the Paris Agreement, as we move on from Conference of Parties 21 (...
5th International MENA Tertiary Education Conference
Mediterranean Refugees and Migrants Newsletter - Issue 3
Climate Change: Why Mediterranean Cities Need to Become Resource Efficient
Jul 07, 2016 / Blog entry
In June 2016, France became the first industrialized nation to ratify the Paris climate deal reached in December 2015. So far, just 17 states – mainly small islands and low-lying coastal countries that are especially vulnerable to the sea-level rise – have ratified the deal. French president François Hollande issued an urgent reminder that the...
Youth Radicalization—Looking at the Supply Side
Jul 07, 2016 / Blog entry
Tunisia is one of the most secular countries in the Arab region, and it has one of the most developed education systems. Yet, young people from there are attracted in their thousands—like in no other country—to jihadism. The answer to “why?” may lie in the classroom, where radical movements prey on children in elementary and high school, and most...
Syrian Refugees: Gaziantep’s Social Support Program
Jul 07, 2016 / Blog entry
On 15 March 2011, Syria witnessed a movement of protests part of a larger Arab uprising. The scene soon turned into civil unrest. In consequence to intense civil war, a big migration wave, hit in 2011 neighboring countries, particularly Turkey continuously increasing till this date. The crisis in Syria is the biggest human tragedy since World War...
[Brainstorming] How to Engage MENA Youth in Shaping its own Future?
Jul 06, 2016 / Highlight
Lead Organizations
Event organized by the World Bank Group and the Center for Mediterranean Integration (CMI)
Context
Half of the population in the Middle East and North Africa is under 25 years old.
According to the International Labour Organization, 28% of them are unable to find jobs. This is the highest unemployment rate in the world,...
Working Group 2.2: Laura Callet-Ravat Presentation
The Paradox of Higher Education in MENA
Jun 30, 2016 / Blog entry
This blog originally appeared in Future Development.
Note: This is an English version of my keynote speech given at the recent MENA conference on “Paradigm Shifts in Tertiary Education” in Algiers on May 30-June 2.
The Middle East and North Africa (MENA) was the cradle of higher education. The three oldest, still-functioning...
[Workshop] Preventing Violence and Radicalization in Schools
Jun 30, 2016 / Highlight
Context / Rationale
Violence and radicalization in schools, especially at the high school level, is a relatively new phenomenon in Tunisia. This challenge needs to be tackled collectively and with more force in order to minimise its impacts and progressively reduce its magnitude.
The workshop intended to begin a process of capacity building of...
Urgently Needed: a Robust Support for Rural Areas in South and East of the Mediterranean
Jun 22, 2016 / Blog entry
An increasing number of specialists are of the opinion that the Arab Spring and serious regional political disturbances (such as the war in Syria) are due in part to the deterioration of living conditions in the rural areas and the abandonment of those areas by the farmers. The International Center for Advanced Mediterranean Agronomic Studies (...
Refugees in Lebanon: Challenge or Opportunity?
Jun 22, 2016 / Blog entry
At a time when Europe is trying to restrict refugees’ access to its territory, it is essential to provide more support to the countries bordering Syria. This support should meet the vital needs of those fleeing the conflict, while at the same time strengthening cohesion between the host country and the refugee population.
With 1.8 million[1...