SALTO YOUTH EUROMED MAGAZINE N...2/OCTOBRE 2007 #9 – EUROMED MAGAZINE T his ninth issue of the...

SALTO YOUTH EUROMED MAGAZINEOCTOBER 2007 # 9

n Editon Eventn EuroMedn EMYPn Cooperative Projectsn Training

2 / O C TO B R E 2 0 0 7 # 9 – E U R O M E D M A G A Z I N E

This ninth issue of the magazine is thefirst one since the launching of thetwo new programmes in the field of

youth: Youth in Action and Euro-MedYouth III, which were both created to pro-mote cooperation between Europeancountries, Mediterranean Countries andmore widely with partner countries in theworld.So, we begin with a retrospective on thehuge kick-off seminar “Let’s Meet ourNeighbours” held in France and organisedin cooperation with the French NationalAgency and the other Regional SALTO’s, topresent the new programme and extendcooperation among all the neighbours.At the same time, we propose some back-ground on the Euro-Med Youth III pro-gramme, an overview of the current situa-tion of this programme and the results ofthe first Selection Committees held in July,marking the launch of this programme.Euro-Mediterranean Cooperation reallybenefits from both programmes as they areclosely involved in promoting it and we areproud to share in this development.To illustrate these words, let’s share someexamples of cooperation: the first one is thefirst Euro-Mediterranean Parliament. JonasDreger tells you about his own experienceas a participant and an active actor in thefield of Euro-Mediterranean Cooperation.The first Euro-Mediterranean session wasreally successful and will be followed by a

second session in Morocco in 2008. So putit in your diary; we are sure you will be pre-sent!And, because cooperation begins withunderstanding, Claudio Kogon talks abouthis experience as SALTO Euro-MedCoordinator for the 3 Training seminars onthe “Three Cultures”. After the last seminarwhich will take place in France in theautumn, we will publish an educationalreport on this issue.Moreover, we are glad to focus on twoorganisations which are really involved inthe Euro-Med life: the Euro-Med GenderConnection and its amazing network andthe Youth and Non Violence Organisationwith its great project “Water Managementfor Peace” which includes 4 Meda coun-tries and 3 European countries.Finally, as cooperation is not limited toEuro-Mediterranean Cooperation but alsoinvolves the neighbouring countries, allregional SALTO RCs are very happy to present their brochure “Paths toInternational Cooperation” which is theresult of conscientious work done togetherover a long period. This brochure will soonbe available on line on our websitewww.salto-youth.net and will be disse-minated to all the main actors in the field ofyouth cooperation.We hope you will have a great time readingthe following pages!

SALTO-YOUTH EuroMed Team

Edito

From left to right : Bernard Abrignani, Steph andCaroline Mayaudon, coordinator, assistant, projectofficer

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Let’s Meet Our Neighbours and the World

New perspectives for European youth cooperation with our neighbours and the rest of theworld

BY DAVIDE TONON

Can a big seminar open the way tonew quality projects among youngpeople of regions that have never

worked together before?The answer is still in the air but the challen-ge, which comes directly from theEuropean Commission and the regionalSALTOs (SALTO Eastern Europe andCaucasus, SALTO South East Europe andSALTO Euro-Med) in cooperation with theFrench National Agency of the Youth inAction Programme, has been taken up.The new programme allows youthexchanges, EVS and training/networkingprojects to be set up with partners comingfrom programme countries together withother organisations from all the neighbourregions. This opens new perspectives foryouth cooperation with the possibility ofsharing different experiences in the fieldand diverse approaches while buildingtogether a sense of neighbourhood noteven imagined before.It will also certainly be a huge interculturalchallenge. And a big laboratory for prepa-ring the “Europe and neighbourhood” oftomorrow, where hopefully young peoplewill have the chance to work and sharewith all their neighbours in a mutually enri-ching process, without walls separatingthem!

The first idea…

The summaries of the previous YouthProgramme, the experience that manyorganisations gained in projects - first withThird Countries, then with PartnerCountries and now with the NeighbouringPartner Countries - clearly showed a big

need to support and developcooperation beyond the bor-ders of the European Union.

That is how the idea ofhaving a big kick-off seminarcame up at the end of lastyear. An event that wouldopen possibilities for coope-ration with the NeighbouringCountries and the Worldwithin the Youth in ActionProgramme It was our dream to have aseminar where representa-tives from all the regions -Programme Countries, Euro-Med, South East Europe aswell as Eastern Europe andCaucasus - could meet, crea-te contacts and value theimportance of wide interna-tional youth cooperation. Itwas also a very concrete aimfor the beginning of 2007.Our group, which includedthe European Commission, the SALTORegional Resource Centres and the FrenchNational Agency had a clear vision of whatneeded to be organised: An event wherethe political input would be combined withvery recent work on future YouthExchanges, Training courses, Seminars andEuropean Voluntary Service projects.(Supported by the 3 Regional SALTOs).

More teams, one team

To organize such a big event it was neces-sary to have a facilitation team. A team that

could, at the same time, stand for coopera-tion between programme countries andneighbouring countries. The result was that there was a preparationmeeting in the first days of April in INJEP.Hiba Tibi, a Euro-Med Salto trainer fromRamallah in Palestine, Areg Tadevosyan, anEECA Salto trainer from Yerevan inArmenia, Lidja Buric, an SEE Salto trainerfrom Zagreb in Croatia and Davide Tonon, acoordinator/trainer from Venice-Barcelona,worked out a programme trying to combi-ne content, activities and methodologywith the creation of a good atmosphere.


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It was important to have this balance inorder to achieve the aims of the seminar.

What can we say about the logisticteam? Starting from the preparationmeeting, the logistic team set up by theFrench NA and SALTO Euro-Med wor-ked in close contact with the facilita-tion team. Stephanie Henry and AliceDartout, supported by their structuresand coordinated by Jacques Huon, pro-vided everything possible and some-times even the impossible in order tomake the seminar enjoyable for theparticipants.

…and what happened?

The venueNeighbours met from the 30th of May tillthe 3rd of June, in INJEP (Institut Nationalde la Jeunesse et de l’Education Populaire)in Marly le Roi (Paris). The auditorium, thebig and small rooms around the hall, thecafeteria and the magnificent park, werethe setting for this huge meeting.

Who were the neighbours?In Marly le Roi we had participants - mostlyleaders and multipliers from NGOs andyouth services - from programme andneighbouring countries (in total 37 coun-tries: Albania, Algeria, Armenia, Austria,Azerbaijan, Belarus, Belgium, Bosnia andHerzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus,Czech Republic, Egypt, Estonia, France,FYROM, Georgia, Ireland, Israel, Italy,

Jordan, Lithuania, Moldova, Morocco,Norway, Palestine, Poland, Portugal,Russian Federation, Serbia, Slovakia,Slovenia, Spain, Syria, Tunisia, Turkey andUkraine); resource people from theEuropean Commission, the Educational,Audiovisual and Cultural Executive Agency,the Regional SALTOs (Euro-Med, SEE,EECA), the European Youth Forum, thePartnership, the French National Agency ofthe Youth in Action Programme, otherNational Agencies and Euro-Med YouthUnits; a facilitation team and a logisticteam. In total 127 neighbours met toge-ther.

The atmosphereFrom the first moment you could feel a spe-cial and exciting atmosphere: mixing attables during dinner, standing in the bighall, sitting around the cafeteria tables, incorners here and there, it was great to seepeople pushed by curiosity to approacheach other: a Moroccan with a Slovenian, aPortuguese with a Georgian, Albanianswith Russians but also participants fromAzerbaijan talking with Armenians…as if itwas a world of neighbours in small scale. A

human bingo and a game with little lies todiscover had helped people to break theice.

What happened was that……the following morning the 127 neigh-bours were welcomed by the French orga-nizers and by Pascal Lejeune, of theEuropean Commission. After a short introduction to the brand newYouth in Action Programme, it was time togo deeper into the European Policiestoward the Neighbouring Countries and, inparticular, to link Actions 2 and 3 of theProgramme to the general subject of

Neighbourhood Policy. The Regional SALTOResource Centres had a special role in supporting all this cooperation process. We discovered their activities and resourcesthrough a quiz game starting from a puzz-le of the regions!

The wealth of organisations present andthe variety of areas of interest was clearduring the organizations' market, whichgave a first chance to see everybody’s workand project.

The aims of the seminarTo introduce:

n the European Neighbourhood Policy

n Youth in Action and the possibilities of cooperationwith neighbouring countries (and the world)

n the support structures and some working tools

To explore:

n the richness of our European neighbours

To profit from:

n a space for partner matching and project development


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Of course, a magic Neighbours’ Night fullof flavours, music, legends and dancesbrought everyone together and gave theevent its extraordinary dimension. The second day was opened by theEducation, Audiovisual and CultureExecutive Agency: Fiona Deuss-Frandi intro-duced the dimension of cooperation withother partner countries of the world. Otherimportant support structures introducedthemselves: the European Youth Forumwith Gisele Everard and The Partnership,with Marta Medlinska. And then it wastime for the parallel workshops, organizedby the French National Agency, on the dif-ferent actions for neighbourhood coopera-tion: youth exchanges, EVS, training andnetworking… a lot of new information andinspiration!One key point of the meeting was thespace foreseen for participants’ contribu-tions: including the management of theintercultural party and the little workshopson good practice and youth work realities.During this session more than 10 expe-

riences were presented and discussed insmall groups.The SALTO Resource Centres took theopportunity to explain the different regio-nal procedures and after this activity thefree evening began…a very important timeto get to know new friends/contacts better,to develop ideas and to enjoy the company– in Paris or in Marly.The last day was devoted to partner mat-ching, with the possibility of consulting the

resource people from the different supportstructures. A dating system helped to keepthe ‘real time diary’ updated, running fromone discussion to another, from a projecton environmental issues to one on inter-reli-gious dialogue and so on….The results of the partner matching wereshown by participants on the big map, withstrange dots of different colours, symboli-zing projects that were still at the ideastage, projects starting to develop andthose that were almost ready.After the evaluation, the time came toclose. Three days - it seemed really muchlonger – we finished with words of hopeand with a vision of the future from JeanChiris of the French National Agency,Giorgio Guazzugli-Marini of the EuropeanCommission and Bernard Abrignani of theSalto Euro-Med Resource Centre.

Faces of the Neighbourhood



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The last night of such a special event had tobe celebrated French style. The MusicalBuffet was a balanced mix of relaxationafter the intensive work, enjoying the INJEPpark, having a big barbecue and dancing alltogether under the moon. “C’est cool,ah?” was our world music band, which ledus till late into the night in a spiral of ‘worlddances’. All thoughts about the newpeople we’d met here and the new ideas totransform into projects in the near futurewould wait until tomorrow.

Why this Seminar was so special?Because, since it is allowed from the newYouth in Action Programme, this has beenthe first time that representatives ofProgramme countries and of the differentNeighbouring countries were present andworked together. In this sense the Seminarhas been a sort of kick off for future quali-ty cooperation. So we can say, like in “Casablanca”, thatthis is just….the beginning of a beautifulfriendship!

What participants brought back home

In their evaluation questionnaires, partici-pants stressed the importance of suchseminars to allow people to meet, toshare experiences and good practice andto establish contacts and new partners forfuture actions/projects.

In this specific seminar, in part a first handoverview on the Youth in ActionProgramme, they got an introduction tothe European Neighbourhood Policy, dis-covered possibilities of cooperation withneighbouring countries (and the world)and got in touch with regional SALTOs aswell as the Executive Agency and othersupport structures.

They also found hidden treasures amongtheir European neighbours, discoveredsome new working tools and made newfriends!

And after the Seminar?

After the partner matching session, the fol-lowing results were shown on the big map:in total we had 34 projects going on,n 14 projects were still at level of “ideas inthe air”;n 10 projects were under way;n 10 projects were almost “cooked”, inan advanced phase of discussion amongthe partners.

They should be hosted in: Algeria (1),France (4), Spain (3), Tunisia (1), Albania (1),Cyprus (1) Poland (2), FYROM (1), Ukraine(1), Moldova (4), Turkey (2), Bulgaria (2),Azerbaijan (2), Armenia (2), Lithuania (1),Georgia (3), Russian Federation (1)Gender equality, social theatre, interculturaldialogue, peace education, human rights,inter-religious issues, environmental aware-ness, art and creativity, active citizenship,immigration, tales, dances, cinema, transfe-rability of results, youth work policies, inter-cultural communication… are some of awide range of topics tackled by the projectsdiscussed here.

This seminar has opened the door tocooperation and projects among partnerswho had the chance to work together forthe first time. This is a big step forward.But to establish sustainable, long lastingcooperation and to promote quality projects,a step by step approach is needed: it’s impor-tant to “make it grow slowly”, withoutimpatience, so as to carry out a project usingthe process of partnership building.For this reason it’s fundamental to work oncommon interests, visions and strategies ofthe new partnership. And to strengthen ourintercultural skills, which are essential whenworking in such a wide international field.A lot of patience is also a good ingredient.

DAVIDE TONON,

trainer and youth worker

[email protected]

A Spanish writer, Manuel

Vazquez Montalbán, used to say that «we are made of

memory and desire». Memory is our history, our identity.

Desires are our dreams with open eyes… Let’s go for them!



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Here are some messages from participants, extracted directly from the GuestBook. We cannot publish all your experiences; nevertheless we were deeply tou-ched by your messages.

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Focus on Euro-Med Youth IIIProgrammeDecentralisation

The Euro-Med Youth Programme is aregional programme set up within theframework of the third chapter of theBarcelona Process entitled “Partnershipin Social, Cultural and Human Affairs.Its main purpose is to promote mobilityfor young people and understandingbetween nations

Euro-Med Youth I (1999-2001) andEuro-Med Youth II (2001-2004) wereprimarily run by the EuropeanCommission from its headquarters inBrussels whereas Euro-Med Youth III(2005-2008) is a fully decentralisedprogramme.

Its geographical scope comprises the 27 EU Member States and the 9Mediterranean partner countries whichsigned both the Barcelona Declaration(Algeria, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon,Morocco, the Palestinian Authority,Syria, Tunisia and Turkey) and the 2006 Financing Agreement with theCommission.Applicants (project leaders) from theMediterranean partner countries canapply directly for grants to their ownYouth national authorities, now res-ponsible through a Euro-Med YouthUnit (EMYU) for grant awarding andthe overall management of the pro-gramme.The decentralisation aims to reinforcethe partnership between the EuropeanUnion and the Mediterranean partnercountries, to take action as close aspossible to the beneficiaries and toadapt to the diversity of national sys-tems and situations in the field ofyouth.

Objectives of the programme

Among the main objectives of the pro-gramme feature:1. Fostering mutual understanding andintercultural dialogue among young peoplewithin the Euro-Mediterranean region2. Promoting young people’s active citizen-ship and a sense of solidarity3. Enhancing the contribution of non-governmental youth organisations to civilsociety and democracy, and4. Contributing to the development ofyouth policy. A number of key areas are considered cen-tral for the development of the youth sec-tor at the Euro-Mediterranean level. TheEuro-Med Youth III Programme will fundprojects that promote one or more of thesethematic priorities:

• Fighting again racism and xenophobia• Active citizenship• Gender equality• Minority rights• Heritage and environment protection

Gender balance and inclusion of young peoplewith fewer opportunities will be promoted ascross-cutting issues of the programme.

Actions

EuroMed Youth III promotes mobility, non-formal education and intercultural learningthrough three types of action:

• Youth Exchanges (2 EU +2 MEDA partners)• Voluntary Service (1+1 partner), and• Support Measures (2+2).

With the new phase, Euro-Med Youthgrants are awarded on the basis of Calls forProposals launched by the different Euro-Med Youth Units. A first Call was launchedin April 2007 by 5 countries (Israel,Lebanon; Morocco, Palestine and Turkey)

and a second one should be launched inSeptember by all 9 countries. A 3rd and lastcall will be launched in February 2008.

Focus on the first call for proposalsin April 2007

Calls for proposals were submitted to theEuropean Delegation present in the countryfor approval. Following up the approval, the 5EMYUs launched the first calls for proposalson line. The launching of the call for proposalsmeans that the Unit is ready to receive andtreat the requests for subsidies for all the pro-jects which will take place in their countries.So, last July, applications were examined andevaluated by the EMYU with the possibleassistance of external assessors. An EvaluationCommittee, composed of experts in theyouth field, selected the applications; theEuropean Delegation acted as an observer.

Evaluation and selection ofapplications

All proposals submitted by applicants (pro-ject leaders) will be assessed according tothe following steps and criteria:

1st step: Opening session and adminis-trative checkThe Committee checked if the deadline hadbeen respected and that the applicationform fulfilled all the criteria mentioned inthe Checklist.2nd step: Evaluation of the applicationform (following an evaluation grid)There are 5 main sections and the maxi-mum score is 100.1. Financial and operational capacity /152. Relevance /303. Methodology /304. Sustainability /155. Budget and cost-effectiveness /10

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3rd step: Eligibility of the applicant and partners.The eligibility verification, based on the sup-porting documents requested by theEMYU, was only done for the proposalsthat had been provisionally selected accor-ding to their score and within the availablefinancial envelope.

Evaluation Committee: whichactions are the most in demand?

All 5 countries taken together, 61 applica-tions were evaluated. The first action, with39%, is Sustainable Measures; the secondone is Youth Exchange (31%) and finallythe last is EVS with 25%. We notice animbalance in the requests from the diffe-

rent countries (greater in Israel andPalestine than the others, with only 4 inTurkey).23 projects were provisionally approved(38%) because of the quality of the project,the good partnership presented and thewell-constructed presentation of the appli-cations.

The most important reason for the elimina-tion of projects was the lack (sometimestotal) of partners. It’s a pity, because themost important aim of the Euro-Med YouthProgramme is to enhance the Euro-Mediterranean Cooperation through a rele-vant partnership between European coun-tries and Mediterranean countries. Thesecond reason for the elimination was thenon presentation of administrative docu-ments such as statutes of the organisation.

However, it was the first call for proposalsand we are sure that we will see a conside-rable improvement in the way the applica-tions are presented in the future.During the summer, Jordan, Tunisia and

Evaluation Committees Calendar of the first calls for proposals

Countries Launching Receipt Deadline Number Evaluation Number of files

for the projects files received Committees provisionally accepted

ISRAEL 3 April 3 June 21 25 July 6

LEBANON 19 April 19 June 9 9 July 5

MOROCCO 9 April 11 June 7 16 & 24 July 3

PALESTINE 25 April 25 June 20 24 July 3

TURKEY 11 April 11 June 4 6 & 18 July 3

Actions Number of files received Number of files provisionally accepted

EVS 15 2

Youth Exchanges 19 8

Support measures 24 13

Not defined 3 0

Focus on Euro-Med Youth III Programme

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Syria received the official approval from the Commission and arenow ready to launch their first call for proposals for September.We think that Algeria will also be ready in a few weeks … andwe very much hope that all the 8 countries will be operational

for the next call for proposals whose deadline is 1st November.

Follow all the news about the Euro-Med Youth Programme and theEuro-Med Youth Units on the website www.euromedyouth.net

TURKEY PALESTINE MOROCCO LEBANON ISRAEL

n Substainable Measures n EVS n Youth Exchanges n Indeterminate

ALGERIAMinistère de la Jeunesse et des Sports3 rue Mohamed BelouizdadPalce du 1er mai16000 AlgerTel / Fax: +213 21 65 06 17Mail: [email protected]

ISRAELMinistry of EducationDivision A International Relations and UNESCO2 Devora Ha’Nevia StreetJerusalem 91911Tel: 02-56 03 707 / Fax: 02-56 03 706Mail : [email protected]

JORDAN Ministry of Political Development4th Circle – in front of Jordan HospitalAmmanTel: 00962 65 69 52 16 ext. 232 / Fax: 00962 65 68 65 52Mail: [email protected]

LEBANONMinistère de la Jeunesse et des Sports3è étage, immeuble du MinistèreAvenue Sami el SolhBeyrouthTel /Fax: 00961 1 424387Mail: [email protected]

MOROCCORue Jbel Toubkal, Immeuble 24è étage appt. N°16Agdal, RabatTel: 00212 37 68 19 79 – 00212 37 67 80 65 /66/67Fax: 00212 37 68 19 80Mail: [email protected]

PALESTINEAl-ErsalZahret al-Masaif Building, flat -1West Bank, RamallahP.O. Box: 0000Tel: 00972 2 2975377 / Fax: 00972 2 2975376Mail: [email protected]

SYRIASyrian Commission for Family AffairsDamascusP.O. Box 9554Tel: 00 963 11 31 34 803Fax: 00 963 11 31 26 398Mail: [email protected]

TUNISIADirection Générale de la JeunesseMinistère de la Jeunesse, des Sports et de l’Education Physique37 avenue de la Liberté1002 TunisTel: 00216 71 834 258Fax: 00216 71 833 981Mail: [email protected]

TURQUEYHüseyin Rahmi Sokak n°206680 Cankaya AnkaraTel: 0090 312 409 61 39Fax: 0090 312 409 60 98Mail: [email protected]

The EuroMed Youth Units are at your service

Focus on Euro-Med Youth III Programme


The first half of the year 2007 saw a unique attempt to bringyoung leaders of the Euro-Mediterranean Area together. Attwo events, more than 100 delegates from the European

Union and Egypt, Algeria, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco,Mauritania, Palestine, Syria, Turkey and Tunisia gathered to deba-te the pressing issues of today’s youth in the region. The prepa-ratory session in Alexandria in March 2007 and the preceding ses-sion in Berlin (26th of May to the 3rd of June) stimulated anintense and productive intercultural dialogue between the parti-cipants aged 18 to 25.

Both sessions were made possible thanks to the intensive co-ope-ration of a number of partners. The idea originated with theGerman Foreign Office during their EU Presidency and theGoethe Institute, while the European Youth Parliament providedorganisational knowledge to put the idea into practice. All threeorganisations profited greatly from the input of stakeholders inthe Euro-Med Dialogue, such as the Anna-Lindh-Foundation, theEuropean Youth Forum, SALTO, the Euro-Mediterranean Parlia-mentary Assembly, the Arab League, CESIE, the Council ofEurope and the CAP, as well as Wunsch Grafton Development.

Whenever something new is created, there is excitement in theair. Add some curiosity and an element of stress, then the pulsebeats faster and the visions break down the borders. In March2007, the moderators of the parliamentary committees of theEuro-Mediterranean Youth Parliament (EMYP) met for the firsttime in Alexandria. Moments of inspiration and question marksalternated rapidly during the preparatory training. The task wasas fascinating as it was challenging: to form a team consisting ofup to 12 young leaders from Europe and the Mediterranean Areawho would agree on a resolution to propose at the forthcomingGeneral Assemblies of the EMYP.

The first Euro-Mediterranean YouthParliament: young leaders, sustainable

cooperation, passionate debates

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The sessions followed a tripartite structure of teambuilding, com-mittee work and parliamentary assembly. In the first, the strongindividuals formed their international teams with the help ofgroup challenges. During the committee work, the multiculturalteams discussed the issues at stake and agreed on a resolution. Inthe parliamentary assembly, they defended their resolutions andasked the assembly to adopt them. The participating delegates

were representative of civil society in their respective countriesand had been chosen by a competitive selection process. As aresult, the debates were notable not only for the enthusiasm andthe passion of youth but also for the maturity of these shapers ofsociety.

Topics tackled in the resolutions included : Euro-Med co-opera-tion, the role of the media, the role of youth, the role of theEuropean Union, globalisation, culture, energy, corruption and soon. The plenary sessions were held in the Goethe Institute,Alexandria and the Federal Parliament of the City, Berlin and sel-dom have these venues seen debates of such vigour and passion.This also applies to the discussions with the visiting experts duringcommittee work and for general lectures on the Barcelona pro-cess. The resolutions adopted have been passed on to the mainpolitical institutions involved in Euro-Med, including the EuropeanCommission.

In the shadow of what remains of the Berlin wall and under theburning sun of Egypt, the joy of a meeting of like minds wascontagious. The participants willingly shared their national cul-tures and individual talents. During the Euro-Med Village, thedelegates celebrated their culinary diversity by sharing their natio-nal dishes. During the Euro-Med Concert, the most gifted musi-cians filled the music hall in Berlin with songs of outstandingbeauty and overwhelmingly deep feelings. It goes without sayingthat the nights in Alexandria and Berlin were long, filled withmusic, dance, laughter and joy.

However, the sessions were much more than an exercise in inter-cultural exchange and political education. Without exception, theparticipants used the opportunity to meet young people from theEuro-Med region and to create a reliable network. Every freeminute was used to discuss in depth the problems and prospectsof their respective countries. Later a projects fair using open-space technology provided them with inspiration and contacts toturn their enthusiasm into concrete projects. A Euro-Med journalist academy and some nationalMediterranean Youth Parliament initiatives were among the manynew projects for the region.

Both the press coverage and the interest shown by high-level poli-ticians prove that this initiative has been a great success. The par-ticipants have expressed the wish for the Euro-MediterraneanYouth Parliament to continue. The German Foreign Office, theGoethe Institute and the European Youth Parliament are current-ly carrying out the evaluation process with a view to continuingEMYP in 2008.

JONAS DREGERModerator at the first EMYP meetings

in Alexandria and Berlin.Student of European Political and Administrative Studies

(M.A.) at the College of Europe in Bruge.Contact : [email protected]

The first Euro-Mediterranean Youth Parliament


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The Euro-Med Gender ConnectionNetwork has been active sinceNovember 2005 and is made up of

individuals and not-for-profit organiza-tions that work to guarantee, advocateand effectively put into practice real equa-lity between men and women in all fields.It also promotes awareness of genderissues, for example rights and their appli-cation, in the 37 countries of the Euro-Mediterranean Partnership.

The previous lack of permanent and struc-tured networking between youth organi-zations working on gender issues in theregion resulted in the following: A lack ofcommunication and sharing betweenorganizations, leading to repetition ofprojects and initiatives instead of a cohe-rent evolution; a lack of awareness amongyouth organizations of the exact meaningof equal opportunities; an absence ofknowledge about the role and the repre-sentation of women in other Euro-Medcountries; limited impact of youth workon gender issues in civil society, policymaking and at institutional levels (local,national, European and Euro-Med).

The mission of the Euro-Med GenderConnection is to increase gender equali-ty within the 37 countries of the Euro-Mediterranean Partnership (27 EuropeanCountries and 10 Mediterranean Coun-tries). Its aim is to develop and coordinatethe work of European and Mediterraneanyouth organizations and structures active-ly promoting gender equality. Members of Euro-Med GenderConnection work together to promotegender issues and the respect of women’srights as a universal value, particularly inthe Euro-Mediterranean Partnershipcountries.

EuroMed Gender Connections Network


All founding partners decided that theNetwork should have the following gene-ral objectives:

n To develop within the Euro-Medregion, effective coordination of activi-ties in civil society and in particularthose carried out by youth organisa-tions, which promote action on genderissues; n To ensure a coherent dialogue andlong term cooperation on work relatedto gender issues between civil societyactors and public institutions;n To encourage the effective participa-tion of youth organisations at all deci-sion-making levels; n To intensify the sharing of good prac-tice and relevant experience; n To improve the quality and quantity oflocal, national, European and Euro-Mediterranean projects promoting gen-der issues; n To empower youth organizations at all levels (local, national, international)that promote gender issues; and toenhance the impact of their actions atthe political level through lobbying andadvocacy.

The Euro-Med Gender Connection acti-vities are:

n Collecting and sharing of good prac-tices and experiences relating to genderissues;n Dissemination of information and ofeducational and pedagogical materials; n Support of the network members’ ini-tiatives regarding gender issues;n Facilitating the search for partner-ships, and the development of partner-ships between organizations;n Developing the visibility and impact ofmember’s activities, giving them astronger influence through the net-work.

Activities in which the network Membershave been actively involved or organisedby them: “Wo-Men” Youth Exchange inNov 2005 –Youth Programme, “The Roleof Women in Conflict Transformation”

training course in August 2006 –CoE,category A, Documentary “To be or toAppear, representation of Gender inEuropean Medias”–CoE, category B,“Women in Contemporary Society -The Ladder of Inequalities” seminar inApril 2007 realised by the Gender Groupof Cooperation and DevelopmentNetwork (CDN), “Euro-Med GenderConnection” workshop in April 2007(Anna Lindh Foundation- theme F),“Behind the door: Violence againstwomen in the Euro-Med area” trainingcourse in May 2007 (Euro-Med YouthProgramme- Action 5).

Between the 22nd and the 28th April2007, in Palermo, Italy- 13 female repre-sentatives of the Euro-Med GenderConnection Network from some of thefounding organizations met to consolida-te the network’s foundations and to workon its impact and future developments.This workshop organized by CE.S.I.E(Centre of Studies and EuropeanInitiatives) was financially supported bythe ‘Anna Lindh Foundation betweenCultures’. COPPEM actively collaboratedin the realisation of some of the work-shop's events.

The Network is the partner of Euro-MedNetwork for Youth Trafficking Prevention,

the Network of Young People for GenderEquality and the Gender Group of theCooperation and Development Network(CDN).

The Euro-Med Gender ConnectionNetwork is a member of the Euro-MedYouth Platform (www.euromedp.org).The Network has been supported fromthe start by the OING AFEM –Associationdes Femmes d’Europe Méridionale-(http://www.afem-europa.org/)

If you would like to take part in theNetwork or wish to have more informa-tion about it, please contact us at the fol-lowing email address: [email protected] can also visit our website:http://www.genderconnection.org/


MARIE MARZLOFF

EuroMed Gender Connections Network



Youth and Non Violence

Water management for PeaceTraining Course Project

“Youth in Action” Programme

Water management is a priority forthe coming years. The lack ofresources and the inequality of

access to water cause discrimination andsocial exclusion and don't help develop-ment. As priority is given to certain tourismor agricultural sectors, there is inequality inthe allocation of resources which has enor-mous consequences on the development ofcivil society. High levels of contamination ofrivers and oceans affect the health of allcitizens and a considerable economic andenergy investment is needed to producedrinking water.

If water management can respect everybo-dy's rights, it becomes a factor of peaceand cooperation. On the other hand, if weneglect this fact or fail to deal with it as amatter of urgency, the lack of access towater as resources run out will lead to newconflicts in the coming years.

The objective of the seminar is: To make Youth Program trainers and volun-teers aware of these issues and to givethem pedagogical and technical resourcesfor use in youth camps or during activitiesin working groups dealing with conflictresolution or discrimination.To encourage lasting cooperation and part-nership between associations in order tofight for equal opportunities and the res-pect of universal rights of access to water.

To use education to develop awareness ofthe responsible management of resources.The plan is to organize a youth exchangewith the same partners in August 2008.The participants should present the resultsof the work done during this period of las-ting cooperation at various events such asthe World Water Congress in September2008. It will show what can be done by agroup involved in peace and cooperation onthe topic of water management for peace.The language will be English and French

In its program, the training course incorpo-rates:

n Experts’ advice on the following topics:

Presentation of the international andlocal context; water resources policy andrelated research; new innovating formsof reinforcement of capacity.n Management of water conflicts.n Management of water resources andits influence on civil society, on healthand in terms of discrimination if theaccess to water is limited or polluted.n Visits of places concerned with waterpolicy in the Hérault region.n Workshops on inter-cultural dialogue.

The group will consist of two participantsby country from Spain, Portugal, U.K.,Israel, Palestine, Jordan, Lebanon andFrance.


This training course is addressed to pro-gram trainers and volunteers from associa-tions who are involved in internationalcooperation and issues connected with res-pect for the environment. They also needsome knowledge of water policy. In addi-tion, they must want to build a commonprogram in the medium and long term withother international partners in order tobuild international projects of cooperation.

The activities will be organized according tothe principles and methods of non-formaleducation. The pedagogical approach willbe active and interactive with analysis ofexchanges and practises, team projects,thematic debates, daily evaluation and ana-lysis and production of materials.

Four countries (Spain, United Kingdom,Israel and France) took part in the feasibili-ty visit (Dates: from 2 to 7 September2007) in connection with the other partnercountries.

The elaboration of the training course pro-gram was completed during this visit. Thetraining course will be held in 2008.The project consists of:

n a preparation visitn an educational training course (16 par-ticipants)n a youth exchange in the summer (40 participants)

n a network for long-term cooperation tosolve problems created by regional or inter-national water policy. A delegation wouldtake part in The World Water Congress inMontpellier in September 2008.

SYLVIE CREMERTel. + 33(0)467588715

Mobile. + 33(6)[email protected]

www.jeunesse-non-violence.org


The partners:

Palestinian Youth Union for Cooperationand PeaceGaza , Palestinian AuthorityPaz y TrabajoAlbacete, SpainBlaustein Institutes for Desert ResearchSede Boqer, IsraelThe University of NewcastleNewcastle, United KingdomAl-Hayat CenterIrbid, JordanAMWAJ of the environmentBeirut, LebanonAICOPCoimbra, PortugalJeunesse et Non-violenceMontpellier, France

Trainers:Hebah Tibi (Euromed trainer, West Bank)Sylvie Cremer (YNV, France)

Experts :Gilian Cadic (ENGREF, Montpellier)Julie Trottier (UNEW, Newcastle)Ahmed Said Al-Yaqoubi (Gaza, AP)Yaakov Garb (BIDR, Israel)Hervé Ott (IECCC, France)

Organizations that support the project:Youth in ActionFondation de France (Fondation un Monde par tous)Conseil Général de l’HéraultAgropolis InternationalArche de Lanza del Vasto

Water management for Peace


May 2004 – Alfonso X the Wise,Averroes, ibn el-Arabi, Maimo-nides, six centuries of flourishing

Al-Andalus as the backdrop for our TC. Itwas a unique experience to find ourselvesin a youth hostel in the middle of the OldCity of Cordoba, working together for thefirst time. Our purpose was to meet, learn,experience and create, based on the threemain monotheistic cultures in the EuroMediterranean Region and using three lan-guages - English French and Spanish.December 2005 – a new challenge. Theintense reality of the City of Jerusalem, cele-brating 3000 years of existence, the OldCity and the new one. Again a multiculturalteam coping with the challenges of a city,holy for the three cultures, a place for pil-grimage for millions around the world anda media-target every day of the week.

We walked a lot in the streets and alleys ofthe Old City, getting lost in place andcontent, finding ourselves again andagain, learning from each other, discove-ring similarities, exploring differences,creating educational tools to be used byyouth workers in all the Euro-Mediterranean region.October 2006 – one of the oldest ports inEurope, gateway for millions of immigrantsthroughout history, Antwerp is a citywhich nowadays has citizens from 157 dif-ferent nationalities.We invited the participants to jump intothe Three Cultures boat and to set sail ona journey on the open sea. Going deeperinto the content, far from conflict zones,we managed to identify common elementswithin the three cultures, to explore parti-cipants' cultural identities, and overall, to

discover and exchange ideas about thecomplex Euro-Mediterranean geopoliticalsituation in relation to the three culturesand religions.I was glad to be involved in this TC from itsvery beginning, as a trainer in Cordobaand then as coordinator in Jerusalem andAntwerp. There were nine trainers fromseven countries, representing a wide varie-ty of Euro-Med cultural backgrounds withthe support of local and national partnerswho worked with us constantly at differentlevels. 0Each time the venue brings a challenge initself; each time it is the creativity, thededication and the professionalism of theteam which recreates this site-specific TC,blending the contents of the TC with theuniqueness of each venue (city).

“Let's meet the three cultures”:an ongoing discovery

Cordoba, Jerusalem, Antwerp.

Torre de Calahorra, Tower of David, The Cathedral.

A mixture of images crosses my mind – faces, senses, places, feelings and experiences.

n Training t


n Training t

The work is hard as we have to deal withand respond to the needs of the TC, theparticipants and the different stake-hol-ders (SALTO-YOUTH Euro-Med, hostingNA, partner organizations). At the sametime we must look after the well being ofthe participants, the training team and theteam at large while, overall, ensuring thatthe participation in this TC is a fundamen-tal learning and personal experience foreach and everyone involved in it.

As time passes, the know-how and exper-tise of the team increase. We explore thehistory, we face the reality, and we searchfor future clues. New tools are developedthanks to the continuous requests fromthe participants. A new space for intercul-tural dialogue among youth workers iscreated. We also develop an informal net-work of youth organizations interested ingiving young people from the four cornersof the Euro-Mediterranean region an

opportunity to discover these three cul-tures and their place today in daily life.I invite you to join our journey, wherever

you are, because only the joint effort ofpeople dedicated to exploring, discussingand creating a better future will bring ouryoung people and ourselves to a new har-bor from which we can depart again andagain.The sea is calm, the sea is stormy, the sunalways rises from the east and we areready with our compass and our senses toembark on this adventure.

See you in Paris for the fourth trainingseminar on “Let’s Meet the ThreeCultures” (27 October – 4 November2007)…..

CLAUDIO KOGONCoordinator

For related info:http://www.salto-youth.net/threecultures

http://3cultures.blogspot.com

PHOTOS : CLAUDIO

Institut National de la Jeunesse et de l’Education Populaire (INJEP)

Etablissement public du ministère de la Santé,de la Jeunesse et des Sports: 11 rue Paul Leplat - 78160 Marly-le-Roi - FranceTél. : +33 1 39 17 27 55 Fax : +33 1 39 17 27 57E-mail : [email protected] site : www.salto-youth.net/euromed

Salto Youth EuroMed team: Bernard Abrignani (Coordinator) ; Caroline Mayaudon (Project Officer in charge of theCommunication and Good Practices) ;Stéphanie Henry (Project Assistant) ;Publication Director : Hervé Mecheri,INJEP Director GeneralEditorial team: B. AbrignaniEditor : Caroline MayaudonDesign and layout : Zephyr.Communication75002 PARIS - 0140070220Printing : M.I.M.M. - 78160 MARLY - 0139587304

n Calendar 2007 t

NEXT ACTIVITIES DATES VENUE COOPERATION

Training seminar “Place and Role SALTO-Youth Euromed RC with the of Minorities within the Euromed – BASQUE COUNTRY support of the Basque Government

context : Ethnic, Linguistic, Religious” SPAIN and the collaboration of the Spanish NA.

Training seminar “Inter-religious SALTO-Youth Euromed, SALTO-YouthDialogue within the Euromed and – ISTANBUL, TURKEY Eastern Europe and Caucasus

Eastern Europe and Caucasus contexts” RC with the collaboration of the Turkish NA.

Training seminar 27 OCTOBER- PARIS SALTO-Youth Euromed RC,French National“Let’s meet the three Cultures” 4 NOVEMBER 2007 FRANCE Agency of the Youth In Action programme.

International Conference : SALTO-Youth Euromed RC“EU Neighbourhood policy and 27 NOVEMBER- CANARY ISLANDS with the collaboration

migrations» Role of YIA and Euromed 2 DECEMBER 2007 SPAIN of the Spanish NAYouth programmes and Gobierno de Canarias.

“Tool Fair” 12 - 16 ANTALYA SALTO-Youth Euromed RC with2nd edition DECEMBER 2007 TURKEY the collaboration of a lot of other partners.

To follow• Next Salto EuroMed Reports on “Multipliers”, “Step to”, Totem, and “Three Cultures”.• SALTO “Making Waves” Booklet : a publication devoted to the “Dissemination and exploitation of projects”.• A report on “Religious, Faith and Dialogue” created by SALTO Cultural Diversity, SALTO Eastern Europe And

Caucasus, and SALTO EuroMed.All the information is available on our website www.salto-youth.net/euromed

You will follow all the details about these activities in our next issue n°10

The three Regional SALTO Resource Centres, SALTO-YOUTH EasternEurope and Caucasus, SALTO-YOUTH Euro-Med and SALTO-YOUTHSouth Eastern Europe are very pleased to inform you about thepublication of their brochure “Paths to InternationalCooperation in the Youth Field” dedicated to Action 3.1 of theYouth in Action Programme.This is the result of a great cooperation and conscientious commonwork with the kind participation of the European Commission -DGEAC. We really hope that this publication will be helpful and informativefor you!The publication will be disseminated in each NA, and during thetraining courses. It will be available in different languages on line onour website www.salto-youth.net

Enjoy the neighbourhood cooperation…

SALTO YOUTH EUROMED MAGAZINE N...2/OCTOBRE 2007 #9 – EUROMED MAGAZINE T his ninth issue of the...

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