On April 4-5 2013, Ms Inger Andersen, Vice President of the World Bank, Middle East and North Africa region went to the CMI in Marseille to participate at several events including the launch of the World Bank Gender Report: “Open Doors: Gender Equality in the Middle East and North Africa” and the CMI Rencontre Valmer dedicated to urban issues in the MENA region: “Transforming Arab City: Local empowerment and urban governance”. Her visit was the opportunity to record her prospective.

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On April 5, Inger Andersen, World Bank Vice President for the MENA region and Tara Vishwanath, World Bank Lead Economist in the Poverty Reduction and Economic Management group, were at the CMI to present the report “Opening Doors: Gender Equality and Development in the Middle East and North Africa”.

The report identifies a whole set of economic, legal and cultural hurdles that have kept the region’s women out of public life and out of the labor market. Despite the great strides taken by women over the last four decades in health and higher education, the report details the multiple challenges women face. Only one in four women in MENA are employed or looking for work, half the global rate. The high rate of unemployment amongst women, exacerbated by difficulty of balancing a career with raising a family, only serves to widen disparities between men and women.
The report was discussed with a diverse group of academics, civil society representatives, women entrepreneurs and representatives of development institutions.

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The CMI participated in the Anna Lindh Forum to discuss socio-economic issues raised in the Euro-Mediterranean region. The Forum gathered around 1000 people including experts, policy makers and civil society actors. The CMI contributed to the strategic debates on April 5-6: Inger Andersen, Vice President of the World bank for the MENA region, intervened during the debate entitled "The Mediterranean in 2020: Society&Values", and Mats Karlsson, Director of the CMI, addressed the question: "What Opportunities for Youth, What Societies for Tomorrow?". The strategic debates were crucial for the Forum since they aim at stimulating new perspectives, promoting new avenues for dialogue at EuroMed level, as well as inspiring discussions held during the thematic workshops.

The CMI, in partnership with OCEMO, organized the workshop entitled "Social Cohesion in a Context of Crisis", which addressed employment and social protection issues. The fourth event in which the CMI participated was the "Combating Gender Stereotypes" workshop, where the World Bank report "Opening Doors: Gender Equality in the Middle East and North Africa" was introduced. Finally, as a follow-up to the publication of the 2012 Med Report "Towards green growth in Mediterranean countries", the CMI contributed to the session entitled "A Green Economy for a Sustainable Mediterranean".

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The regional conference is taking place (March 18-19) in Rabat to further develop the community of practice, present virtual tools community members can use to connect with one another and access knowledge, and explore in depth one specific issue which had been raised as a priority by the participants in Marseille: municipal finance. Organized at the invitation of the Mayor of Rabat, this conference has gathered mayors and urban development leaders from Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, the Palestinian Territories, Tunisia, and Yemen in MENA, as well as urban development leaders from around the world.

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BASEL, Switzerland January 22, 2013 – Rapid urbanization can hold long-term economic, social and environmental promise for developing countries if investments made now in infrastructure, housing and public services are efficient and sustainable, the World Bank says in a new report “Planning, Connecting, and Financing Cities – Now: Priorities for City”.

read more report Slideshow of the launch day

On December 11-12, 2012, the CMI hosted the fourth ‘Rencontre Valmer’ in Marseille to discuss the challenges of regional economic integration through the lens of the Golden Growth Report. Policy makers, leading economists and CMI program leaders examined the main lessons and findings from the European growth model and the realities of interdependencies between both rims of the Mediterranean.

Dr. Indermit Gill, co-author of the Golden Growth, Restoring the Lustre of the European economic model report, presented the impressive achievements of Europe as a powerful engine for economic convergence, assessing the longer-term challenges and evaluating the three main components of the European model: (i) labor and labor mobility; (ii) trade and investment; (iii) entrepreneurship and innovation. These components served as entry points in the discussions and as reference points for the work undertaken by the CMI programs under the newly established theme “Integrated Economies”. The debate provided strategic advice for these programs as they develop their work plan under the CMI 2.0 framework.

The Center for Mediterranean Integration (CMI), which gathered for its third annual meeting, was hailed for playing a critical role in supporting a constructive dialogue among countries of the Mediterranean rim at a critical moment in the region’s history.

During the meeting, Ms. Inger Andersen, Vice president of the World Bank, Middle East and North Africa Region, emphasized "The CMI develops an environment in which ideas can flow freely as we tackle the core issues: jobs; growth; sustainability. During this period of change, it is vital to build and maintain a platform for dialogue facilitating the honest exchange of views, ultimately spelling out solutions and delivering benefits to the region."

Mr. Alaya Bettaieb, State Secretary, Ministry of Investment and International Cooperation in Tunisia highlighted that "Inclusive growth, integrated development and the redressing of disparities throughout the region, are the challenges which face us. The CMI, in bringing together partners from the North and the South thus allowing for the free exchange of knowledge and expertise, represents an excellent platform from which to confront such challenges."

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While countries increasingly see sound environmental practices as critical to long-term growth, policy implications for transitioning to a green growth agenda are less clear. The 2012 MED Report "Towards Green Growth in the Mediterranean Countries" gathers evidence on the environmental, social and economic performance of natural assets and key sectors from several countries bordering the Mediterranean. It reveals environmental and economic gains or "co-benefits" in some sectors, trade-offs and hard-choices in others. The authors also discuss estimates of gross and net job creation for the Mediterranean countries over the next ten years, if a shift to green growth policies is operated.

The report offers a range of policy tools that can help facilitate the move towards green growth and related job creation focusing on fiscal reforms, market-based instruments, greater environmental responsibility, eco-labeling and certification. The report makes actionable recommendations at the national level jointly within the context of broad economic reforms and presents a case for regional cooperation between governments and international institutions to preserve threatened natural assets. Based on a review of case studies and best practices, the findings will be useful to policy makers, academia, civil society actors and donors alike who wish to promote a green growth agenda, encourage green national accounting and monitor environmental actions.

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