Heba Al Emara, UK Head of Relations EMEA, Vistra Services, UK
At the kind invitation of the Arab International Women’s Forum, it was a pleasure to attend the second edition of the Regional Forum of the Union for the Mediterranean (UfM) hosted in Barcelona on 23 January 2017 as a representative of AIWF and as UK Head of Relations EMEA for AIWF Global Partner Vistra Services.
The two-day Forum gathered delegations from the members of the UfM in the presence of the UfM Secretary General, Fathallah Sijilmassi, and representatives from the League of Arab States, the Anna Lindh Foundation, as well as various Parliamentary Assemblies. The theme of the Forum this year was Mediterranean in Action: Youth for stability and Development, centering around today’s youth potential as the driving force for stability and development, a vision shared and supported by the AIWF. Much of the shared perspective was the intention to strengthen cooperation and synergies towards a better future for the Euro-Mediterranean region.
The Forum provided a unique opportunity for a useful dialogue with the Mediterranean partners and the business communities to discuss and identify the main lines of action for the future of youth across the region. It was an honour to be present at this Forum and observe the creation of the UfM roadmap, which intends to pave the way for concrete action and seeks to contribute to the strengthening of the role of the UfM towards an enhanced regional integration and cooperation in the Mediterranean.
