The political effervescence and the wide range of social demands that are emerging throughout the Mediterranean region offer new and unique opportunities for dialogue and cooperation. A new chapter is being written in the history of the Mediterranean. It needs to be anchored in a wealth of past relations, leaving behind old orientalist reflexes to truly explore and debate on a common future.
New cooperation initiatives should meet the acute needs of local and regional authorities following the revolutions and reforms in the Arab world. These initiatives aim at different objectives: support to local democracy and to local administrations, prevention of conflicts, and increasing the participation of women and the youth in these processes. A key point in these interventions concerns more particularly, developing better relations between the government and the citizens, as well as increased active involvement of the citizens.
Key questions:
- A permanent dialogue between local and regional governments of all Mediterranean countries.
- Capacity building of local and regional authorities, particularly in Tunisia and Libya.
- Support for local governments in countries bordering conflict zones: the role of local governments in countries sharing borders with Syria in the promotion of dialogue and peace building.
- The role of local governments in support of local Palestinian authorities, looking forward to support the process for the construction of a Palestinian State and the promotion of dialogue between Israeli and Palestinian municipalities.
- UCLG’s Peace Prize for peace building initiatives.
