EuroMeSCo is the most important network of research centers and thinktanks in the Euro-Mediterranean region. Founded in 1996 as a result of the Barcelona Declaration, the network currently consists of 115 institutes from 30 European and Southern Mediterranean countries, including Casa Árabe.

EuroMeSCo’s annual conference, usually held in one single city, was divided into four “country events” in 2022, taking place in Tunis, Rabat, Amman and Cairo. Karim Hauser, Casa Árabe’s International Relations Coordinator, attended the last of these events, which included a seminar titled Towards more social justice and inclusiveness in the Mediterranean. The event was held on the dates of October 19 and 20, 2022 at the headquarters of the Al Ahram Center for Political and Strategic Studies (ACPSS), an active member of the EuroMeSCo network.

The first day mainly included an introductory session in which Gamal Soltan, former Director of the ACPSS, focused his talk on the new patterns of alignment and cooperation in the Euro-Mediterranean region. Soltan emphasized that, while the war in Ukraine has brought enormous uncertainty, it has also ushered in opportunities for new Euro-Mediterranean partnerships. MENA region governments are diversifying their international relations and trying to find a balance between the West and Russia in them. On the energy front, oil-producing countries have benefited, while countries like Egypt and Morocco have emerged as sources of renewable energy.

The second day began with a welcome speech by Mohammed Fayez Farhat, director of the ACPSS, Senén Florensa, Executive President of IEMed, and Christian Berger, Ambassador of the EU delegation in Egypt. After the opening ceremony, the first plenary session began, with the title of: “Towards stronger, more inclusive social protection programs.” The participants were: Mervet Sabrin, Deputy at the Ministry of Protection and Social Safety Nets, Ministry of Social Solidarity; Howeida Roman, a professor at the National Center for Social and Criminal Research; Nahla Zeitoun, a senior social protection specialist at the World Bank; Amira El Shal, a MENA expert at the Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab (J-PAL); Salma Hussein, a regional researcher at the Friedrich-Ebert Stiftung, and Farah Al Shami, from the Arab Reform Initiative (ARI).

The second plenary session, “Placing people at the core of environmental social policies,” was moderated by Dina Shehata, of the ACPSS. Mohamed Alaa, head of the Human Rights unit at the Ministry of Planning and Economic Development; Amira Hossam, Deputy Minister of Sustainable Development at the same ministry. As well as Ingy Abdelhamid, an expert from the National Center for Social and Criminal Research; Ashraf Amin, head of the scientific department at Al Ahram newspaper, and Ahmed Kandil, a senior expert from the ACPSS. The third session included discussion of a few projects that have been selected by EuroMeSCo as research papers to be published. Attending to speak about their projects were Aya Badr, of the Cairo University’s School of Economics and Political Science, and Yana Popkostova, an environmental security analyst at the European Union Institute for Security Studies.

The event ended with a tour of the facilities at the newspaper Al Ahram in a cordial ambience of mutual sharing. A fifth meeting will be taking place in Brussels on November 29, with a summary of the four country events and a presentation of the results to representatives of the European Commission.