Education Minister Louis Galea yesterday opened the third Euro-Mediterranean Forum – partnership for education, which is being held in Malta until tomorrow.
The aim of the forum is to promote debate and reflection on European integration, the construction of the image of Europe in the Mediterranean, Euro-Mediterra-nean relationships and the building process of the image of the Mediterranean area in the world.
As a continuation of the first and second fora, the third event, currently being held in Malta, has brought together 200 rectors and experts from universities all over the Mediterranean.
Dr Galea also launched what is being dubbed the “Project SOUK”, a number of information stands regarding the various projects, sponsors and partners of the forum.
The Fondazzjoni Temi Zammit (FTZ) is manning one of the stands, with information about its projects and activities. The FTZ is actively participating in the distance learning project Nettuno and the Mediterranean network of universities MED NET U.
Minister Galea expressed his support for these initiatives and said that such opportunities give Malta an excellent opportunity to collaborate, develop new resources and tap into a vast array of existing resources. The FTZ is also actively involved in the Commonwealth of Learning through the Virtual University of the Small States of the Commonwealth project.
Included among the delegates to the forum are representatives of academic organisations, the European Commission, investment banks, networks and consultancy companies from all over Europe and the southern Mediterranean.
The University of Malta was the promoter of the event, through its network of contacts, embassies and membership in various established networks to promote the widest possible publicity and participation in the event.
The main objective of the forum is to create a common platform for the discussion of Euro-Mediterranean issues through an academic approach, in order to:
• Foster dialogue, cultural know-ledge and academic exchange in the Mediterranean area, exchange information and disseminate it;
• Meet the professional and social challenges of the Mediterranean area;
• Enhance the attractiveness and visibility of European higher education;
• Organise the infrastructure necessary for the event to become an annual meeting point for the quality assurance of the European and the Mediterranean higher education area;
• Effectively gather the outcome of the speeches, present them as a concrete product of the activities and disseminate them widely among partners and other institutions to achieve a multiplier effect and ensure usability after the end of the activities.
New participants at the forum will be invited to sign the Tarragona Declaration, which was presented for the first time at the second forum held in Tarragona in June 2005. This document is being seen as the starting point for a Mediterranean higher education area.
The debate that is taking place this year focuses on the action plan included in the Tarragona declaration, which is aimed at the establishment of tangible results.
Three main round-tables will be organised, focusing on:
• The Euro- Mediterranean Area: a joint north-south professional challenge;
• The creation of a Euro-Mediterranean Area of Higher Education.
The European educational
programmes and their
Euro-Mediterranean dimension
A number of speakers are delivering papers during the round-tables, which will be chaired by leading
figures in the European and Mediterranean educational sector. Other sessions which are being organised will focus on funding opportunities, regional initiatives, north-south collaboration patterns, life-long learning, project drafting and support.
All the papers presented at the forum will be included in a publication that will be presented after the forum and made available in English and French.