July 26, 2023

2nd edition of the Mediterranean Student Summit, 20-22 September 2023 at Abdelmalek Essaadi University, Morocco // The results of the selection process

Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
WhatsApp
Email

The Erasmus Student Network (ESN) and UNIMED, with the support of Abdelmalek Essaadi University, are joining forces to organise in Tangier the second Mediterranean Student Summit event, an initiative that seeks to bring together Higher Education students from both shores of the Mediterranean to foster intercultural dialogue and work together on common challenges. 

The event will take place from 20th to 22nd September 2023 and will be hosted by Abdelmalek Essaadi University, Morocco, under the patronage of the Union for the Mediterranean (UfM).

After the success of the first edition, which was held last year at the University of Barcelona, Spain, this initiative paves the way for the establishment of an annual event focusing on student engagement and intercultural dialogue with students from UNIMED Universities. This edition will be a fruitful opportunity to help shape the future of Higher Education in the Mediterranean over the coming years.

Objectives and expected outcomes of the Mediterranean Student Summit

The general objective of the event is to increase mutual awareness and understanding among students from the Mediterranean region and to support the development of competencies that help them to work together on societal challenges and to establish meaningful connections.

The specific objectives are:

  • Come up with specific ideas in the key themes of the event and discuss them with university leadership, international organisations and other key stakeholders.
  • Build foundations and gather impressions from the participants on their needs and expectations to build long-term collaborations beyond the event.
  • Foster the participation of students in international networks and international initiatives.

The 2023 Edition 

For the 2023 Edition, 31 students have been selected by ESN and UNIMED.
29 students come from 12 UNIMED countries (Egypt, France, Italy, Jordan, Lebanon, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco, Palestine, Spain, Tunisia, Turkey) and 2 students from Ghana and Togo who will join the Summit as observers and representatives of  All-Africa Students Union – AASU.

Before the event, the students will participate in three online sessions, delivered by ESN and UNIMED, with the aim to allow them to get to know one another but also to become familiar with the objectives of the Summit and be prepared well in advance.

Financial support

In order to be sustainable, the funding of this event has to be participative. Several actions of fundraising have been done and this larger edition has been made possible thanks to the contribution of many partners. This year’s event has benefited from financial support of Abdelmalek Essaadi University, as hosting institution, the  European Investment Bank Institute, the University of Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne and some UNIMED member universities. Indeed, all European students participating in the event are sponsored by their universities for travel costs and some European universities are also sponsoring the participation of one student from the South, namely the University of Barcelona and the University of Pavia. The following Southern-Mediterranean universities are also sponsoring their students: University of La Manouba, An-Najah National University, Palestine Technical University-Kadoorie, University of Bani-Waleed, Libyan International Medical University, University of Benghazi, Al-Ahliyya Amman University.

A joint effort that shows us that everything is possible working together.

You can have a look at some highlights of the previous edition of the Mediterranean Student Summit here.