Historical events shaking up North African countries and the Middle East create new opportunities for cooperation in the Baltic Sea-Mediterranean framework. Several experts on regional cooperation from the Baltic Sea and Mediterranean regions gather in Finland to discuss these challenges and opportunities at an international seminar "Baltic-Mediterranean Axis: A New Framework for Cooperation?". You can follow and join the seminar discussions online.

The seminar takes place in Espoo, Finland April 4-5 and is organised by the Finnish NDGO Platform to the EU, Kehys, together with the head of the Anna Lindh Foundation's Finnish Network, Tampere Peace Research Institute, and the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland. It brings together more than 60 representatives of civil society, ministries and private sector as well as other experts on regional cooperation from the Baltic Sea and Mediterranean regions. The seminar features some leading experts on Euro-Mediterranean cooperation and the Middle East, such as:

• Andreu Claret, the Executive Director of the Anna Lindh Foundation. Mr. Claret has previously worked as a journalist and as the Director of the European Institute of the Mediterranean (IEMed).
• Abdelmaksoud Rachdi, the Chairman of the EuroMed Non-Governmental Platform. Mr Rachdi is also the founder of cultural and educational association Chouala and a member of Morocco's Economic and Social Council (CES).

The seminar seeks to find new synergies by linking actors across institutional and disciplinary boundaries. The objective is to generate fresh ideas and concrete project proposals that can contribute to the development of Baltic-Mediterranean cooperation. Particular emphasis is placed on the importance of active civil society cooperation as an innovative force that has the capacity to cross thematic and regional boundaries.

The themes of the seminar - environmental problems, climate change, migration and cultural diversity - are linked to some of the most pressing issues currently on the international agenda. The aim is to find sustainable solutions to common challenges by emphasizing the importance of inter-regional cooperation as well as the interdependence of the economic, ecological, social and cultural spheres.

How to join the discussion?

You can take part in the seminar discussions online on our blog at https://balticmed.wordpress.com. At this online-forum for inter-regional cooperation you can follow the discussions of the plenaries and working groups of the seminar and join the debate on the future of Baltic-Mediterranean cooperation.

For more information:

Mikko Lipsanen, project coordinator

The Finnish NGDO Platform to the EU, Kehys

+358 9 2315 0564; mikko.lipsanen@kehys.fi

Background of the seminar

The seminar is an inter-regional and cross-disciplinary forum, which aims to find different ways to develop Baltic-Mediterranean cooperation with the help of the experiences and ideas of the group of expert participants. It is part of the ongoing project "Facilitating Political Dialogue in the Baltico-Mediterranean Axis", and serves as a forum for presenting and developing further the results and ideas generated during the project.

The project "Facilitating Political Dialogue in the Baltico-Mediterranean Axis" is coordinated by the Finnish NGDO Platform to the EU, Kehys, and funded by the Anna Lindh Foundation. It aims to improve networking of civil societies in the Baltic Sea and Mediterranean regions and to provide an opportunity for civil society actors to present policy recommendations for decision makers. The dialogue develops through round table discussions, which bring together representatives of civil society, researchers and other experts to discuss issues connected to mobility, culture and environment, which are relevant both in the Baltic Sea and Mediterranean regions.