On Thursday 30th of September EMUNI hosted a roundtable discussion under the Advocacy Campaign “Building a Common Mediterranean Destiny”. The Association Povod co-organised the roundtable as part of their projects “Our Mediterranean” and the “Faces of Migration”.
The objective of the roundtable was to revisit the notion of a common Euro-Mediterranean heritage and of common destiny. More concretely, the panel aimed at formulating a set of recommendations for policy-makers regarding migration in the region.
The discussion revolved around the themes of human mobility (migration) as a constitutive feature of the region, sustainable development and stakeholder cooperation.
The panel assembled Ms Samar Zughool, a researcher specializing in topics connected to migration, gender and intercultural dialogue;
Dr Ernest Vlačić, head of ALGEBRA e-Leadership MBA study program, an expert of organizational Strategic and Innovation Management and Innovative Industrial Policies;
Ms Manal Benani cofounder of Sustainable Cooperation for peace and security. EMUNI’s President Prof Abdelhamid El-Zoheiry offered introductory remarks and Dr Jerneja Penca acted as the moderator.
The discussion was lively and informative, engaging the audience, which was diverse in terms of cultural backgrounds and involved also EMUNI’s students.
There was substantial agreement on the role of human mobility in shaping the Mediterranean common identity. Thus the conversation turned on how to harness the potential of migration in the exchange of ideas, and to build peace and tolerance. Just as highlighted was the need and right of countries to exercise border controls for orderly migration.
Finally, a short address by French Senator Nicole Duranton concluded the event. Her remarks underlined various faces of migration while urging friendship among countries and peoples. This was also the central theme that motivated the visit of her Delegation to Slovenia and to EMUNI premises.