Conference
VI EUROMED YOUNG RESEARCHERS FORUM
BRIDGING DIVIDES: EXPLORING YOUTH APPROACHES TO CONFLICT RESOLUTION IN THE CHANGING EURO-MEDITERRANEAN REGION
The evolving global landscape has significantly impacted conflicts and conflict resolution in the Euro-Mediterranean region. Shifting power dynamics, emerging conflicts, and influential actors have strained traditional alliances, leading to heightened competition for resources and influence. These conflicts now incorporate cyber warfare and disinformation campaigns, and technology plays a pivotal role in shaping new conflict resolution mechanisms, with external powers like China mediating and groundbreaking agreements emerging in places like Lebanon and Israel. Amid these shifts, the VI Euromed Young Researchers Forum seeks to explore novel conflicts and young people’s innovative contributions to conflict resolution, fostering interdisciplinary dialogue on peacebuilding in the Euro-Mediterranean region.
During this year’s Forum, 30 participants from across the Mediterranean and its neighbouring regions will meet in Madrid, Spain. The Euromed Young Researchers Forum is part of the Euromed Young Researchers Lab, an initiative that aims to boost the research capacities of young experts across the Mediterranean, give visibility and recognition to their work, strengthen exchanges and stimulate research on issues of common interest.
This event will be held back to back with the EuroMeSCo Annual Conference.
Agenda
09:00 - 09:10 Welcome and Opening Remarks
09:15 - 11:00 Working session 1 – Exploring Conflicts in the Euro Mediterranean Region: New Approaches and Strategies
This Working Session will examine conflict resolution and geopolitical dynamics in the MENA region, looking at Euro-Mediterranean cooperation in conflict resolution and democracy support, and the role of the EU. Additionally, the session will explore youth perspectives on peace and conflict in the intra-Kurdish ethnic conflict, as well as the complexities of proxy wars in the case of Libya, advocating for new conflict resolution approaches that are decolonised, human rights-based and that actively involve youth and civil society. This Working Session will also evaluate the effectiveness of crisis management policies and mechanisms of the EU and NATO in the Mediterranean region. Energy resources in the context of Eastern Mediterranean on the Cyprus conflict will be analysed, exploring how this dimension affects the region's stability.
11:00 – 11:30 Coffee Break
11:30 - 13:00 Working session 2 – Shaping Peace in the Euro-Mediterranean: Unravelling the Role of Youth in Conflict Resolution
This Working Session will focus on exploring and discussing the significant role of young people in understanding and addressing emerging conflicts in the Euro-Mediterranean region. It will analyse the critical role youth play in promoting sustainable peace in fragile and conflict affected countries, how youth-centred feminist activism can be fostered for inclusive conflict resolution and how the Youth, Peace and Security (YPS) agenda can be fostered within the European framework. The Working Session will also delve into the potential of social media as a peace-building tool, as well as on the role of Erasmus+ as a platform for peace.
13:00 - 14:00 Lunch
14:00 - 16:00 Parallel Training Session: Think Tank and Track II Diplomacy
14:00 - 16:00 Parallel Training Session: Conducting Fieldwork in times of crisis
16:00 - 16:30 Break
16:30 - 18:30 Practitioners Session
Participants in this session will have the opportunity to engage with relevant stakeholders to gain a better understanding of the complex dynamics and challenges facing the region. Through this practitioner's session, participants will be able to explore and discuss strategies for empowering young people to be key actors in building a more peaceful and stable Euro-Mediterranean region. The session will count with an EU official involved in peacebuilding, an EU official with a journalist background and two representatives from civil society organisations.
