The second UfM Regional Forum,  held on 24 January in Barcelona in the margins of the meeting of the UfM Ministers of Foreign Affairs, was dedicated to youth. The overall theme was “Mediterranean in Action: Youth for Stability and Development”. One of the panels of this conference, entitled “The future starts now: youth at the heart of the Mediterranean Agenda”, was organised by the IEMed and EuroMeSCo.

The panel, chaired by Senén Florensa, Executive President of the IEMed, featured the following prominent experts from EuroMeSCo: Dalia Ghanem-Yazbeck, El Erian Fellow (Carnegie Middle East Center); Natalie Tocci, Deputy Director at the Istituto Affari Internazionali; and Claire Spencer, Senior Research Fellow for the Middle East and North Africa Programme at Chatham House, as well as Jorge Borrego, Deputy Secretary General of the UfM; Maria Badia, Secretary for Foreign Affairs and the European Union at the Government of Catalonia; and Hatem Atallah, Executive Director of the Anna Lindh Foundation.

The following report sets out the main issues raised during the discussions, including the recommendations for policy-makers and stakeholders on how to address and improve the situation of youth.