Asma, 25, is from Libya; Samir, 31, is from France; Merna, 25, is from Egypt; Mustafa, 24, is from Jordan; and Jasmine, 21, is from Malta. They are five of the 20 outstanding emerging young leaders from the Euro-Med region who recently participated in a week-long leadership seminar with the ambitious aim of preparing a new generation of dialogue leaders in the Mediterranean. They were selected from more than 500 eligible applications from over 30 countries.

Making a point.Making a point.

The seminar was co-organised by the Mediterranean Academy of Diplomatic Studies (Medac) and the Anna Lindh Foundation in collaboration with the World Leadership Alliance – Club de Madrid. Medac was last year contracted to organise the Malta seminars, funded by the European Commission, and this was the first of three seminars that will take place in Malta over the next 18 months.

The seminar programme included interactive exercises on cultural intelligence, leadership skills training, training on how to communicate with the media and techniques of storytelling, as well as training on how to advocate effectively. The programme enabled participants themselves to select themes to work on during the week, which were translated during the seminar into stories that resonate with the media and specific policy proposals that the participants then presented to a panel of senior leaders/policymakers. The participants chose the themes of education, sustainable development and clean energy, youth participation, and migration and mobility.

Former Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou, was a special guest at the seminar, arranged through the World Leadership Alliance – Club de Madrid, the largest forum of former democratic Presidents and Prime Ministers. His frank conversation with the young participants enabled them to learn advocacy tips and formulate more specific policy recommendations.

Mr Papandreou was also on the final panel that participants presented their proposals to. The panel was moderated by Medac director Prof. Stephen Calleya, and included former Foreign Minister George Vella, under whose tenure the links between Malta and the Anna Lindh Foundation were firmly grounded, as well as Elena Grech, head of the European Commission Representation in Malta, and Gege Gatt, chief executive of ebo.ai and chairman of the Beacon Media Group.

YMV seminar participants with organisers.YMV seminar participants with organisers.

The programme included interactive exercises on cultural intelligence

The line-up of trainers and speakers included outstanding international journalists from across Europe and the Arab world, including Stephen Cole and Naomi Goldsmith, formerly of the BBC, Saad Hattar, trainer and reporter with Arab Reporters for Investigative Journalism, and Shahira Amin, who is now an independent journalist following her resignation in 2011 from deputy head of State-run Nile TV in Egypt. Other speakers included young policymakers such as MPs Byron Camilleri and Karl Gouder, local and foreign university professors as well as NGO activists, among them Amy Camilleri Zahra and Claudia Taylor-East.

The Anna Lindh Foundation was represented by its president Elisabeth Guigou, the first female Minister of Justice in France, and by Nabil Al-Sharif, its executive director. The programme included meetings with Acting President Dolores Cristina and the Speaker of the House Anglu Farrugia to share views and to discuss the participants’ aspirations. During an hour-long exchange on various topics, including migration, with Foreign Affairs Minister Carmelo Abela the latter spoke of the need to “build economies, not walls”.

During the seminar Education Minister Evarist Bartolo announced that Malta will host the first Euro-Mediterranean Youth Debate Championships in July.

The highlight of the seminar for participants coming from the western Mediterranean countries represented in the 5 + 5 Dialogue Ministerial Forum – which also took place in Malta at the end of the week – was an exchange with foreign ministers of their country as well as EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Federica Mogherini. During the meeting, Ms Mogherini said: “The young people involved in the Young Med Voices initiative are a source of inspiration. We are already transforming their ideas into practice. We are determined to continue to work together, to make their aspirations and their proposals reality”.

The Malta Leadership Seminars within the Young Mediterranean Voices (YMV) project are a core element of the programme funded by the European Commission, which also involves debating championships in the particular countries of the Euro-Med region, and will now also include the Euro-Med Championships in Malta later on this year. YMV itself evolved from its successful precursor – Young Arab Voices (YAV) – that enjoyed unparalleled impact across North Africa from 2011. The expansion from YAV to YMV was launched by Ms Mogherini at the Anna Lindh Euro-Med Forum held in Malta in 2016.

Final panel: Practising advocacy with former Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou, Malta’s former Foreign Minister George Vella, Medac director Prof. Stephen Calleya, Elena Grech, head of EC Representation in Malta, Gege Gatt, CEO of Ebo.ai and chairman, Beacon Media Group.Final panel: Practising advocacy with former Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou, Malta’s former Foreign Minister George Vella, Medac director Prof. Stephen Calleya, Elena Grech, head of EC Representation in Malta, Gege Gatt, CEO of Ebo.ai and chairman, Beacon Media Group.

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