Summit of the Two Shores, Mediterranean Forum (23 and 24 June 2019)

I announced at the beginning of the year in Tunis that a Summit of the Two Shores would be held, based on the current 5+5 Dialogue but in an even more inclusive format with significant contribution from civil society […] We must define a different Mediterranean policy by learning from all of our successes and shortcomings.
(Emmanuel Macron, Conference of Ambassadors, Paris, 27 August 2018)

The Summit of the Two Shores is part of the 5+5 Dialogue, which brings together five States from the southern shore of the Mediterranean (Algeria, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco and Tunisia) and five States from the northern shore (France, Italy, Malta, Portugal, Spain). The European Union and Germany, as well as pan-Mediterranean organizations and international economic organizations present in the region, are involved in this initiative.

For more information, please download the brochure presenting the Summit of the Two Shores, Mediterranean Forum:

Sommet des deux rives, Forum de la Méditerranée - (PDF, 19.1 Mb)

Mobilizing Mediterranean civil society

The Summit of the Two Shores is based on the idea that civil society must be fully involved in defining a new and positive agenda for the Mediterranean region.

For three months between April and June 2019, Western Mediterranean civil society groups from north and south will work on developing tangible solutions for the region. Groups targeted include young people and economic, social, academic and cultural stakeholders. Their reflections and proposed initiatives will be shared with leaders at the Marseille Summit, where priority actions will be identified.

Initiatives may be of several kinds: completely new projects, projects at the technical development stage, projects requiring funding or extensions to existing projects. They may also take several forms: collective actions, tangible projects, suggestions for common public policy, common concepts, institutions, Mediterranean labels, regulations, etc. They must be regional or multilateral.

The 100: bringing together 100 representatives of civil society in/from the Western Mediterranean

Each State in the 5+5 Dialogue has put forward the names of 10 civil society representatives. One from each country will be named the lead representative. France’s lead is Ms Patricia Ricard.

Lead representatives sit on a steering committee, whose work is coordinated by the Tunisian lead, Ouided Bouchamaoui.

These representatives are called “The 100”. They will take part in all preparatory thematic forums with a view to summarizing debates and gathering ideas and projects. They will meet on 11 and 12 June in Tunis for the “Assembly of the 100”, where they will collate their proposals for action and call on leaders to act on them.

Five preparatory thematic forums

Five preparatory forums will take place prior to the Marseille Summit. Each will focus on a different theme: energy; young people, education and mobility; the economy and competitiveness; culture, media and tourism; and the environment and sustainable development. At each forum, around 200 members of civil society will lead discussions and suggest projects – instead of institutional or State actors.

• Energy Forum, organized by Algeria (Algiers, 8 April 2019)
  “Stronger partnerships for the sustainable energy transition”

• Youth, Education and Mobility Forum, organized by Malta (Valletta, 24-25 April 2019)
  “The Mediterranean Generation: Malta’s contribution to the Summit of the Two Shores”

• Economy and Competitiveness Forum, organized by Morocco ( Rabat, 29 April 2019)
  “Better economic integration between the two shores, towards a partnership focused on shared growth and innovation”

• Culture, Media and Tourism Forum, organized by France (Montpellier, 2-3 May 2019)
  “Creating new cultural momentum in the Western Mediterranean”

• Environment and Sustainable Development Forum, organized by Italy (Palermo, 16 May 2019)
  “Blue economy, green economy, circular economy: partnership proposals for sustainable coastal urban development in the Western Mediterranean”

• Restitution meeting of the Assembly of the 100, organized by Tunisia (Tunis, 11-12 June 2019)
  “Towards shared intercultural dialogue, production and sustainable and inclusive development”

For more information, please download the brochure presenting each of the preparatory thematic forums here :

Les forums thématiques préparatoires - (PDF, 19.2 Mb)

^{Updated: April 2019}