Round Table: 10th Anniversary of CIFE's Master in Mediterranean Studies
“The Mediterranean has always been a zone of contact. A bridge between continents, cultures and peoples. Today, unfortunately, the Mediterranean is often considered as a barrier or even a frontier. Our programme should help recover the awareness that we are not only neighbours, but also brothers and sisters around this great lake which is the Mediterranean.”
On Tuesday 18 November, we celebrated the 10th anniversary of CIFE’s Master in Mediterranean Studies in Nice with a round table on “L’enjeu migratoire au sein des espaces européen, méditerranéen et africain : une approche constructive”.
The opening address of CIFE Director General Matthias Waechter set the tone: institutional partners, experts, alumni and students of the Mediterranean Studies programme in Nice discussed the issue of migration from different regional viewpoints. With a constructive approach, CIFE’s Vice-President Esther Zana-Nau looked at the human dimension behind the figures – migration as a story of hope and loss. Programme Directors Jean-Claude Vérez and Laurent Baechler gave insights into the demographic question and its impact on migration in the region from an economist’s perspective. Yvan Gastaut, researcher at the Université Côte d'Azur, presented the EU’s vision of migration from a historical perspective, whilst Farah Hached, President of CIFE’s partner Université Mahmoud el Materi (UMM), discussed the challenges facing Tunisia in light of the brain drain phenomenon.
Tobias Bütow, Secretary-General of the Franco-German Youth Office (OFAJ/DFJW) and founding programme director of CIFE’s Mediterranean Master, looked at the challenges and promises of this fascinating region – “a region where the challenges of the 21st century can be researched, understood and explained like nowhere else in the world: it is the world's least integrated region, a hotspot of climate change, the world's deadliest border, as well as a shared, unique space of future and culture where millions of young people live. We need more exchange and better support for cross-border mobility and studies in the Mediterranean region. Degree programmes like this one provide young people, at the intersection of theory and practice, with the skills to successfully navigate their entry into the professional world in a complex global environment.”
We thank all our guests, speakers and the public for such an enriching Euro-Mediterranean day!