Med Dialogue for Rights and Equality

Med Dialogue for Rights and Equality is a 3-year (2019 – 2022) EU-funded Technical Assistance regional Programme with the overall objective to strengthen the role of CSOs active at the regional scale, in building sustainable development, regional cohesion and social resilience, as well as in influencing policy-making in the Southern Neighborhood and the Euro-Mediterranean Space. It honors the European Union’s vision for a stronger civil society by supporting its capacities and promoting its important role as an agent for change and an essential component for democracy, and whose participation in public processes and in policy dialogue would lead to more inclusive and effective policies, transparency and accountability. Created in line with the revised European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP) that was adopted in November 2015, the Programme provides direct support through capacity building activities, leadership bootcamps, commissioned mapping and thematic studies, coaching support to advocacy campaigns, technical support and funding of thematic common regional actions, dialogue platforms to advocate for the civil society’s vision on the future of the Mediterranean, and facilitating efficient networking and connections between CSOs. EU’s Support to its Southern Neighbours: Policy, Instrument and Programmes Med Dialogue for Rights and Equality, which focuses on young women and men activists, has followed the previous EU-funded Civil Society Facility-South (CSF-S), a regional technical Assistance Programme that contributed to facilitating structured dialogue between CSOs and public institutions and to improving the effectiveness of EU cooperation with its partners from the Mediterranean region, over the period 2013-2018.

rogramme’s vision

A Southern Mediterranean civil society with enhanced capacity to strategize, collaborate and advocate for rights, equality, social cohesion, and sustainable development.
A resilient civil society across the Mediterranean mobilised on regional issues of common concern to influence the agenda of public decision-makers and regional institutions.
Better equipped CSOs to face the region’s crises, instability factors, and regional challenges.
A contribution to an enabling environment where young women and men from both shores of the Mediterranean can meet, exchange, learn and work for a better future for years to come.

Policy areas

Socio-economic inequalities
Democracy: consolidating the democratic space and citizenship rights
Migration & Human mobility
Enabling CSO environment (Shrinking spaces)
Critical thinking & Preventing youth radicalisation
Addressing the ecological challenges

Mission

To address the needs of the civil society in the Neighbourhood South as an agent for change from a regional perspective, where Mediterranean exchanges both South-South and North-South are enhanced; and the shrinking of civil society spaces in the region is challenged. To achieve that, the Programme will focus on mobilising local communities on regional issues of common concern, and reinforce their capacities to influence the agenda of public decision-makers and regional institutions. strengthening civil society and young female and male activists in their capacity to strategize, cooperate together, advocate for rights and social cohesion, and sustainable development is at the heart of our Programme.

Our partner countries are: Algeria, Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Palestine, Tunisia, Syria (EU cooperation suspended since 2011), and other UFM members, i.e. Albania, Bosnia. H, Mauritania, Monaco, Montenegro, and Turkey.

The Programme also supports CSOs capacities to better face the region’s crisis and instability factors, focusing particularly on the following regional challenges:

• Confronting socio-economic inequalities,

• Preventing youth radicalization and developing critical thinking,

• Addressing the ecological challenge,

• Aiming at institutions serving the citizens.