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Cradle of the western civilization, as well as that of cultures and the three monotheistic religions, the Mediterranean is also at the crossroads of the world geo-cultural areas for migration and trade. That is to say that the Mediterranean history is inseparable from that of Europe, but also from the rest of the world history, whether it be from the West or the East, the North or the South.
The Mediterranean basin is at the junction of the North and the South, the East and the West, at the intersection of the three continents. It is more than a simple southern border of Europe.
Strongly driven by a will for a new alliance, that is complementary to the alliance for Europe, the Union for the Mediterranean (UPM) aims at creating a new space for exchange, progress, development, cultural enrichment and political stability that are essential for the security and the prosperity of both North and South, based on a common multicultural heritage.
Currently, the UPM is involved in a dynamic process of searching for a new balance, facing the globalization’s wave which tends to hide, at the same time, the common multicultural heritage and the specific cultural identities even though they bring a positive contribution and a great richness to be preserved.
These elements have contributed to the construction of our world and its richness born out of cultural diversity and differences, which we still ought to learn to appreciate and respect. They were also born out of our capacity to assimilate them in order to constantly rebuild new ones. Both common multicultural heritage and specific cultural identities stemming from Mediterranean worlds still have much to bring to the construction of the world of tomorrow.
Hence, it is our responsibility to preserve and develop the legacy of the Mediterranean civilization inherited from the Egyptians, Assyrians, Hebrews, Phoenicians, Greeks, Romans and Arabs, by making the best use of Internet, digital media, Information and communication technologies, and virtual sharing communities as powerful tools.
The UPM Project offers a great opportunity to take up this challenge. It brings a new light on the process of Barcelona, and stimulates North-South and South-South co-operation debate, fed by a new community for which people’s will is as important as that of the political leaders.
Indeed, many projects have attempted to bring closer northern and southern borders of the Mediterranean. Most of them were intergovernmental initiatives. However, their benefits were more oriented towards the institutions than to the people and the individuals.
Furthermore, these partnerships have lacked visibility and mobilizing actions on both sides of the Mediterranean. The obtained results remain modest and are insufficiently valorized, whereas the initial objectives were extremely ambitious, stated in terms of promotion of democracy, of human rights, of peace and regional security, of sustainable development, of living and working conditions improvement, of economic and digital divide reduction between northern and Southern countries, of mutual comprehension and exchange among people.
These are the important targeted objectives which the UPM must consider in a pragmatic way based on the recognition of individuals’ identities rather than the adoption of a unique civilization model.
In this respect the “Open Digital Space For the Mediterranean” project offers the opportunity to progressively build a digital space widely open to all actors of the UPM (countries, institutions and individuals), that are able to make a valuable contribution to the above mentioned goals.
The project’s initiators and their partners are strongly engaged to start a deep action that is open to all partners interested by this Mediterranean perspective. |
