Key Messages "Transforming Arab Economies: Towards Knowledge and Innovation" report
Jun 19, 2013 / Highlight
Anuja Utz, CMI Task Team Leader and main contributor to the report said its approach reflects the rich differences in challenges and opportunities across the MENA region. “Given the diversity of the Arab world, the study does not provide a cookie-cutter approach.” she said. “It offers examples of good practice from countries around the world and...
[Study Tour] Employment Policies in Australia
Jun 16, 2013 / Highlight
The World Bank organized a study tour to Australia aiming to expose participating officials from the MENA region to the Australian experience regarding Employment Policies and Social Safety Nets. This visit was part of the activities of the World Bank’s Middle East and North Africa (MENA) Community of Practice on Active Labor Market Programs (...
Rabat Declaration - Moving Towards New Development Strategies for Countries in the Arab World
Jun 15, 2013 / Highlight
Knowledge has always been central to development. To cope with the daunting challenges they face, particularly the need to create jobs and to develop more productive economies, Arab countries would do well to embrace a strategy for a knowledge-and innovation-driven economy. This is the main issue that is examined in the new report: “Transforming...
Towards more justice for disadvantaged people: count on civil society
Jun 15, 2013 / Highlight
Two years on, post-Arab spring democracies debate courses of action that must deliver results to their people, against a backdrop of heightened expectations. Perhaps no issue is more pressing than the improvement of government accountability and ensuring full respect of citizens' rights - with the gaining of individual liberties and social...
Opening Doors: Gender Equality in the Middle East and North Africa
Jun 15, 2013 / Highlight
On April 5, Inger Andersen, World Bank Vice President for the MENA region and Tara Vishwanath, World Bank Lead Economist in the Poverty Reduction and Economic Management group, were at the CMI to present the report “Opening Doors: Gender Equality and Development in the Middle East and North Africa”.
The report identifies a whole set of...
[Virtual Workshop] Tunisia’s Implementation and Evaluation of Entrepreneurship Programs Targeted to High Skilled Individuals
Jun 10, 2013 / Highlight
In order to ensure a constant follow-up to the face-to-face trainings and knowledge activities provided within the Community of Practice on Employment and Social Safety Nets, the World Bank organized a set of virtual workshops. This workshop focused on regional best practices for the implementation and evaluation of entrepreneurship programs...
[Study Tour] Employment and Social Safety Nets in Georgia
May 28, 2013 / Highlight
The World Bank organized a learning visit to Georgia. The aim of this visit was to explore and expose the Georgian experience to the MENA region participants so they could learn from it. This visit was part of the activities of the World Bank’s Middle East and North Africa (MENA) Community of Practice on Active Labor Market Programs (ALMPs)...
[Virtual Workshop] Egypt’s Delivery of Social Programs Using Smart-Cards Technology
Apr 10, 2013 / Highlight
In order to ensure a constant follow-up to the face-to-face trainings and knowledge activities provided within the Community of Practice on Employment and Social Safety Nets, the World Bank organizes a set of virtual workshops. The following one focused on the Best Practices for the Delivery of Social Programs Using Smart-Cards Technology.
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Rencontre Valmer "The Transforming Arab City. Local Empowerment and Urban Governance"
Apr 08, 2013 / Highlight
Essentially anchored in towns and cities, the protests synonymous with the Arab Spring reflected a population’s deep-rooted desire for political and social change across the Southern and Eastern Mediterranean region. Whilst access to jobs, along with the democratization of the political system, represented a primary concern, citizens also voiced...
[Virtual Workshop] Djibouti’s and Palestinian Territories’ Monitoring of Social Programs
Feb 27, 2013 / Highlight
In order to ensure a constant follow-up to the face-to-face trainings and knowledge activities provided within the community of practice on employment and social safety nets, the World Bank organized a set of virtual workshops. The following workshop focused on the monitoring of social programs.
Links to Resources
Full Agenda...
Open Government Initiative
Feb 20, 2013 / Program
Lead Organization
The World Bank.
Partners
Droit et Justice (Moroccan Non-Governmental Organization); Lebanese Organization for Studies and Training; Justice Center for Legal Aid (Jordan); Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA); European Commission for the Efficiency of Justice (CEPEJ); Open Society Institute; UK Consultation Institute;...
Conference on Urban Development Strategies in the Mediterranean
Feb 20, 2013 / Highlight
This event took place in Barcelona.
Lear more about the conference on Conference on Urban Development Strategies in the Mediterranean dedicated page.
Natural Capital Accounting for Green Growth in MENA
Feb 18, 2013 / Highlight
Egypt, Lebanon and Morocco have expressed interest in joining the WAVES Natural Capital Accounting (NCA) initiative. They are among the first countries in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region to consider natural capital accounting as a means to encourage green growth, poverty reduction and job creation.
These countries, along with...
Community of Practice Launching Forum
Jan 16, 2013 / Highlight
The World Bank launched the Community of Practice (COP) and Social Safety Nets (SSN) program by organizing a launching forum in the Turkish capital Istanbul aiming to expose countries from the Middle East and North Africa region to experiences of other countries in the same field.
Objectives
During the forum, participants were exposed...
Rencontres Valmer event, "Employment and Social Protection in the MENA region: Paving the way for a new social contract"
Jan 10, 2013 / Highlight
Unlocking the potential for job creation and renewing the social contract are challenges the MENA region is currently facing. Virtually every country suffers from high unemployment, which mostly affects the young, the educated and women. The revolutions across the region were a reminder that employment is more than simply a job, it represents...
Cities for a New Generation
Jan 08, 2013 / Program
Lead Organization
The World Bank.
Partners
Caisse des dépôts et consignations (CDC), MedCities.
Challenges
Limited municipal capacities and competences to implement the city development strategy (CDS) and liaise with civil society to create inclusive solutions.
Limited coordination between policy making at national level and the CDS at local...
Green Growth
Jan 08, 2013 / Program
Lead Organizations
The World Bank, Plan Bleu, CMI, GIZ.
Partners
Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK), Regional Center for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency (RCREEE), Municipalities of Beirut, Rabat and Tunis, Ministries of Environment of Lebanon, Morocco, and Tunisia, The World Bank, French Development Agency, European...
Employment and Social Protection
Jan 08, 2013 / Program
Lead Organizations
French Development Agency (AFD), The World Bank.
Partners
International Labor Organization (ILO) and European Training Foundation (ETF), an agency of the European Union.
Challenges
Low job creation in MENA and high unemployment rates for young, women and graduates.
Mismatch between labor market needs and skills as developed...
Is Being Employable Enough to Get a Job in the Arab World? The Double Transition From Education to Work in MENA
Oct 04, 2012 / Blog entry
This blog is co-authored by Juan Manuel Moreno and Stefanie Brodmann
This blog is part of a weekly series that we hope will provide some food for thought on the critical questions outlined in the forthcoming MENA Flagship Report on Jobs.
The low quality and relevance of education and training systems in MENA have led them to be perceived –...
Governance and Public Sector employment in the Middle East and North Africa
Oct 04, 2012 / Blog entry
This blog has been co-authored by Lida Bteddini and Guenter Heidenhof
This blog is part of a weekly series that we hope will provide some food for thought on the critical questions outlined in the forthcoming MENA Flagship Report on Jobs.
Recent events across the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region have underscored the urgent need to...
Why Jobless? Privilege Not Competition in the Private Sector
Oct 04, 2012 / Blog entry
This blog is part of a weekly series that we hope will provide some food for thought on the critical questions outlined in the forthcoming MENA Flagship Report on Jobs.
Several years ago, when I first came into the region, my department produced a Private Sector Flagship report titled, “From Privilege to Competition: Unlocking Private-Led...
Why Jobless? The Growth Pattern
Oct 04, 2012 / Blog entry
This blog is part of a weekly series that we hope will provide some food for thought on the critical questions outlined in the forthcoming MENA Flagship Report on Jobs.
High unemployment in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) largely reflects the growth deficit. While China has been growing at 10 percent for a decade and has unemployment...
Regional Workshop on the KE, CMI
Oct 02, 2012 / Highlight
The main challenge in the MENA region today is to create more, better paid, decent, and higher quality jobs. A key way for MENA countries to meet this challenge is to invest more in knowledge and innovation related areas and to develop competitive, high productivity, and sustainable economic activities—that is, to make a move to a knowledge...
Consultative Workshop on Draft Report (In Rabat)
Oct 02, 2012 / Highlight
On June 25-26, 2012 the Center for Mediterranean Integration (CMI) and the Islamic Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ISESCO) co-organized a regional workshop to discuss the draft report entitled Transforming Arab Economies: The Knowledge and Innovation Road at the ISESCO offices in Rabat, Morocco. This report is being developed...
Let’s Have a Conversation About What Exactly I Should Tell Your Finance Minister
Oct 01, 2012 / Blog entry
An invitation to a live web-chat on jobs in the Middle East and North Africa
This blog is part of a weekly series that we hope will provide some food for thought on the critical questions outlined in the forthcoming MENA Flagship Report on Jobs.
The Arab World faces a great opportunity with large numbers of educated youth entering the labor...
Is Working a Privilege in the Middle East & North Africa? Who is Most Affected by MENA’s Joblessness Trap?
Oct 01, 2012 / Blog entry
This blog is part of a weekly series that we hope will provide some food for thought on the critical questions outlined in the forthcoming MENA Flagship Report on Jobs.
Like many of my colleagues, I have now spent several years trying to understand the reality of labor markets in MENA, especially for young people. Looking back over the research...
Knowledge Economy
Sep 20, 2012 / Program
Lead Organization
The World Bank.
Partners
Islamic Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ISESCO), European Investment Bank (EIB), INSEAD (Graduate business school), European Commission (EC) and others.
Challenges
The challenges cited below apply to the new phase of the Knowledge Economy Program (2015-2020) focusing on Tunisia:...
Conference on Climate Change and Natural Hazard Risks
Nov 02, 2011 / Highlight
The Middle East and North Africa region has the highest coastal concentration in the world and most of the forecasted population growth in the region will happen in coastal cities. Indeed, MENA coastal cities are home to over 60 million people today and an estimated 100 million by 2030. In addition, The Mediterranean region is one of the most...
Workshop on Services for Innovating Firms, CMI
Nov 02, 2011 / Highlight
This workshop, jointly organized by the CMI, the EIB and the World Bank Institute took place in Villa Valmer, Marseille.
The objective of the workshop was to respond to the concerns of science park and incubator managers from the Mediterranean partner countries (MPCs) in order better to identify and assess the services required by the innovating...
