Graffiti, just like Facebook and Twitter, can act as a powerful driver of change: graffiti can be anonymous, it is seen by all, and reflects constantly evolving messages. Most importantly, graffiti marks the streets with the voices of citizens.   In December 2014, in the context of its 6th Annual Meeting, the CMI organized “Walls of Change, Voices...

By Elyès Jouini* The Tunisian economy is currently in very bad shape.  An economic policy focused on rent-seeking for the benefit of a minority with cozy ties to the political power has replaced a consumption-driven economic policy, based on short-term concerns.   The social situation is worrisome given that discontent is growing.   The time has...

The European Investment Bank (EIB) through the Centre for Mediterranean Integration (CMI), in collaboration with ISESCO and UN-ESCWA Technology Center, organized a regional experts’ meeting on the 19th  and 20th  November 2014 at the League of The Arab States (LAS) in Cairo, Egypt. This meeting aimed to initiate and develop an innovation...

Egypt, Tunisia, Iran, Lebanon, Jordan, Yemen and Libya are trapped in a “poor policy – poor growth” cycle, which prevents their economies from moving to a sustainable growth path, says the World Bank in the newly released Quarterly Economic Brief for the Middle East & North Africa region.   The report, titled “Predictions, Perceptions and...

The European Investment Bank, in its role as lead of the Center for Mediterranean Integration (CMI) programme “Innovation Capacities”, organised a workshop on the development of Intellectual Property Rights (IPRs) in the Southern Mediterranean on the 7th of June, 2013 in Paris. This workshop was part of the annual “World Conference on Intellectual...

The EU-funded FP7 bilateral project EU-Tunisia ETC (European Tunisian Cooperation) a network for the coordination of science and technology cooperation, organized an EU-Med conference event in Tunis which brought together experts, policy makers, and practitioners in research and innovation to reflect on and analyze innovation support mechanisms...

The CMI, UTICA, ISESCO, and other partners organized the high-level knowledge economy consultation, “L'Economie de la connaissance et de l'innovation: Un nouveau modèle de développement pour la Tunisie.” This was another example of timely policy advice that was delivered at the request of Tunisian counterparts, especially from the private sector,...

Towards more justice for disadvantaged people: count on civil society 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...

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...

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...

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;...