Tourism and Upheaval in the Southern Mediterranean Countries
Nov 10, 2014 / Blog entry
Enhancing City Resilience to Boost the Economy: Interviews with Decision-Makers and Experts from MENA Region and Beyond
Oct 30, 2014 / Highlight
The MENA Urbanization Knowledge Platform (MENA UKP) team is proud to release the third and last round of its six video blogs series on the resilience of cities in MENA and beyond.
These interviews see city leaders, decision-makers, development experts, academics, private sector representatives, from the MENA region and beyond, reflect on the...
Looking Local: Migrant Labor Market Integration At An Urban Scale
Oct 29, 2014 / Blog entry
By Casey Weston*
European countries have designed a wide variety of national policies to improve the labor market integration of migrants. Migrant employment outcomes, however, seem uncorrelated to the intensity of these national-level strategies. On November 3rd, the World Bank/Center for Mediterranean Integration International Labor Mobility (...
A New Look at Levant Peace and Prosperity
Oct 16, 2014 / Highlight
When you look at countries like Syria, Iraq and Egypt, do you see troubled institutions and civil discord? We see youth, resources and potential. If private and public sectors work together now to build a stronger Levant, then prosperity could forge a lasting peace.
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Beyond Remittances: How 11 Million Migrants from the Arab World can Impact Development
Oct 16, 2014 / Blog entry
By Mariem Mezghenni Malouche
The Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region has a large diaspora. According to the latest United Nations estimates, 11 million citizens from the MENA countries lived abroad in 2013. Many of the members of this group hold prominent positions in their adopted countries. They have the potential to contribute to the...
Technical Experts Meet to Discuss Study on “Delivery Mechanisms and Institutions to Realize Energy Efficiency Potential"
Oct 16, 2014 / Highlight
The countries in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) boasts 57% of the world’s proven oil reserves (World Bank), in addition to other resource-rich characteristics, such as their unique endowment with solar resources. However, and this is especially true in countries where oil and gas resources are large, they also generally face high energy...
A multi-dimensional policy is needed to address the many facets of exclusion and to promote greater youth participation
Oct 03, 2014 / Highlight
TUNIS, October 2, 2014— Three years after the revolution, young people in Tunisia have a limited presence in politics, continue to face high levels of unemployment and are not systematically consulted on key issues that directly affect them. A new report from the World Bank and the Center for Mediterranean Integration maps out the sources of this...
MENA Region Requires an Annual Growth Rate of 6.5% in Order to Create 30 Million Jobs
Oct 01, 2014 / Blog entry
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.
Watch the interview with World Bank Chief Economist...
Disaster Risk Management: Planning Together For Efficiency - Interviews with Decision-Makers and Experts from MENA Region and Beyond
Oct 01, 2014 / Highlight
The MENA Urbanization Knowledge Platform (MENA UKP) team is proud to release the second round of its six video blogs series on the resilience of cities in MENA and beyond.
These interviews see city leaders, decision-makers, development experts, academics, private sector representatives, from the MENA region and beyond, reflect on the rising...
Jordan: Strong Community Commitment … and a School Principal with Veterinarian Skills
Sep 08, 2014 / Blog entry
By Hannah Linnemann*
The blog reports our findings and discoveries from field site visits to schools in Jordan that were conducted from March 17 – March 21 as part of the World Bank Group's regional engagement on governance in social service delivery in the Middle East and North Africa Region. The team consisted of Jumana Alaref (MNSSP), Hannah ...
Launch of 2014's 100 Resilient Cities Challenge: Is Your City Ready to Become Resilient? Apply until September 10, 2014
Sep 05, 2014 / Highlight
Is Your City Ready To Become Resilient?
The 100 Resilient Cities Challenge seeks to find 100 cities that are ready to build resilience to the social, economic, and physical challenges that cities face in an increasingly urbanized world.
We can't predict the next disruption or catastrophe. But we can control how we respond to these challenges....
World Bank Quick Note on the Impact of Weather Shocks on MENA Households
Sep 05, 2014 / Highlight
World Bank Quick Note on the Impact of Weather Shocks on MENA Households
Introduction: Do households living in climate affected areas in the MENA region believe that changes in climate patterns and their environment are taking place? Have households been affected by extreme weather events, and if so to what extent and which events have had the...
A Global Lesson on Educational Reform from Ten Schools in Jordan
Sep 03, 2014 / Blog entry
By Manal Quota*
Zeid Bin Haritha is a school in the Jordanian village of Yarqa. In this school, you’ll witness tiny overcrowded classrooms, old broken furniture and over-worked teachers. These are characteristics common across a number of schools in the Governorate of Al-Salt. But, wait! This is not a tragic story filled with heart breaking...
Experts’ Meeting: An Innovation Scoreboard for the MENA
Sep 03, 2014 / Highlight
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...
A Story of Working Together Against all Odds from a Public School in the Palestinian Territories
Sep 03, 2014 / Blog entry
By Jumana Al Aref*
This blog was written prior to the current conflict in Gaza and serves as a reminder of the critical importance of education, regardless of the circumstances, in building a path to a more hopeful future.
What is Mrs. Abla’s secret? How has one principal managed to mobilize teachers and parents into becoming one harmonious...
ARABTERM: A new online technical dictionary in Arabic, English, French, and German
Sep 03, 2014 / Blog entry
By Guido Zebisch*
ARABTERM is a quadrilingual technical dictionary offering glossaries in German, English and French and especially, the translation of terms along with an illustrated definition in Arabic (www.arabterm.org). The project is jointly commissioned by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and the...
UKP Multi-Partner Thematic Newsletter - Issue 1 - City Resilience
Aug 17, 2014 / Library
Middle East and North Africa Urbanization Knowledge Platform Newsletter on City Resilience
A New Knowledge Sharing Tool on Urbanization and Urban Development in MENA
This is the inaugural Middle East and North Africa Urbanization Knowledge Platform (MENA UKP) newsletter on urban development. The newsletter is designed to facilitate...
Why Does City Resilience Matter? Interviews with Decision-Makers and Experts from MENA Region and Beyond
Jul 31, 2014 / Highlight
The MENA Urbanization Knowledge Platform (MENA UKP) team is proud to launch a series of six video blogs on the resilience of cities in MENA and beyond.
These interviews see city leaders, decision-makers, development experts, academics, private sector representatives, from the MENA region and beyond, reflect on the rising concern of urban risk...
Report: Poor policies Restrain Growth in Seven Middle East & North Africa Countries
Jul 16, 2014 / Blog entry
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...
Seven Steps to Surviving a Disaster
Jul 07, 2014 / Blog entry
To read the blog authored by World Bank President Jim Kim for Bloomberg View titled "Seven Steps to Surviving a Disaster" please click here: http://www.bloombergview.com/articles/2014-02-18/seven-steps-to-surviving-a-disaster
Launch event for "Municipal Finances: A Handbook for Local Governments" on June 19 3pm EST
Jul 07, 2014 / Highlight
Thursday June 19 at 3:00 PM in J1-050 Auditorium (to live stream on the day of the event, click here)
From Detroit to Lahore, cities face financing challenges. In an ever urbanizing world, cities are important for national economies and social prosperity and stability, but they are also very vulnerable to any global financial crisis. Municipal...
Creating the Right Ecosystem for Knowledge Valorisation: A Case Study of ODTÜ Teknokent
Jul 07, 2014 / Highlight
Ankara, Turkey
The CMI and the EIB, in collaboration with the ISESCO and the UN-ESCWA Technology Centre, are organising a regional workshop about the contribution of the Quadruple Helix actors to knowledge transfer within Science and Technology Parks (STPs) on June 16th-18th, 2014 in Ankara, Turkey.
ODTÜ Teknokent, a Science Park that...
Live Discussion on the Untapped Potential for Economic Integration in the Levant
Jun 11, 2014 / Highlight
Join us for a lively discussion from the Regional Conference on Economic Integration in Beirut on the findings and recommendations of the World Bank study “Over the Horizon: A New Levant.”
Representatives from the private sector in the Levant will discuss the potentials for and barriers to deeper regional integration in goods and services trade....
Take the Poll! MENA Citizens Living Abroad: How Would You Like to Contribute to the Economic Development of Your Country of Origin?
Jun 04, 2014 / Highlight
The MENA integration team at the World Bank is reaching out to MENA citizens living abroad to get their views of the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) citizens living abroad on how they would like to contribute to the economic development of their country of origin. The findings from this survey will provide a better understanding of the MENA...
Welcoming Migrants: Cities offer a Beacon of Hope
Jun 02, 2014 / Blog entry
By Manjula Luthria*
When US-born 24-year old aspiring physician Ms. Nina Davuluri was crowned Miss America in September last year, she inspired a celebration of beauty, brains, ambition and America’s diversity. At the same time twitter exploded with angry tweets protesting the crowning of a “foreigner, terrorist, Miss 7-11.” In January this year...
Welcoming Migrants: Planning for Inclusion
Jun 02, 2014 / Blog entry
By Casey Weston*
Living in Marseille should give those of us working at the Center for Mediterranean Integration a unique perspective on the MENA region; after all, 20% of Marseille’s population is foreign-born, including many immigrants from MENA. In my particular neighborhood, tagines are more popular than ratatouilles, and “Salaam” more...
High Level Seminar: “Non-Performing Loans Work-Outs and Bank Resolution in Euro-Mediterranean Countries: What Worked? What Did Not?”
Implementation Action Plan of the New Levant Initiative
Jun 02, 2014 / Highlight
The implementation action plan, as endorsed by policy-makers in the region, provides policy solutions to address constraints related to regional trade in goods and services, and investment.
Economic Integration in Maghreb
Jun 02, 2014 / Program
Lead Organization
The World Bank.
Partners
The European Union (EU), the United States, and the Union for the Mediterranean (UfM). Also, IPEMED (Economic Foresight Institute for the Mediterranean Region); KNOMAD (Global Knowledge Partnership on Migration and Development); Tunisia School of Business; Mediterranean School of Business; local...
The New Levant Declaration
Jun 02, 2014 / Highlight
The Levant Declaration is one of the outputs of the New Levant Conference. The Declaration summarizes the decisions taken during the conference.
