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UNIMED GENERAL ASSEMBLY | Jounieh, 23-24-25 October 2019
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UNIMED GENERAL ASSEMBLY | Jounieh, 23-24-25 October 2019
About the UNIMED General Assembly
The UNIMED General Assembly, organised by UNIMED in collaboration with the Holy Spirit University of Kaslik (USEK) in Jounieh, Lebanon, represents an important yearly event. Rectors, presidents and their representatives meet to exchange views and to determine policy for UNIMED, setting the stage for a full and rich year of initiatives, activities and conferences that shape the academic calendar around the Mediterranean. It is an opportunity to meet and network with representatives of international organisations, government officials, students, influential contributors to the cultural and political spheres and representatives of NGOs.
Venue: Holy Spirit University of Kaslik (USEK), Jounieh, Lebanon
Shaping the MediterraneanFrom Cooperation to Integration
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UNIMED GENERAL ASSEMBLY | Jounieh, 23-24-25 October 2019
Under the patronage of
Commissioner Johannes HahnMember of the European Commission
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UNIMED GENERAL ASSEMBLY | Jounieh, 23-24-25 October 2019
WEDNESDAY23 OCTOBER 2019
Start Cup Competition 2019“Entrepreneurship in the Mediterranean Basin”Organised by the Lebanese University in the framework of the UNIMED SubNetwork on Employability, in collaboration with ETF, AUF and RDCL LebanonVenue: Lebanese University, Rafic Hariri Campus, Hadath
Horizon 2020 Regional SeminarOrganised by the European Commission, Directorate–General for Research and InnovationVenue: Jean El Hawa Auditorium, Holy Spirit University of Kaslik Campus (USEK), Jounieh
Intercultural trends in the Euro–Mediterranean regionOrganised by the Anna Lindh FoundationVenue: Auditorium HS 315, Holy Spirit University of Kaslik Campus (USEK), Jounieh
09:00 am – 05:30 pm
10:00 am – 12:00 am
10:00 am – 05:00 pm
Pre–Assembly events
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UNIMED GENERAL ASSEMBLY | Jounieh, 23-24-25 October 2019
THURSDAY24 OCTOBER 2019
Registration of participants
Openings
Francisco Matte BonUNIMED President
Hmaid Ben AzizaUNIMED Secretary General
Talal HachemPresident of Holy Spirit University of Kaslik (USEK) and UNIMED Vice President
UNIMED activities and future plans
Marcello ScalisiUNIMED Director
Institutional greetings
Amr Ezzat SalamaSecretary General of the Association of Arab Universities (AArU)
Representative from the Delegation of the European Union to Lebanon
Massimo MarottiItalian Ambassador in Beirut
Keynote speech
Besnik MustafajWriter and former Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Albania
Coffee break and networking
08:30 am – 09:00 am
09:45 am – 10:00 am
10:00 am – 10:45 am
10:45 am – 11:15 am
09:00 am – 09:45 am
11:15 am – 11:45 am
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UNIMED GENERAL ASSEMBLY | Jounieh, 23-24-25 October 2019
New challenges for the EuroMed Cooperation: Talks with Institutional partners
Itaf Ben AbdallahSenior Advisor of Higher Education and Research Division of the Union for the Mediterranean (UfM)
Flavia PalanzaDirector Neighbouring Countries of the European Investment Bank (EIB)
Cesare OnestiniDirector of the European Training Foundation (ETF)
Fadila BoughanemiDeputy Head of Unit for Africa, the Middle East, and Asia, Directorate–General for Research and Innovation, European Commission
Light lunch and networking
The role of Higher Education and Vocational Training on Employability and Entrepreneurship: European Training Foundation (ETF) and UNIMED join forces for a common challenge
Coffee break and networking
Academic cooperation through capacity building and research: opportunities and examples
Cocktail and networking
11:45 am – 01:00 pm
01:00 pm – 02:00 pm
02:00 pm – 03:30 pm
03:30 pm – 04:00 pm
04:00 pm – 05:30 pm
05:30 pm – 07:30 pm
EN/FR translation will be provided
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UNIMED GENERAL ASSEMBLY | Jounieh, 23-24-25 October 2019
FRIDAY25 OCTOBER 2019
UNIMED Assembly (only for members)
Coffee break and networking
Parallel workshops
WS1 – Fostering the creation of Open Education Ecosystems in the Mediterranean, organised by the UNIMED SubNetwork on Open Education
WS2 – UNIMED meets students in collaboration with the Erasmus Student Network (ESN)
Light lunch and networking
Social Responsibility of Higher Education Institutions in the Mediterranean region
Keynote speech
Working with academia to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
Etienne CaremeRepresentative of the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) in Lebanon
Final session and closing remarks
09:00 am – 11:00 am
11:00 am – 11:30 am
11:30 am – 01:30 pm
01:30 pm – 02:30 pm
02:30 pm – 04:00 pm
04:00 pm – 04:30 pm
04:30 pm – 05:00 pm
EN/FR translation will be provided except for WS1
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Pre-Assembly eventsand Workshops
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UNIMED GENERAL ASSEMBLY | Jounieh, 23-24-25 October 2019
Venue: Lebanese University – Campus Rafic Hariri – Hadath
Date: 23rd October, 2019, 09:00 am – 05:30 pm
Rationale
The “Start Cup Competition 2019” follows the “RESUME Start Cup 2018” which
took place in Messina (Italy) in September 2018 within the framework of the
RESUME project (https://www.resumeproject.eu/).
The “Start Cup Competition 2019” is a competition calling for entrepreneurial
ideas developed by students enrolled in Mediterranean universities. This
competition aims to encourage students of the universities of the two shores of the
Mediterranean basin to present innovative ideas in the field of entrepreneurship.
The “Start Cup Competition 2019” is an event jointly organised by UNIMED,
coordinator of the SubNetwork on Employability and by the Lebanese University,
with the Centre MINE, the Careers, Innovation and Entrepreneurship Center,
the Faculty of Economics and Management Sciences and the Faculty of Tourism
and Hospital Management, together with the collaboration of the Agence
Universitaire de la Francophonie – Moyen Orient (AUF), the European Training
Foundation (ETF) and the Rally of Lebanese Leaders and Entrepreneurs (RDCL).
START CUP COMPETITION 2019“Entrepreneurship in the Mediterranean Basin”
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UNIMED GENERAL ASSEMBLY | Jounieh, 23-24-25 October 2019
Opening
Riad MakdessiDirector of the Careers, Innovation and Entrepreneurship Center (Centre MINE), Lebanese University
Aref Al SoufiCoordinator of the National Erasmus+ office in Lebanon (NEO)
Sabina NariNational Coordinator for Algeria and Morocco, Focal point for Southern and Eastern Mediterranean, European Training Foundation (ETF)
Hervé SabourinMiddle East Regional Director of Agence Universitaire de la Francophonie (AUF)
Zeinab SaadGeneral Coordinator, International Relations Office, Lebanese University
Round table 1 «Innovation and Entrepreneurship»
Moderator: Alaa TARSHISHI, News reporter and Presenter at NBN
Christophe SchmittVice President Entrepreneurship and Incubation, University of Lorraine, France
Sabia DibaRegional Programs Director – Challenge to Change
Fouad ZmokholPresident of the Association of the Lebanese Business People in the World (RDCL World)
Maurice MattaBusiness news producer/presenter at MTV Lebanon, Financial analyst, Economic media expert
Coffee Break
09:00 am – 09:45 am
09:45 am – 11:15 am
11:15 am – 11:30 am
Programme
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UNIMED GENERAL ASSEMBLY | Jounieh, 23-24-25 October 2019
Projection of the ETF video «Winner of the good practice for entrepreneurship»
Round table 2 «Young entrepreneurs’ testimonies: perspectives and challenges»
Moderator: Rima MAWLOUD, Professor, Lebanese University
Maud JabbourSolidarity for Sustainability (Women and Youth Empowerment)
Hussein SleimanFind a nurse (Health Technology)
Georges GhafariChreek (Environment)
Ali MakhzoumiLifeLab (Agriculture Technology)
Samer SfeirProabled (Employability)
Haytham DboukInnovating Green Technology (Renewable Energy)
Tamara GhandourFabricaid (Distribution)
Lunch
«Start Cup Competition 2019: Mediterranean students Pitch»
Moderator: Lynda ACHKOUTY MOUAWAD, Business Coach
Teams from: University of Petra (Jordan), Holy Spirit University of Kaslik – USEK (Lebanon), Lebanese International University (Lebanon), Lebanese University (Lebanon), University of Tripoli (Libya), University Ibn Tofail, Kenitra (Morocco), Mohammed V University of Rabat (Morocco), Palestine Technical University Kadoorie
11:30 am – 11:45 am
11:45 am – 01:30 pm
01:30 pm – 02:30 pm
02:30 pm – 05:15 pm
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UNIMED GENERAL ASSEMBLY | Jounieh, 23-24-25 October 2019
(Palestine), University of Birzeit (Palestine), University of Sousse (Tunisia), University of Tunis El Manar (Tunisia).
Award of trophies
Riad MakdessiDirector of the Careers, Innovation and Entrepreneurship Center (Centre MINE), Lebanese University
Announcement of the winning team
Silvia MarchionneProject Manager, Mediterranean Universities Union (UNIMED)
05:15 pm – 05:25 pm
05:25 pm – 05:30 pm
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UNIMED GENERAL ASSEMBLY | Jounieh, 23-24-25 October 2019
Venue: Jean El Hawa Auditorium, Holy Spirit University of Kaslik Campus, JouniehDate: 23rd October, 2019, 10:00 am – 05:00 pm
RationaleThis workshop wants to enhance the participation of the Mediterranean Partner Countries’ in the last rounds of calls H2020 Programme. It is organised in cooperation with UNIMED. The workshop particularly aims to:• Inform participants on the most recent developments EUROMED R&I cooperation initiatives;• Inform participants about H2020 and presenting its different elements, with specific focus on final calls for proposals;• Provide participants with a networking opportunity.
ParticipantsThis workshop aims to bring together around 50 researchers, representatives from academia (including UNIMED partners) and industry and research institutes, technology transfer centers, incubators, technology platforms, grant offices at universities and research centers, from EUROMED countries.
HORIZON 2020 REGIONAL SEMINAR
Opening & registration
Francisco Matte BonUNIMED President
Fadila BoughanemiDeputy Head of Unit for Africa, the Middle East, andAsia, Directorate–General for Research and Innovation,European Commission
Talal HachemPresident of Holy Spirit University of Kaslik (USEK) and UNIMED Vice President EUROMED R&I cooperation
Heba GaberResearch and Innovation Regional Officer, Directorate-General for Research and Innovation, European Commission
10:00 am – 10.30 am
10:30 am – 11:30 am
Speakers
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UNIMED GENERAL ASSEMBLY | Jounieh, 23-24-25 October 2019
11:30 am – 12:00 am
12:00 am – 01:00 pm
01:00 pm – 01:30 pm
01:30 pm – 02:30 pm
02:30 pm – 03:30 pm
03:30 pm – 04:30 pm
04:30 pm – 05:00 pm
Coffee break
Presentations by H2020 Participants from the South MED
5TOI 4EWAS and WeHubs projects
Ramy BoujawdehBerytech
E-shape project
Omar ElbadawyCentre for Environment and Development for the Arab Region and Europe (CEDARE)
COST Platform and Actions targeted to South Mediterranean
RANCARE Action
Evridiki PapastavrouCyprus University of Technology, Cyprus
Suzanne R. DhainiAmerican University of Beirut, Lebanon
South MED Participation in H2020 – Reflections by National Contact Points
Abdelouahid EzzarfiMember of National Contact Point on European Research Projects, Ministry of National Education, Vocational Training, Higher Education and Scientific Research, Morocco
Zeinab El SadrH2020 National coordinator, Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research, Egypt
Lunch
H2020 WP 2018- 2020 (Final calls)
Jacopo BordignonPolicy officer, Directorate-General for Research and Innovation, European Commission
Closing - Overview of EU New R&I Funding Programme – Horizon Europe
Fadila BoughanemiDeputy Head of Unit for Africa, the Middle East, and Asia, Directorate–General for Research and Innovation, European Commission
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UNIMED GENERAL ASSEMBLY | Jounieh, 23-24-25 October 2019
INTERCULTURAL TRENDS IN THE EURO–MEDITERRANEAN REGIONPresentation and debate around the resultsof the Anna Lindh Report 2018 on Intercultural Trends and Social Change in the Euro–Mediterranean Region
Venue: Auditorium HS315, Holy Spirit University of Kaslik Campus, JouniehDate: 23rd October 2019 from 10:00 am – 12:00 am
Speakers
Eleonora Insalaco Head of Intercultural trends research and programming, Anna Lindh Foundation (ALF)
Tala Zein Secretary General of the Lebanese National Commission for UNESCO and Head of the Anna Lindh Foundation Lebanese Network
Nayla Tabbara Director of the Institute of Citizenship and Diversity Management, Adyan Foundation
Rima Mattar Deputy President for International Affairs and Global Initiatives, Holy Spirit University of Kaslik (USEK)
Hmaid Ben Aziza UNIMED Secretary General
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UNIMED GENERAL ASSEMBLY | Jounieh, 23-24-25 October 2019
This plenary workshop is jointly organised by UNIMED and the European Training
Foundation (ETF)
Venue: Jean El Hawa Auditorium, Holy Spirit University of Kaslik Campus, JouniehDate: 24th October 2019, 02:00 pm – 03:30 pm
RationaleThis plenary workshop aims to address the main topic “The role of Higher Education and Vocational Training on Employability and Entrepreneurship” in the Southern Mediterranean countries. Jointly organised by UNIMED and the European Training Foundation (ETF), the workshop is within the framework of a larger collaboration and cooperation context with the ETF on employability and entrepreneurship issues, following the creation of the UNIMED SubNetwork on Employability.The workshop would be a place for sharing experiences and dialogue, points of view among academic leaders, socio–economic actors, experts and students from the higher education sector, by drawing up the state of the actions already undertaken in the Euro–Mediterranean region, their impact on the universities and to determine their concrete actions for the regional cooperation in this field.The speakers who will intervene will share and reflect on good practices, difficulties and prospects to strengthen the connection and cooperation between private sector, university and students to better respond to the challenge of employability.In particular, after the keynote speech by ETF, the workshop will focus firstly, on the role of employers and how it could be enhanced in facilitating policy dialogue with the private sector in skills development; secondly, the two interventions from academia will point out what actions are put in place to enhance employability of university graduates through the experience with RESUME project (www.resumeproject.eu) and what is inscribed in the university mission. Lastly, the session will try to explore how to join forces to address the challenge from different perspectives of intervention: the private sector, the students, the university staff.
THE ROLE OF HIGHER EDUCATION AND VOCATIONAL TRAINING ON EMPLOYABILITY AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP: EUROPEAN TRAINING FOUNDATION (ETF) AND UNIMED JOIN FORCES FOR A COMMON CHALLENGE
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UNIMED GENERAL ASSEMBLY | Jounieh, 23-24-25 October 2019
Moderator: Cesare Onestini, Director of the European Training Foundation (ETF)
Speakers
Keynote speech
Sabina NariCountry Coordinator for Algeria and Morocco, Focal Point for Southern and Eastern Mediterranean, European Training Foundation (ETF)
Simona RinaldiCountry Coordinator for Lebanon, Human Capital Development Specialist, European Training Foundation (ETF)
Partnership opportunities between private sector and universities
Toufik Cherradi Observatory of Trades and Skills of the Professional Divisions of the General Confederation of Enterprises of Morocco
The career path from the perspective of students: sharing lessons learnt and good practices
Khalil AbboudDeputy President for Organisational Development, Holy Spirit University of Kaslik (USEK)
Daniella Chamoun Student at Holy Spirit University of Kaslik (USEK)
The RESUME experience: lessons learnt and challenges on university employability
Sélim MekdessiDean of the Faculty of Economics and Business administration, Lebanese University
Employability challenge for today’s universities
Hervé SabourinMiddle East Regional Director of Agence Universitaire de la Francophonie (AUF)
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UNIMED GENERAL ASSEMBLY | Jounieh, 23-24-25 October 2019
Venue: Jean El Hawa Auditorium, Holy Spirit University of Kaslik Campus, JouniehDate: 24th October 2019, 04:00 pm – 05:30 pm
Rationale
Academic cooperation in the Euro–Mediterranean Region works in particular
through capacity building and jointly research actions.
The international cooperation tools provided by the European Union and
international organisations such as the Food and Agriculture Organisation – FAO,
largely contribute to creating bridges among people and societies, reinforcing
scientific dialogue, cultural cooperation, trust, and mutual understanding.
The European Union tools and other international actors play a crucial role
in building stable and effective relations among European and Southern
Mediterranean countries.
Academic communities, students, faculty members and administrators have
benefited from a wide range of programmes promoting cooperation, mobility,
research and capacity building.
The activities undertaken by the Euro–Mediterranean academic community show
the value of encouraging and supporting this work, while also seeking more
synergies in light of current multifaceted dynamics and challenges.
This workshop seeks to propose a reflection by the Euro–Mediterranean academic
community on the relationships between the European Union, international
institutions and the Mediterranean region, offering an opportunity for evaluation
and revaluation of regional policies.
Concurrently, it allows improving the knowledge and use of EU–supported
programmes in the Euro–Mediterranean cooperation for the foreseeable future,
thus facilitating the identification of further needs.
ACADEMIC COOPERATION THROUGH CAPACITY BUILDING AND RESEARCH: OPPORTUNITIES AND EXAMPLES
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UNIMED GENERAL ASSEMBLY | Jounieh, 23-24-25 October 2019
Speakers
Heba GaberResearch and Innovation Regional Officer, Directorate-General for Research and Innovation, European Commission
Aref Al SoufiCoordinator of the National Erasmus+ office in Lebanon (NEO)
RAISD Project: Reshaping Attention and Inclusion Strategies for Distinctively vulnerable people among the forcibly displaced, funded by Horizon 2020 Programme
Ruben Fuentes FernandezUniversidad Complutense de Madrid, Spain
PAGES Project: Post–Crisis Journalism in Post–Crisis Libya: A Bottom–up Approach to the Development of a Cross–Media Journalism Master Program, funded by Erasmus+, KA2 – Capacity–building in the Field of Higher Education
Andrea MiconiInternational University of Languages and Media (IULM), Italy
EUMED – Europe and the MENA region: Issues and Challenges in the Trans–Mediterranean Relations, co–funded by Erasmus+ Jean Monnet Programme
Nassif HittiHoly Spirit University of Kaslik (USEK), Lebanon
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UNIMED GENERAL ASSEMBLY | Jounieh, 23-24-25 October 2019
Session by the UNIMED SubNetwork on eLearning and Open Education
Venue: Auditorium HS315, Holy Spirit University of Kaslik, Jounieh
Date: 25th October 2019, 11:30 am – 01:30 pm
Rationale
Open Education and Open Educational Resources (OER) are gaining ground in the
Mediterranean region, also thanks to the increased use of ICT in higher education.
These developments can have a tremendous impact to increase access and equity
of the Mediterranean Higher Education area, and to better integrate Mediterranean
university systems into a global academic and scientific cooperation network.
In particular, Lebanon has been very active in the last years in setting up a national
Open Education ecosystem with the OER Lebanon project, and at the same time
the OpenMed project has contributed substantially to place open education on
the regional educational agenda, also producing a number of recommendations to
mainstream innovative pilot projects in the Open Education field.
Building on these important developments, the UNIMED SubNetwork on eLearning
and Open Education will organise a workshop where successful strategies to
mainstream Open Education can be discussed, towards the creation of an Open
Higher Education Mediterranean Area.
The workshop will be organised in two sessions. The first one will aim to present
the latest developments of the UNIMED SubNetwork in eLearning and Open
Education, as well as the activities of some of its members. The second will aim
to explore the possibility of replicating successful initiatives in other South
Mediterranean countries, with the aim of fostering national and regional eLearning
and Open Education ecosystems.
FOSTERING THE CREATION OF OPEN EDUCATION ECOSYSTEMS IN THE MEDITERRANEAN
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UNIMED GENERAL ASSEMBLY | Jounieh, 23-24-25 October 2019
Speakers
Latest and future activities of the SubNetwork
Cristina StefanelliProject Manager, Mediterranean Universities Union (UNIMED)
Showcase from the SubNetwork
Sulaiman MouselliResponsible for International Relations, Arab International University, Syria
Jilani LamloumiVice President, eOmed Network
Yasmeen AbuhasirahHead of training, e–Learning center, Palestine Technical University Kadoorie (PTUK), Palestine
Nicola ParavatiDirector of International Affairs, UNINETTUNO, Italy
Supporting Open Education ecosystems in the South Mediterranean region
The OER Lebanon experience
Fawzi BaroudAssistant Vice President for Information Technology, Notre Dame University, Lebanon
Discussion on how to build OER ecosystems in other MED countries
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UNIMED GENERAL ASSEMBLY | Jounieh, 23-24-25 October 2019
Venue: Jean El Hawa Auditorium, Holy Spirit University of Kaslik Campus, Jounieh
Date: 25th October 2019, 11:30 am – 01:30 pm
Rationale
As the recent events have demonstrated, both in Northern and Southern
Mediterranean countries, students are actors of university and society life. Since
its beginning, UNIMED aims at giving them opportunities, by strengthening their
academic and non–academic development, by supporting their mobility mostly
through Erasmus programme, by working with their universities for improving
their employability. Giving to the actual and future generations tools and
space for increasing dialogue and cooperation within the Region is one of our
responsibilities.
To enhance our understanding of students expectations and to define together
how we can better support them, UNIMED decided to give them the floor. This
workshop, involving students and staff from the two shores, will be the occasion
to talk about students network, mobility – South to North, North to South, South
to South, and empowerment.
It will be also the occasion to recall for an even more important endorsement
of the Petition for a Erasmus Mediterranean generation that UNIMED launched
during its General Assembly in Paris, in 2017. The results of this Petition will be
presented to the European Parliament, in March 2020, during the UNIMED week
in Brussels.
UNIMED MEETS STUDENTS IN COLLABORATION WITH THE ERASMUS STUDENT NETWORK (ESN)
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UNIMED GENERAL ASSEMBLY | Jounieh, 23-24-25 October 2019
Speakers
Keynote speech
Kostis GiannidisPresident of Erasmus Student Network (ESN)
The StEER–Leb project: students engagement in university life
Students representatives from Lebanese universities
The South–South Mobility perspective: the DIRE–MED experience
Mouad El AboudiFormer student at University Abdelamalek Essaadi, Morocco
The International Credit Mobility: perspective from the South
Eliane BraidySenior student mobility coordinator, International Relations Office, Holy Spirit University of Kaslik (USEK), Lebanon
Mobility. Beyond Invisible Walls
Eric ValletAssociate professor at Paris1 Panthéon–Sorbonne University, France
The International Credit Mobility: Perspective from National Agencies and
proposal for a new mobility scheme with Sicilian Universities
Sara PagliaiCoordinator of the National Agency ERASMUS+/INDIRE, Italy
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UNIMED GENERAL ASSEMBLY | Jounieh, 23-24-25 October 2019
Venue: Jean El Hawa Auditorium, Holy Spirit University of Kaslik Campus, Jounieh
Date: 25th October 2019, 02:30 pm – 04:00 pm
Rationale
The social responsibility of universities is their awareness of the role they can
play in the collective resolution of society’s major challenges. This means taking
concrete action in their own areas (training and research), in order to:
1. Help to resolve major societal challenges;
2. Contribute to the reasonable development of the society;
3. Spread the universities’ core values within society: freedom of expression,
tolerance, solidarity and humanism.
A long–standing awareness
Today, the challenges of Euro–Mediterranean countries have to face are many.
Universities already contribute, either actively and consciously or through indirect
actions, to solving these problems. An obvious example is unemployment, which
has been affecting many countries and for which universities have decided to
transform their former academic programmes into more “professionalising” ones,
and to link their curricula to the needs of the labour market. Now, universities
are called upon to organise their curricula and degrees according to the needs
of society. They must even anticipate future developments, in order to train
tomorrow’s professionals today.
An (often) paradoxical situation today
The situation of universities with regard to their social responsibility is paradoxical
today. On the one hand, they have carried out actions that clearly demonstrate
that they are aware of the role they have to play, as a public actor, in the problems
and developments of our societies: the example of training is one such example,
that of welcoming migrants is another. On the other hand, the discourse on each
of these actions is isolated, if at all.
SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY OF HIGHER EDUCATION INSTITUTIONS IN THE MEDITERRANEAN REGION
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UNIMED GENERAL ASSEMBLY | Jounieh, 23-24-25 October 2019
Have an overview of what is still done for a better political support
Overall, there is therefore first of all a real need to make the initiatives of “social
responsibility” more visible, both in what is done and in what is said. This requires
action to be taken at two levels:
1. Carry out a comparative study of what is being done in the different countries,
how the subject is being addressed politically;
2. Set up events to exchange good practices between universities. In a second
step, this sharing will have to be presented to university leaders, in order to
ensure a better political support for these actions and to bring out politically
the notion of “social responsibility”. This will help to better show the real link
that universities have with their environment.
Actions to make this commitment a reality
In parallel with this inventory, it is important to rely on a network of universities
to better respond in concrete terms to the major challenges facing the Euro–
Mediterranean region today. The ambition is not to find solutions to all problems,
but to identify some major issues that most directly concern universities and that
also engage the dialogue between Europe and the Mediterranean. These topics, as
starting points of a UNIMED initiative on Social Responsibility, are:
1. Migration and intercultural dialogue
2. Student engagement for social, cultural and humanitarian purposes outside
the university;
3. Open access to science for researchers (“OpenScience”) and the sharing of
science with a wide audience;
4. Entrepreneurship and professional integration;
5. Governance.
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UNIMED GENERAL ASSEMBLY | Jounieh, 23-24-25 October 2019
Speakers
Keynote speech
Mathieu Schneider Vice President of University of Strasbourg, France
Mashhoor Refai President of Princess Sumaya University of Technology, Jordan
Wail BenjellounFormer UNIMED President and Former President of Mohammed V University, Morocco
Hmaid Ben Aziza UNIMED Secretary General
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UNIMED GENERAL ASSEMBLY | Jounieh, 23-24-25 October 2019