“For a Mediterranean of Creativity and Innovation: an ambition for the Youth”
The 9th Economic Rendezvous of the Mediterranean were held at the Villa Méditerranée in Marseille on Saturday, November 9th, 2013 concluding the Mediterranean Economic Week in the presence of a large audience and with the participation of many personalities from the political and academic worlds of the different Mediterranean countries:
« For a Mediterranean of creativity and innovation, an ambition for the youth »This statement emphasizes first and foremost the assertion that the only possibilities to get out of the crisis for the two shores of the Mediterranean is based on the implementation of new growth based on creativity and innovation. The very ones who were at the origin of all scientific and technological development will allow this region to find a central role in the evolution in the coming decades.
To achieve this very ambitious objective, the participants in this meeting agreed on the following 5 recommendations:
– Foster the emergence of creativity
o Eliminate all forms of barriers that deprive men and women access to all opportunities
oRéintroduce a culture of creativity into Mediterranean societies
– Promote the development of entrepeneurship Remove the barriers preventing the
o development of business activity, particularly in access to finance
o Decentralize action
o Facilitate access to information
– Adapt the training system more precisely to qualifications and skills companies need
o Facilitate student mobility
o Strongly encourage training throughout life
o Enhance the skills and also enable those on the margins of their system to participate
Develop a multidisciplinary approach,
o especially with basic managerial knowledge Involve local, national and transnational
– dimensions into active horizontal policies
o Develop comprehensive control of all decisions
o Decentralize the implementation of decisions
o Create a space for Euro-Mediterranean Innovation
oConduct active industrial policies in the 2 or
3 key areas, while encouraging upgrades in
traditional sectors
oSystematically assess the action and to a public/private balance previously defined
o Encourage partnerships and technology transfer agreements with multinationals that establish themselves in the Mediterranean countries
– Change the method of financing and bilateral and multilateral cooperation
o Prioritize methods of cooperation and actions
o Focus on a limited number of projects that touch the heart of the functioning of society
o Evaluate the projects systematically according to the their results and back funding in relation to these results
This is a break from the traditional view of development,a break that provides the foundation for a new social contract that emphasizes youth
