On the occasion of the 5th PAM Plenary Session held in Morocco in October, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Mediterranean presented the Annual PAM Award to the nominees for this year’s edition.
The PAM AWARD is aimed at helping PAM national delegations identify those who have distinguished themselves in initiatives and activities, be they cultural, economic, social or academic, dedicated to the achievement of those principles and goals set by the PAM Assembly and which are common to all people of goodwill.
This year there also was a special recognition, as an expression of gratitude, to those who have been instrumental in the process for the accreditation of PAM’s status as a Permanent Observer to the General Assembly of the United Nations and for supporting PAM’s efforts in its outreach activities to inform PAM states diplomatic representatives on the Assembly’s achievements in the Mediterranean.
Among this year’s nominees is the Fundacion “Hospital de la Isla del Rey” Port Mahon Minorque, from Spain, which was chosen for its role as a model example of civil society activities, in the preservation and restoration, with its own resources, of a small island which is part of the collective heritage of the Mediterranean civilisations. After 2004, a group of volunteers decided to take up the restoration of an old English naval hospital. Built in 1711, it belonged, during the last 300 years, to France, the USA, Spain and continued to function until 1964, when it was abandoned to oblivion.
The Mediterranean, in the 21st century, is still a major actor as it was for millennia, in regional and international development dynamics. The Parliamentary Assembly of the Mediterranean represents today a solid foundation for the representation of the citizen’s will within their national institutions. “Parliamentary diplomacy therefore must continue to thrive if we are really concerned about the active participation of all stakeholders in our societies” said PAM Secretary General, Dr. Sergio Piazzi during the presentation ceremony.
As from November, the flag of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Mediterranean, the flag of parliamentary diplomacy between the national parliaments of the countries of the region, flies high on the Isla del Rey, where it will be a symbol of dialogue between civilisations.