23-24 October 2024, Istanbul – The Parliamentary Assembly of the Mediterranean (PAM), represented by Hon. Tuba Durgut (Türkiye), Vice-President in-pectore of the PAM Women Parliamentary Forum (WPF), followed the works of the 2024 UNIMED General Assembly, hosted by the Istanbul Aydin University. This year’s General Assembly was entitled “Boosting University Alliances for Peace and Academic Freedom”.
In her address, Hon. Durgut highlighted PAM’s long-standing partnership with UNIMED and their joint work under the PAM Academic Platform, which connects universities and young researchers throughout the Euro-Mediterranean and Gulf regions, emphasizing the crucial role that education has in fostering peace and stability, particularly in conflict-prone regions.
Hon. Durgut stressed the importance of inclusive education systems as a means of empowering women. She praised UNIMED for addressing these topics, and emphasized that integrating women into education systems, from their young age, is essential for fostering gender equality and driving progress.
Hon. Durgut further mentioned PAM’s comprehensive research on Artificial Intelligence (AI) and emerging technologies, recalling the importance of integrating these advancements into education through a well-defined legislative frameworks and ethical safeguard, in order to distinguish real information from disinformation. The Assembly, recently established a Global Parliamentary Observatory on AI and Information and Communication Technologies (ICT), managed by its Centre for Global Studies (CGS), to monitor the growing threats posed by fake news, deepfakes and algorithm-based disinformation campaigns.
Looking ahead, PAM remains committed to strengthening its collaboration with UNIMED and other international partners to enhance educational opportunities, promote gender equality, and ensure that new technologies serve as tools for the advancement of society. //