Senator Emma Fattorini, member of the Italian delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Mediterranean and Chair of the PAM Academic Platform, has met in Rome with Dr. Marcello Scalisi, Executive Director of UNIMED, the Mediterranean Universities Union, to discuss reinforced and better structured cooperation between the two organisations.
Within the framework of its Academic Platform, launched in Italy in 2014, at a special event hosted by the University of Catania, Sicily, PAM aims at facilitating interaction among key actors in the fields of higher education and research. These include, among others, national parliaments, universities, research centres and the productive sector. At its 11th Plenary Session in Porto, last February, PAM delegates had decided to invest further in the activities of the Academic Platform and emphasize the key role of Education in the Mediterranean region.
Senator Fattorini and Dr. Scalisi discussed inter alia the role of parliamentarians in relation to training and education matters, and the independence of Universities from their respective national authorities.
“UNIMED recognises the crucial role of PAM in passing on these important issues to the regional parliamentary system and promoting the necessary general consensus to reach tangible changes and results for the benefit of the Mediterranean students”, Dr. Scalisi said.
As a matter of fact, the PAM Academic Platform promotes knowledge transfer within the region with the following objectives: Creation of a regional knowledge exchange mechanism; Stimulation of regional cooperation among parliamentarians, Academia, students and representatives of the productive sector; Facilitate mobility for professors and students in the Mediterranean region; Offer a hub enabling stakeholders to draw upon top expertise for activities on specific topics; and identify areas of excellence.
Since its launch in December 2014, a number of members of the PAM Academic Platform have been actively contributing to various events organized/attended by PAM, and has also successfully signed a number of agreement protocols granting university students internship programs at PAM HQ with a number of Universities.
Furthermore, two years ago PAM supported the granting of scholarships by the University of Ljubljana, Slovenia, to students of the Arab Republic of Egypt and the Tunisian Republic. The awarded scholarships cover master or doctoral programs in International Law in the Slovenian Republic.
“The PAM Academic Platform is another opportunity to create not only synergies between the institutions but also to generate hope, and promote dialogue among the younger generations of the Mediterranean region, which needs their support and input for a better future”, Sen. Fattorini said.
PAM and UNIMED have also agreed to organise a major regional event to discuss the role of parliamentarians in education and subsequently submit a report and resolution at the next PAM Plenary Session in Bucharest, Romania.