Hon. Maria Conceicao Pereira (Portugal), Vice President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Mediterranean (PAM) represented the PAM Assembly and its Third Standing Committee on the occasion of the Anna Lindh Foundation 10th Anniversary activities, held in Naples (Italy) on 29 October 2014.
In her intervention at the opening of the Plenary Session, Hon. Pereira underlined how the Foundation can play a crucial role with projects and dedicated programs that can help the youth in the region. They should feel that they are not alone, and that they should not be alone. “If the question is whether another Mediterranean is possible? I say: Yes it is. But it depends on us, on our work, and on what we are ready to do in order to transform this grim present into a bright future”, Hon. Pereira said. Many youths at present are subject to unprecedented violence, social crises and cultural regression across the region.
Parliamentarians, and civil society institutions, can mobilize efforts for the benefit of the young generation, to help them overcome the past and build a better future, especially those who have and are going through difficult times due to critical situations in their countries. Hon. Pereira called for more investment in their education, providing them with equal opportunities, train them. We should not let them surrender to a helpless reality which can make them easy targets for terrorist organizations like ISIS.
Furthermore, at present, the focus should be on creating employment opportunities, and facilitating mobility and circulation of both workers and students. “This is the key challenge for the whole Mediterranean area, and here, SMEs for example, can play a major role, but that entails access to credit, favorable fiscal policies and harmonized legislative frameworks”, PAM Vice President concluded.