13-16 November| Marseille, France
From 13 to 16 November, la Villa Méditerranée, in Marseille, the MCA is organizing its fifth meeting this year. In the spirit of the previous four meetings, it will continue to emphasize the need to promote the emergence of a Mediterranean community of peoples that can be anchored to a common Mediterranean political space (conclusions of the 2010 meeting in Valencia).
The recent years’ events have indeed demonstrated that the Mediterranean peoples are writing their destiny through their desire for freedom, the consolidation of the claims brought by the younger generation and the development of actions to strengthen civil society (Tunis, 2011). The Circles of citizens, local groups supported by the MCA, are just one of the elements that allow enhancing the prospects for the establishment of a solution to the current crises and for the formulation of proposals for joint actions (Volos, 2012). Although the various conflicts that enflame the Mediterranean have indeed an impact on the organizational arrangements of Mediterranean civil society, they do not arrest citizen action (Istanbul, 2013).
In line with the last assemblies, the fifth meeting of the MCA will be held this year in Marseille (France), at the Villa Méditerranée, from 13 to 16 November 2014, with the support of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur. The central theme will be: “Citizenship and construction of a Mediterranean community of peoples.” The Mediterranean is not only a Sea. It also represents a shared history and a shared future that remains to be built. Of course, several regional initiatives have been created with the aim to strengthen the ties among Mediterranean countries, but they have not always reached the desired effects.
Based on this observation, the participants at the Fifth meeting of the MCA will work, based on their past and present experiences and on the obstacles that they continue to incur, on the establishment of concrete proposals for the institution of a Mediterranean community of peoples. Besides the members of the Circle of citizens of the Advisory Board of the MCA, the meeting will bring together experts and representatives of public institutions concerned by Mediterranean citizenship. A special invitation will be addressed to the citizens of the city of Marseille.