Women’s Earth and Climate Action Network (WECAN) Middle East/North Africa regional program coordinators are hard at work in the collaborative creation and coordination of a Mediterranean Youth Climate Network.
The Mediterranean Youth Climate Network (MYCN) is the first regional network of its kind. It comes as a bridge-builder between the sides of the Mediterranean sea, aiming at enhancing the cooperation between climate-related youth-led initiatives in the Mediterranean region, in order to constitute a common front in the fight against climate change.
Indeed, the Mediterranean region is threatened more than ever with the disastrous consequences of climate change, and is also experiencing critical and highly sensitive impacts in regards to migration and refugees, and security threats and conflict. The diplomatic issues existent in the region and the delicate political situations in a number of countries often hinder the hopes of following a holistic and integrated approach to face the challenges of the region, and unfortunately climate change is not always included on the list of priorities.
The MYCN, however, intends to overcome these obstacles and focus on the power of Mediterranean youth in all of their diversity, capitalizing on the available competences of young women and men of the region. Numerous organizations are carrying out impressive initiatives, and the MYCN aims to support and scale up their impact both locally and through the region.
The adventure started more than a year ago, when the Middle East/North Africa regional coordinators of the Women’s Earth and Climate Action Network, Fadoua Brour and Hajar Imene Bouchair, represented WECAN in the organization of the Mediterranean Youth Climate Forum, which took place in Tangiers, Morocco on the 15th of July, 2016.
After a successful event, the representatives of the 7 organizations (WECAN, CliMates, Arab Youth Climate Movement, Italian Climate Network, Leaders Club, the Moroccan Youth Climate Movement and Eco-Peace Middle east) officially started the creation of the MYCN.
During COP22 In Marrakech, Morocco last November, the representatives of the 7 organizations met to sign the MYCN charter, which was a milestone in the creation of the Network.
After months of cooperation and hard work, the 7 organizations finally met for their Constitutive General Assembly, on the 25th of February, 2017 in Barcelona, Spain; with representation by 10 of their members from Algeria, Morocco, Lebanon, Egypt, Palestine, Italy and France.
The MYCN is fully supported by the Union of the Mediterranean, which offered its logistical support and granted the Network the possibility of holding its General Assembly in its Barcelona offices.
The 10 representatives met with the Union for the Mediterranean Secretary General Amb. Fathallah Sijilmassi and the Deputy Secretary General on Energy & Climate Action Mr. Jorge Borrego, who expressed their high hopes for the success of the MYCN, and once again showed the support of Union for the Mediterranean for the development and the future activities of the Network. This strategic partnership is a source of motivation and a sign of credibility for our intended activities.
We are also proud to announce that the General Assembly successfully held its elections and our regional WECAN Co-Coordinators, Imene Bouchair and Soumeya Lerari have been respectively appointed Secretary General and Vice-Secretary General of the Network.
We believe they will have an important value added to the Mediterranean Youth Climate Network by bringing the experience of WECAN regarding climate justice, and empower young women from the Mediterranean region in the fight against climate change and the protection of Mother Earth.