Las cámaras de comercio del Mediterráneo se han vuelto a citar este miércoles en Barcelona tras el parón pandémico y han reafirmado su reconocimiento a la capital catalana como su capital económica. Unos 1.200 empresarios de Europa, África y Asia -que representan a 125 millones de empresas- está previsto que participen esta semana del Medaweek, el congreso que aspira a conjurar a los líderes económicos más relevantes de la Mediterránea. Los actos tendrán lugar entre el 16 y el 18 de noviembre en la Casa de la Llotja de Mar, de Barcelona. (16 edición)
Otra reivindicación compartida de los líderes económicos que han asistido al congreso este miércoles ha sido la de trabajar para reforzar las oportunidades económicas y de empleo para los más jóvenes y para las mujeres. Y promover el la expansión del sector secundario, especialmente en la franja sur del Mediterráneo, se ha presentado como una de las vías para ello. "La industria tiene un amplio margen de crecimiento en nuestra región", ha afirmado el secretario general de la Unión por el Mediterráneo (UfM), Nasser Kamel.
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El Periódico de Catalunya, 17 de Noviembre 2022 MedaWeek
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El Periódico de Catalunya: 15 Noviembre 2022, https://www.elperiodico.cat/ca/economia/20221115/futur-economic-mediterrani-debat-barcelona-78557726
MedaWeek s’estructura aquest any en tres eixos, el primer dels quals
es titularà Panorama Econòmic a la Regió Mediterrània, dins de la qual
s’inclou la Conferència sobre Seguretat Energètica al Mediterrani.
Zibaoui recorda que «ja durant la primera guerra d’Ucraïna es va
tractar en aquest fòrum sobre la necessitat de crear un espai
euromediterrani de cooperació energètica capaç d’evitar la dependència
energètica europea de Rússia».
Per al coordinador d’Ascame, «ara seria el moment de crear un mercat energètic comú,
més quan s’ha trobat una bossa de gas al Mediterrani oriental capaç de
satisfer les necessitats d’Europa durant 50 anys i que ja ha facilitat
acords polítics per a la seva explotació, com la delimitació dels límits
territorials marins entre Israel i el Líban per a la seva explotació».
En aquesta primera jornada també se celebrarà el 9è Fòrum de Turisme del Mediterrani,
que impulsarà la creació d’una Agència Mediterrània del Turisme per
promoure la regió com a destinació turística de forma conjunta, tal com
es fa actualment en altres zones com la del Carib.
Després de la crisi de la covid, la conca del Mediterrani ja ha
recuperat el seu lideratge global amb prop de 400 milions de visitants i
un 32% de les arribades internacionals, que permeten concentrar el 30% dels ingressos que genera el sector arreu del món.
Aquestes magnituds suposen el 13% de les exportacions i el 23% de
l’activitat del sector serveis de la regió, i dona feina a més de 20
milions de persones distribuïdes als seus 2,5 milions de quilòmetres
quadrats de conca i 30.000 de costa.
Durant la segona jornada se celebrarà la Cimera Mediterrània de l’Economia Digital,
que té com un dels objectius convertir Barcelona en un ‘hub’ de creació
de ‘start-ups’, així com potenciar la transformació digital de les
empreses mediterrànies.
La tercera jornada estarà ocupada per la Cimera Mediterrània de l’Economia Jove,
en la qual se celebraran trobades com la MedaWeek Educació i Talent
Mediterrani o la 2a Conferència Mediterrània d’Economia Creativa. Una de
les qüestions de debat serà la bretxa existent entre universitat i
empresa, que es tradueix en el fet que actualment el 50% dels joves
llicenciats es troben a l’atur, mentre que entre els no llicenciats se
situa en el 30%.
Atalayar,17 Noviembre 22
. Por Nerea Belmonte
Digital innovation, the central theme on the second day of MedaWeek 2022
The second day of the Mediterranean Economic Leaders' Week 2022 in Barcelona has brought together dozens of experts, politicians and entrepreneurs to address the transition of the Mediterranean region towards a digital economy in which its members, as evenly as possible, can facilitate access - to its citizens and its business fabric - to financing and digital services.
Thus, this day officially began with the intervention of the Barcelona Chamber of Commerce President, Mònica Roca i Aparici, who welcomed all the participants to the event - both in person and online - and underlined the importance of this type of forum for all the economic sectors of the region.
The "Mediterranean Innovation and Digital Forum" started right after -parallel to the celebration of the "Mediterranean Innovation Hub: Funding opportunities for civil society organisations and entrepreneurs"-, and counted with the participation of figures such as the president and founder of Cluster Digital Africa, Amadou Diawara; the CEO and founder of International Strategic Management (ISM), Faris Alami; or the partner of McKinsey & Company in the Middle East, Chiara Marcati; among others. All of them moderated by the regional director for Southern Europe and North Africa of BBi Communication, Nina Heindrichs, as moderator.
Along the same lines of regional cooperation in the area of ideas and knowledge, MedaWeek also included the "Second Barcelona Conference: Capturing more talent and the startup ecosystem", and the "Second Mediterranean Space Forum", in which speakers highlighted the role of the Catalan city of Barcelona in innovation and the supply of new digital business opportunities and addressed the needs of users in the context of the new digital era in the Mediterranean region, respectively. These roundtables served as a meeting place for the contributions of Anwar Zibaoui, General Coordinator of the Association of Mediterranean Chambers of Commerce (ASCAME); Marín Orriols, Director of the International Department of the Barcelona Chamber of Commerce; and Pau Solanilla, Commissioner for Economic Promotion of the Barcelona City Council, among many others.
The afternoon sessions, four 'Hot Seat Salks' -small half-hour talks in which two or three specialists and entrepreneurs presented the most important ideas from different technological fields- moderated by the general director of the Spanish campuses of the Geneva Business School, Nicola Jackman, revolved around the digital and collaborative economy, investments in the field of cybersecurity, the mobile industry, and the potential of blockchain technology and cryptocurrencies.
"It is essential to reduce the digital divide between the northern territories and the southern territories of the Mediterranean", summarised Aadel Benyoussef, CTO of inHovate Solutions, one of the key speakers at the "Digital economy and collaborative economy Hot Seat Talk" meeting, which was also attended by the EESC (European Economic and Social Committee) Monitoring Committee member and farmer, José Manuel Roche Ramo. The latter, for his part, emphasised the agriculture 4.0 Model as a tool for generating added value for the agricultural sector, and pointed to the need to digitise the countryside. "The agricultural sector cannot miss the digitalisation train", he explained.
The space reserved for "Investments in Cybersecurity" gave the floor to Zouheir Lakhdissi, CEO of Africa and technological director of KLAIM.AI, and the director of the Innovation and Competition Centre of the Cybersecurity Agency of Catalonia, Tomás Roy Catalá, who agreed on the key importance of cybersecurity, but diverged when asked about the role of governments in boosting this sector. "If today's wars are caused by natural resources, tomorrow's wars will be about data," said Lakhdissi, arguing that data security in the digital environment is a key issue for the sovereignty of nations. Roy Catalá warned that, in the future, "everyone will have to participate in their own protection in cyberspace, just as we do today with our physical security, in one way or another".
Nicola Jackman then moderated the Hot Seat Talk "Mobile Industry in the Mediterranean", which featured only the GSMA's Head of Middle East and North Africa regions, Jawad Jalal Abbassi, to highlight not only the gaps between the northern and southern Mediterranean at an economic level, but also the gaps in coverage and use of mobile opportunities between regions, cities, and generations. "To improve this, we need to work together, extending infrastructure and developing digital learning," said Jalal Abbassi.
The table focused on the potential of blockchain technology in the Mediterranean region was the closing session of presentations before a space aimed at companies and specialists for the development of personal and business links. The final Hot Seat Talk brought together Luis Carbajo, Co-founder and CEO of Vottun, and Quirze Salomo, CEO of the Blockchain Centre of Catalonia, to explore the opportunities of this novel digital security technology in the private sector in the Mediterranean region, and to consider the requirements for growth in this area.
Atalayar, 16 Noviembre, Opening and Tourism Forum MedaWeek Barcelona 2022 Por Enrique Fernández
MedaWeek: sustainability, cooperation and technology will be the keys to tourism in the Mediterranean region. The tourism sector has experienced spectacular growth over the last 70 years; its drawbacks, if poorly managed, should not distract us from the great opportunities it offers if well managed.
The 16th edition of MedaWeek in Barcelona focuses on the cooperation of the 14 countries of the Mediterranean region to achieve, in both the short and long term, sustainable tourism that focuses on the economic and tourism prosperity of the area. MedaWeek has already established itself as one of the most important conferences in the Mediterranean, is dynamic and promotes the economic progress and development of the region. The free zone tries to turn uncertainties into opportunities.
To this end, the main personalities who attended the "opening" of the event signed a document that they hope will be the development sheet and the route to be followed by all the Chambers of Commerce in Asia, Africa and Europe in the coming years, indicating the main problems that need to be solved and the methods and solutions to solve them.
"Cooperation is more necessary than ever because of the crisis that could be avoidable. The region is not only an opportunity for European companies, but also a necessity for a more inclusive Mediterranean policy. The future of Europe is played in the South, the destiny of the European Union and Africa is linked to the Mediterranean, it is the space of union of more than 180 million inhabitants, we must strengthen the inclusion in the global economy to transform it," said Ahmed El Wakil, president of ASCAME, an entity that celebrates its 40th anniversary and that also has an important role with members of more than 125 million companies and 300 chambers of commerce in 200 cities in 43 countries since they are in three continents: Africa, Asia and Europe.
The texts were signed by Nasser Kamel, Secretary General of the Union for the Mediterranean (UPM), Joan Romero, Executive Director of ACCIÓ, Pau Solanilla, Commissioner for Economic Promotion of the Barcelona City Council, Senen Florensa, President of IEMED, Mònica Roca, President of the Barcelona Chamber of Commerce, and Ahmed El Wakil himself, as President of ASCAME.
The agreements signed were the creation of the Mediterranean Arbitration and Mediation Court in Barcelona, whose function will be to promote investment between the Mediterranean and the rest of the world. The creation of the Air Forum to improve tourism in the Mediterranean area, with the aim of promoting a single brand for the area, and a study centre for the blue economy, which is one of the axes for the future of the region, were also specified.
Chambers of commerce have historically contributed with states to support the private sector, have the advantage of talking to the authorities, who are key actors to promote cooperation and investments, and become institutions that promote and help achieve world peace. Regionalisation and globalisation are objectives that must be protected. Mechanisms must be created that can assess and help people, in particular SMEs. Chambers of commerce should be in a position to help and bring synergies together.
We want a profitable region. Views to improve new relations in climate and economics. The time is now. We have to be quick in giving answers to humanity, innovation is a great opportunity to be better and disruptive. Innovation and open relations from north to south is the way to improve the city of Barcelona, Catalonia bets on the Mediterranean, it is a commercial area, it is the right side to improve.
The Mediterranean is the world's leading tourist area with almost 400 million tourists: it represents 32% of all international arrivals and 30% of global income. It accounts for 13% of exports, 23% of the services sector and employs more than 20 million people. The region has 20% of the world's hotel accommodation capacity. It has 10,000 destinations, some 100,000 hotels and one million restaurants. However, despite these figures, tourism remains heterogeneous and fragmented between the two shores of the Mediterranean.
Stimulus measures and economic incentives for tourism investment and operation and preparation for the future are needed to accelerate recovery: support job retention, rescue SMEs and boost start-ups in the sector and protect the most vulnerable groups; review taxes and charges affecting transport and tourism; ensure consumer protection and confidence; boost events and congresses; promote new jobs and skills acquisition, especially digital skills; include tourism in national and regional economic emergency mechanisms to restore confidence and stimulate demand; create crisis management mechanisms and strategies. In conclusion, prioritise tourism in recovery and development aid programmes.
The 9th Mediterranean Tourism Forum is the unmissable event for those seeking to develop tourism products in the wake of COVID-19, create a Mediterranean brand and grow the sector in sustainable terms, especially when it comes to the Mediterranean islands.
The creation of a single brand for the whole Mediterranean is key to fostering joint promotion and marketing systems and tools to compete in the global market and to expand the Mediterranean's share of the tourism market in order to generate income, create jobs and reduce gaps. Other regions of the world are doing this, such as the Caribbean and Africa. Given that the Mediterranean region is the world's leading tourist destination, the creation of such a brand has not been a necessity until now, but it is feasible and essential in such an unequal region. The most obvious answer is to get out of this major crisis and to enhance the value of tourism in the Mediterranean. The exchange of practices and coordination between countries on both shores must be the priority.
Key points for discussion: What can be done to increase collaboration in the Mediterranean tourism industry? What challenges exist for the future of the tourism sector? What impact does digital transformation and innovation have on traditional business? And what can the hotel sector do to boost it?
With COVID-19, the islands have suffered billions of euros of business losses, both direct and indirect. The world has gone through a painful, heavy and costly phase in its long battle against the virus, and the battle continues. This is why we have an opportunity to revive the sector and offer a new tourism model post COVID-19. The impact of cruise ships and ships on the ecosystem of the islands is an issue about which they were very concerned because of the fragility of the ecosystems that the islands have, which must be taken care of because it is one of the major attractions that exist in the area as well as protecting and promoting the Mediterranean diet, which would mean favouring the intangibles of the culture of the region.
The present and future challenges, for the Mediterranean in general and its islands in particular, are to become a sustainable tourist destination and to impose a shared responsibility based on the three pillars of sustainability: economic, environmental and social. The tourism of the future incorporates balanced and focused development objectives and requires a change of attitude throughout the value chain in terms of destinations, businesses and tourists.
If we could summarise the objectives, the methods to achieve them and the common points that MedaWeek wants to put in place to favour tourism in the area, they would be: innovation and planning.
