J-MED: Monaco and France mark fifth year of working together to support young people in Mediterranean

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On Friday 14 March, Ms Isabelle Rosabrunetto, Director-General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, and H.E. Mr Jean D’Haussonville, the French Ambassador to Monaco, renewed the two countries’ commitment to young people in the Mediterranean. Fifteen civil society organisations from the region were successful at the fifth J-MED call for projects, launched last November to mark the Day of the Mediterranean.

The fifth call for projects was run by the Institut Européen de Coopération au Développement (IECD, European Institute for Development Cooperation) and the Mediterranean New Chance (MedNC) network, with support from the Prince’s Government, the French Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs, the Fondation de France and the Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur region.

Aimed at civil society organisations in Algeria, Lebanon, Morocco, Mauritania and Tunisia, J-MED, in partnership with other stakeholders in the Mediterranean, has been assisting young people through a wide range of initiatives for five years. The programme supports projects focused on training and employability, entrepreneurship, education, the empowerment of girls and women, culture, heritage conservation, sport and the environment.

In line with previous calls for projects, the initiative was met with great enthusiasm: almost 300 applications were received, resulting in the selection of 15 projects for – and by – young people in the southern, eastern and northern Mediterranean. Over the five years it has been run, the J-MED call for projects has supported around a hundred local initiatives, benefiting more than 3,000 young people.

Ms Rosabrunetto said: “The Monaco Government is working actively to support young people in the Mediterranean. We are delighted that the J-MED scheme, established five years ago with the French Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs, is offering young people, and particularly girls, opportunities to reach their full potential and shape their own futures.”

H.E. Mr Jean D’Haussonville, the French Ambassador to Monaco, welcomed the continuation of this joint work, emphasising: “The J-MED call for projects is an opportunity to support, alongside our Monegasque partners, young people’s commitment in areas that are priorities for France, such as climate change adaptation, youth employability and women’s economic empowerment. J-MED focuses particularly on projects that target vulnerable groups: women and girls, especially in rural areas, and young people struggling to access employment. Furthermore, five of the projects selected for 2025 reflect our support for civil society in Lebanon to build the resilience of the population at a time of crisis.”

Monaco and France work together on development cooperation in Africa and the Mediterranean as part of a partnership agreement signed in 2010.

More information is available on www.jmed-aap.org

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