From the 4th to the 7th November the Euromed non-governmental Platform has organised, in cooperation with the Euromed Platform in Morocco, the 2006 Euromed Civil Forum, for the
first time held in the Southern shore of the Mediterranean, in Marrakech, thanks to the support of the E.C. and by Finland, in the frame of the EU Presidency.
COPEAM has been invited to take part in this international meeting, as representative body of the Euro-Mediterranean media sector. The aim of the meeting has been to set up an agenda for action and identify civil society actors’ needs and methodology for implementing them, calling the E.U. and its Euromed partners for significant action even through tools such as the Barcelona Five-Year Action Plan and the European Neighbourhood Policy.
Considering the difficult and complex geo-political context, civil societies need to be provided with the instruments to reinforce their actions on the ground since they are key actors for democratization
and, consequently, for peace. It is up to the civil society actors “to take this context into consideration and to move ahead, relying on their own capacities to overcome stereotypes, discuss the hottest issues and negotiate their contradictions, and develop a long-term agenda based on realities” (from the preparatory phase documents of the Forum).
The meeting has been organised in both plenary sessions and thematic working groups focused on peace and conflicts prevention, democratization and human rights, migration and movement, sustainable development and citizens participation. “Recognizing our role as a responsible actor and
partner in Euro-Mediterranean societies, we, as participants of the Marrakech Civil Forum, call
on decision-makers to take their responsibility, demonstrate strategic leadership and deliver on
promises. Action should echo policy” (from the Final Declaration of the 2006 Civil Forum).