An international Conference entitled: "Strengthening the Euro-Mediterranean co-operation for research and development" will take place in Paris on 22nd & 23rd March. The Conference is being organized by the Institute de Rechereche pour le Développement (IRD) within the Framework of the EuroMEDANet and EuroMEDANet2 projects which are funded under the International Cooperation Programme (INCO) of the 6th Framework Programme.
The main aim of these two projects, which are coordinated by the National Documentation Centre (EKT) in Greece, is to stimulate the participation of the Mediterranean region in the actions of the Framework Programmes through the establishment of Information Points in seven Mediterranean countries outside the EU. These Information Points (InPs) operate as National Contact Points for the Framework Programmes - national structures that support research organisations wishing to participate in the European research programmes while, at the same time, they help the interested organizations of each country to become more familiar with the institutions and the procedures of the EU.
With the above projects near the end of their lifecycle, the conference will address both political and practical aspects of Euro-Mediterranean cooperation in Research and Development (R&D). The participation of a number of key players has been invited, including policy makers, project leaders, National Contact Points of the EU and Information Points of the Mediterranean region.
It has been organized into five sessions over two days. The first covers Euro-Mediterranean policies in the fields of Science and Technology. The second presents the results of the EuroMEDANet and EuroMEDANet2 projects. The third looks at good practices in Euro-Mediterranean collaboration on R&D. The fourth presents various networks that could each play a significant role in bringing together the research potential of Europe and the Mediterranean region. Finally, the fifth session looks towards the 7th Framework Programme.
This event aims to establish a sound basis for a more efficient cooperation in R&D between the EU and the Mediterranean region.