Happy birthday. The Med-Or Foundation, established by the Leonardo group in May 2021 to strengthen relationships between Italy, Europe, and countries within the broader Mediterranean region, is celebrating its third anniversary.
- As part of this milestone, the organization has compiled a summary of its activities thus far. These include initiatives in public diplomacy, higher education, professional training, joint research projects with international think tanks and research institutes, and collaborations in scientific and training fields.
- According to chairman Marco Minniti, the organization’s primary goal is to “develop new collaborative opportunities in the realms of both science and sociocultural aspects, with participation from public and institutional figures, as well as professionals and academics.
The numbers… clearly show Med-Or’s success in just three years. It has established 600 advanced education, vocational education, and educational support programs. It has also initiated ten research projects on space, security, energy connectivity, climate and environment, defence, and digital development in the MENA region.
- Additionally, they have entered into 80 partnerships through memorandums of understanding, focusing on cultural diplomacy and cross-fertilization. They have also published 200 articles on relevant topics such as geopolitics and strategy and benefited 30 countries through scholarships for students and researchers.
- Moreover, the Foundation has worked with various countries and institutional partners, including Algeria, the UAE, Jordan, Kurdistan, Iraq, Lebanon, Morocco, Mauritania, Niger, Qatar, Somalia, Sudan, Turkey, and Yemen, to develop cultural initiatives and research and training projects. They have also established agreements with regional research institutes and think tanks in Turkey, Greece, UAE, Israel, Saudi Arabia, USA, Vietnam, Bahrain, and India.
- It is worth mentioning the cultural initiatives promoted by the Foundation, such as the exhibition “Mediterranea. Visions of an ancient and complex sea” launched in Lebanon and the event “Nouakchott: Arab magic between past and future” dedicated to showcasing the Mauritanian capital as the cultural centre of the Islamic world in 2023.
A leadership role. The Foundation has also significantly produced research and strategic analysis projects, promoting relevance in today’s sociopolitical climate. Recently, they compiled two reports, “Med-Or Annual Report 2023” and “Med-Or Yearbook 2024,” which provide analyses of the key events and facts of 2022 and 2023, respectively.
- Other important special reports include “The Silent Enemy: Presence and Evolution of the Jihadist Threat in the Broader Mediterranean”, which examined the state of terrorism and jihadist radicalism just two days before the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7th, and “The crisis in the Red Sea and the implications for Italy”, a detailed analysis of the Red Sea, Gulf of Aden, and the larger context surrounding the Horn of Africa.
- Overall, the Med-Or Foundation has established a significant leadership role in research and academic cooperation in recent years, further bridging the gap between Italy and its regional partners. This has been achieved through the promotion of constructive dialogue and international cooperation, as well as cultural initiatives, research, and scientific projects.
