The Summit
The Middle East and Mediterranean (MEM) Summer Summit stems from years of experience and research at the Università della Svizzera italiana. In 2018, with the support of the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs, the MEM Summer Summit was launched, with a focus on youth and their future.
The MEM Summer Summit offers the opportunity to bring together young people from the Middle East Mediterranean region, who do not usually have opportunities to meet, by providing them with a safe space to imagine and experiment with common projects, to develop new narratives and to transform challenges into opportunities.
The Summit 2024
The seventh edition of the Summit, now called MEM Summit, was held from 4 to 9 November 2024.
Objectives
Our main objectives are:
- to offer a safe space for dialogue between young change-makers from the Middle East Mediterranean region where to lay out a vision for common future of the region, by starting from the present
- to build a common ground and intergenerational exchange between young people and decision-makers, public and private institutions, non-profit organisations, social enterprises
- to develop novel approaches to tackle persisting critical issues
- to act as a breeding ground for developing across border and multilateral project proposals
- to initiate collaboration and start networks among several actors in the region
The Summit is composed of a Seminar and a Forum that take place in Lugano, Switzerland.
Objectives
Our main objectives are:
- to offer a safe space for dialogue between young change-makers from the Middle East Mediterranean region where to lay out a vision for common future of the region, by starting from the present
- to build a common ground and intergenerational exchange between young people and decision-makers, public and private institutions, non-profit organisations, social enterprises
- to develop novel approaches to tackle persisting critical issues
- to act as a breeding ground for developing across border and multilateral project proposals
- to initiate collaboration and start networks among several actors in the region
MEM Highlights
Watch the highlights of MEM’s journey until now – 6 Editions, 540 Young change-makers from 35 Countries, 360 Speakers, 18 Cultural events, 20 Collaborations and projects, 7 Workshops in the MEM region and countless life-changing moments.
Meet the young participants of the MEM 2023
Watch the interviews with the young participants of the MEM 2023. The MEM Sessions interviews were realised in collaboration with Radio Gwen, and the first episode features two of the facilitators of the MEM 2023, who are also MEM Alumni from 2022 – Younes Zangiabadi and Tom Vizel.