Second International Seminar on Mediterranean Cities
| Subject: International Relations
MedCities participates with various lectures on the problems and challenges of the Mediterranean cities
The Second International Seminar of Mediterranean Cities on Space and Territory was held from 22 to 25 November, and was organised by the Institut of Catalan Studies (IEC) at its headquarters, in collaboration with MedCities, as well as other local and regional institutions, including the European Institute of the Mediterranean (IEMed) and the Barcelona Provincial Council and under the auspices of the Internacional Union of Academies (UAI).
The seminar included lectures and panel discussions that looked at the study of the historical evolution of space and territory in the Mediterranean cities, from prehistory to the present day, as a tool to find the roots of today's problems. Among the issues discussed were whether it makes sense to talk about the Mediterranean as a unit throughout history, the current problems of Mediterranean cities, and how heritage can be revitalised as an element of cities' identity.
MedCities participated actively, with three lectures. The international expert Farouk Tebbal presented the challenges and problems of Mediterranean cities, using concrete examples, and the issues surrounding decentralisation in countries such as Tunisia, Morocco and Algeria; Xavier Casanovas, president of RehabiMed, highlighted the value of heritage as an element of cities' identity, and on the final day, Xavier Tiana, secretary general of MedCities, participated in a round table discussion on the problems of the Mediterranean cities.
According to scientific analysis carried out since the first Seminar on Mediterranean Cities: civilisation and development which took place in 2011, the space inside the urban area and the territory around cities are considered very important, because they can play a key role in the development of their societies, as this is their area of influence. ?