Coordination of the Balkan Pole for the Mediterranean Citizens Assemble – MCA/ACM

Funded from the Charles Leopold Mayer Foundation for the Advancement of People (FPH) QSKN has committed itself to participating in the process of construction of the Mediterranean Citizens’ Assembly, a regional dynamics that will aim to contribute to the construction of a common, long-lasting space of peace, development, solidarity and prosperity shared by the Mediterranean peoples. QSKN Regional coordination efforts are being organized to provide a forum for teamwork, collaboration, and cooperation to occur through physical meetings and virtual co-location. QSKN coordination initiative is meant to be complementary to other existing regional ACM Poles that pursue the same objectives. The challenge coordinating these efforts within the region is that coordinated response requires leveraging currently held resources in innovative and potentially more efficient ways, as well as establishing new processes, communication flows, and a system of coordination that satisfies the needs of all stakeholders (circles). In addition, trust, collaboration, and timely cross-boundary information sharing all play a pivotal role in coordinating the Balkan’s Pole.

Organizing the annual meeting in Tirana

QSKN, based on the QSKN-FPH convention 2015, was one of the main organizers of the annual meeting in Tirana, 23-26 Jully 2015

Mrs. Xhindi opened the meeting by welcoming the participants and emphasizing that 2015 marks the beginning of a new period of cooperation between the MCA circles.

During these two days, we had an opportune time to renew contacts and discuss problems of mutual interest for the next two years. This included significant decision regarding future cooperation and administration of resources. The workshop was be focused on the instruments for building a long-term and stable cooperation on activities and actions in the Mediterranean region, the main tools to promote and strengthen the cooperation and work on priorities and themes that should be addressed, in line with the principles of co-ownership and co-funding.

Economic actors across the region are faced with a challenging political, social and economic backdrop, which will take a considered policy approach and considerable time to overcome. What is important, however, is that opportunities for growth do exist: in each sector and in each country, new ideas and new potential are waiting to be developed. The workshop gave us new insight into how the MCA can contribute to bringing this potential to fruition.

No matter how much we can do by ourselves on the national level, whether it be research or development, it is never enough. In a spirit of true cooperation, we in this region of the world, proud of nurturing all past and present civilizations and cultures, must join in an action-oriented effort to Mediterranean area.

Round table: Public communication and the Mediterranean Politics (May 2015)

QSKN, the members of the circle of Tirana and some researchers from universities, from the departments of Political and International Relation Studies, and also from the department of PR and Communication discussed the issues of communication and policy in Mediterranean basin and how to promote collaboration and undertake many different actions in order to develop a stronger Mediterranean Partnership, with the objective of avoiding the emergence of new dividing lines between the enlarged EU and its neighbors and instead, as the European Neighborhood Policy advises: ‘strengthening the prosperity, stability and security of all concerned”.

Collaboration implies communication. Working across the border of the Mediterranean results in communicating with people who are different in language, nationality, ethnic heritage. Hence intercultural/interpersonal communication implies a dialogue that involves a small number of people who can interact with one another, and who, therefore, are able both to adapt their messages specifically to the others and to obtain immediate interpretations from them. Within an intercultural setting, nonverbal and verbal communication emphasizes the differences in cultures, so these cultural differences need to be managed carefully, requiring sensitivity on both sides.

Culture has been recognized as an essential element for people’s mutual understanding and improved perception of each other across the shores of the Mediterranean. Intercultural communication, the practice of exchanging meaningful and unambiguous information across cultural boundaries, preserving mutual respect and minimizing antagonism, is the place where culture and interaction come to a synthesis, it is an essential competence.

Intercultural communication is therefore a central process in the Mediterranean dialogue. In this roundtable we tried to formulate a practical model providing some principles useful for the development of appropriate skills and methods to improve communication in the Region. We discussed examples dealing with communication between Albanians, Italians and Greek, giving a key to communication within the management of difference.

Coordination of the Balkan Pole for the Mediterranean Citizens’ Assembly – MCA/ACM, funded by the Charles Leopold Mayer Foundation for the Advancement of People (FPH)

QSKN has committed itself to participating in the process of the construction of the Mediterranean Citizens’ Assembly, an initiative that contributes to the construction of a common, long-lasting space of peace, development, solidarity and prosperity shared by the Mediterranean peoples. The process of the Mediterranean Citizens’ Assembly also aims to promote and create Local Mediterranean Citizens’ Circles in the different countries of the region.

QSKN takes over from the European University of Tirana, which had the coordination role for the period 2011-2014, and is now the Coordinator for the Balkan Pole of the ACM. Regional coordination efforts are focused on the provision of a forum for teamwork, collaboration, and cooperation to occur through physical meetings and virtual co-location. QSKN initiative is meant to be complementary to other existing regional ACM Poles that pursue the same objectives.

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