From ALF Dialogue
to the Pact
How the ALF brings youth and civil society voices to the heart
of Euro-Mediterranean policy discussions
Introduction
The Pact for the Mediterranean. One Sea, One Pact, One Future is currently being prepared by the European Commission’s DG MENA in cooperation with the European External Action Service (EEAS). The Pact comes thirty years after the launch of the Barcelona Process, aiming to provide fresh impetus to the EU’s engagement in the Mediterranean region and guide the Euro-Mediterranean cooperation in the years to come.
The Pact is developed through wide-ranging consultations with partner countries, EU Member States, and other stakeholders.
Recognising the importance of this moment, the ALF took the initiative and launched a series of participatory events to ensure that the voices of youth and civil society are placed at the heart of the Pact’s conversations.
Our Approach
Over the years, ALF has strengthened its capacity to manage, generate, and channel policy-oriented knowledge, becoming a trusted bridge between grassroots voices and EU institutions. For us, Dialogue is not a goal in itself, it is a process that leads to real change.
Every initiative we lead is guided by four key steps:
Creating Spaces for Dialogue
Bringing together youth, civil society, policymakers, and cultural actors in inclusive spaces to reflect collectively and exchange perspectives.
Capturing and Translating Insights
Documenting proposals and discussing, turning them into structured, and usable knowledge that represents every voice.
Channeling Voices To The Highest Level
Making sure proposals don’t stay on paper but reach the people who shape policy and make decisions so that grassroots and youth priorities are heard and acted upon.
Delivering Actionable Outcomes
Transforming the knowledge gathered and discussions into concrete and operational recommendations that can guide the future of the Euro-Mediterranean relations.
From ALF Dialogue to the Pact
ALF4ThePact in Action
Applying this approach in practice, ALF launched the ALF4ThePact initiative.
Creating Spaces for Dialogue
ALF organised a series of events in different cities across the Mediterranean, including Brussels, Málaga, and Granada, complemented by special sessions at the ALForum 2025 in Tirana. These gatherings brought together policymakers, youth representatives, civil society actors, and cultural practitioners, to generate concrete ideas and proposals for the future of Euro-Mediterranean cooperation.
April 2, 2025
Granada,Spain
Co-organised with the Euro-Arab Foundation for Higher Studies, one of the members of ALF National Civil Society Network in Spain, this event gathered 25 prominent stakeholders from the Euro-Med region, including 9 young leaders, alongside the Heads of Network from France, Spain, and Belgium, and ALF grassroots members from other countries.
April 15-16, 2025
Brussels, Belgium
The ALF Euro-Med Youth Policy Dialogue brought together 33 young leaders with officials from the European External Action Service and the Directorate-General for the Middle East, North Africa and the Gulf (DG MENA) of the European Commission . This included a closed-door dialogue between youth leaders and EU’s Commissioner for the Mediterranean, Dubravka Šuica.
Through informal exchanges, thematic roundtables and bilateral meetings youth engaged directly with EU officials on issues including. peacebuilding, youth empowerment and gender inclusion, socio-economic development, and shaping inclusive narratives in Euro-Mediterranean relations.
June 18-19-20, 2025
Tirana, Albania
During the ALForum 2025, attended by 800 participants, ALF Network coordinators from Belgium, France, Ireland, Morocco, Spain and Tunisia organised a series of interconnected parallel sessions on how to reframe International Cultural Relations from being a tool of soft power to fostering inclusion and common good through co-creation and mutual trust. Such insights were further unpacked in a plenary devoted to the Pact for the Mediterranean. One Sea, One Pact, One Future, where young leaders engaged in an exciting conversation with DG MENA Director-General Stefano Sannino and ALF President, Princess Rym Ali on the future of the Euro-Med region.
From ALF Dialogue to the Pact
Capturing and Translating Insights
ALF systematically documented proposals, synthesised the most important takeaways, and turned them into structured knowledge. Some contributions focused on how mobility opportunities can strengthen regional ties, foster social cohesion and cultivate a genuine sense of Euro-Med shared identity; other addressed how intercultural dialogue serves as a powerful tool to counter the polarising narratives and conflict prevention or tackled how youth can play a relevant role actively participating in regional policy-making and decision-making processes.
Channeling Voices To The Highest Level
To ensure that these proposals influenced decision-making, ALF facilitated direct exchanges between youth and EU officials including ahigh-level dialogue with Commissioner Dubravka Šuica, who is leading the work on the Pact for the Mediterranean. One Sea, One Pact, One Future. This ensured that youth voices influenced the Pact while it’s being shaped.
Delivering Actionable Outcomes
The result of this process is the consolidated contribution that ALF submitted to the European Commission: “ALF4ThePact: Putting the People-to-People and the Cultural Dimension at the Heart of Euro-Mediterranean Relations.” This position paper sets out a clear vision for the future of Euro-Mediterranean cooperation, grounded in the ALF’s accumulated experience, its diverse Programmes, particularly those that empower young people by involving them in decision-making processes, and the rich exchanges and debates culminated with the ALForum held in Tirana in June 2025.
At its core lies a strong conviction: recognising and strengthening the human and cultural ties between the EU and its Southern partners is key to reinvigorating the Euro-Mediterranean project. It is also one of the most effective ways to counter mistrust and divisive narratives across the region.
As we have said many times, there is a lot of youth 'talk', but not that much people who walk it. And what you have given us is an amazing opportunity to challenge that.
Pablo Pastor Vidal, Young MYA Researcher
Why the people-to-people and cultural dimension?
This is the principle guiding ALF’s approach to the Pact for the Mediterranean. While infrastructure, trade, and security are important, lasting cooperation in the Euro-Mediterranean region cannot be achieved without human connection and cultural exchange. Intercultural dialogue, youth participation, and cultural cooperation are not secondary considerations; they are strategic pillars.
“ Sustainable regional integration requires more than investments; it depends on the active and inclusive participation of people who identify with a shared Euro-Mediterranean space ”
Placing people and culture at the heart of the Pact means:
True Euro-Mediterranean cooperation is not only what governments and institutions decide on paper; it is also built by learning from one another, sharing experiences across borders, and weaving human ties that create a genuine sense of belonging.
Empowering youth, civil society, and cultural actors, enabling their ideas and energy to shape the region’s future actively.
Culture is not just a means of entertainment, heritage, or a tool to boost the economy. It should be valued for its social and human impact and recognised as essential for the wellbeing and cohesion of society just like education and health.
Transforming dialogues into concrete, policy-relevant recommendations and actions.
The ALF4ThePact recommendations are classified into three priority areas: Mobility, Youth, and Culture.
“ Sustainable regional integration requires more than investments; it depends on the active and inclusive participation of people who identify with a shared Euro-Mediterranean space ”
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Insights from the Dialogues
Youth representatives, cultural practitioners, and civil society leaders shared that:
Physical, face to face mobilities must remain central as virtual exchanges cannot replace the depth of understanding and shared experiences created by in person exchanges create
Existing programmes are often fragmented and inaccessible, failing to reach the grassroots level that is most in need of mobility support
Visa restrictions, lack of funding, and bureaucracy keep youth and grassroots actors out of exchange opportunities
“ Mobility is not about escaping, it’s about connecting. It’s about shaping regional narratives from within ”
“ Mobility is how young people express interest in one another, learn, collaborate, question, innovate, and grow together ”
Insights from the Dialogues
Young leaders, civil society organisations, and cultural practitioners called for:
Recognise youth not as beneficiaries but as partners, and co-creators of policy solutions and regional initiatives
Meaningful and structured participation and consultation mechanisms that move beyond tokenism and include youth at every stage: design, implementation, monitoring, and evaluation
Capacity building and enabling environments through programmes that equip youth with tools to influence policy and lead transformative change
Spaces where youth can collaborate, exchange ideas, and jointly challenge polarising narratives and disinformation
Support for the Youth, Peace, and Security Agenda, building on the momentum of UNSCR 2250 to empower youth as actors of peace
ALF Recommendation
Establish a Euro-Med Youth Assembly lead by the ALF Secretariat that brings together intergenerational elected representatives from national parliaments alongside selected delegates from youth-led and youth-oriented organisations and networks across the region, building on its experience in cooperating with the PA-UfM and EP DMED Promote further synergies between the ALF and the UfM with regards to youth participation in Ministerial meetings in different fields of common interest.
Promote further synergies between the ALF and the UfM with regards to youth participation in Ministerial meetings in different fields of common interest.
Insights from the Dialogues
Participants shared that:
Grassroots organisations and small local initiatives need more support and funding to participate in cultural cooperation
Civil society plays a key role as the “soft infrastructure” that keeps cooperation alive and meaningful
South-South exchanges are as important as North-South ones and must be supported to create inclusive parterships
Diaspora communities can help stregthen ties between both shores
Cultural cooperation needs to be taken seriously with sustainable investments, clear priorities, and stronger links between existing initiatives so its impact can truly be felt across the region
ALF Recommendation
Organise a Euro-Mediterranean Ministerial meeting on culture and people-to-people approach in coordination with the ALF and UfM,as kick-off of the Euro-med dimension of the EU Cultural Compass
Design and coordinate an ad hoc programme to foster Euro-Mediterranean International Cultural Relations, capitalising on initiatives that have proved very fruitful, such as the Day of the Mediterranean and the Mediterranean Capitals of Culture and Dialogue
Thank you so much for your amazing support and for trusting us to represent youth from our region on such high level spheres, we understand the responsability and we also wish the best for the next youth representatives ! Thank you also to your amazing collaborators on the internal staff, who accompanied and mentored us with professionalism and patience
Rounak Nasri, Young MYA Influencer