Verso Sud: International Mediterranean Forum



The International Mediterranean Forum: "Verso Sud (Looking Southward): Europe's strategy for a new geopolitical, economic and socio-cultural season in the Mediterranean" is an international public-private platform launched in collaboration with and under the patronage of the Italian Government, with the aim of bringing together, in a single think tank, the best companies and Institutions and representatives of academy and research, in order to build, enhance and communicate a new idea of Southern Italy and the Mediterranean.

The 3rd edition edition started with the goal of achieving a greater engagement of Southern and Mediterranean territories than what has been done so far. This region is currently affected by wars, crises and tensions, with unprecedented human and socio-economic costs. Our role is supporting the elaboration of content and proposals for policies and extended collaboration, placing Italy and, in particular, the South, at the centre of this effort and continuing to promote dialogue, mutual understanding, and the possibility of creating development through cooperation. 

The project is supported by the Minister for European Affairs, the South, cohesion policies and the NRRP, and FS Group, Intesa Sanpaolo, CISE - Confederazione Italiana Sviluppo Economico, Coldiretti, Edison, Mediocredito Centrale - Invitalia, MSC Group, and Adler Group.



The "Verso Sud" Forum

The final event will take place on May 17-18, in Sorrento, with a preview on May 16 that will be dedicated to the youth. 

In 2024, the initiative will involve the countries of the Euro-Mediterranean area, including speakers and heads of national and foreign companies. It will host, among others, Italy's Minister for European Affairs, the South, Cohesion Policies and the PNRR, Raffaele Fitto, and the Minister for Civil protection and Marine Policies, Nello Musumeci, in the presence of theAdvisory Board, made up of TEHA, Partner companies and institutions, and the Scientific Committee.

Among the confirmed speakers: Mohammed Bin Abdulaziz Al-Khulaifi (Minister of Foreign Affairs, Qatar), Mohamed Arkab (Minister of Energy and Mines, Algeria), Giuseppe Berutti Bergotto (Deputy Chief of the Italian Navy), Chiara Cardoletti (UNHCR Representative for Italy), Nicola Carlone (Commander General of the Italian Coast Guard), Fatma Thabet Chiboub (Minister of Industry, Mines and Energy, Tunisia), Gregorio De Felice (Head of Research and Chief Economist, Intesa Sanpaolo), Valerio De Molli (Managing Partner and CEO, The European House – Ambrosetti), Michele Emiliano (President, Puglia Region), Raffaele Fitto (Minister for European Affairs, Southern Italy, Cohesion Policy and the NRRP, Italy), Bruno Genzana (President of the Youth Commission, Sud Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur, France), Nasser Kamel (Secretary General, Union for the Mediterranean), Saleh Kharabsheh (Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources, Jordan), Matteo Lorito (Rector, University of Naples Federico II), Marco Marsilio (President, Abruzzo Region), Francesco Minotti (CEO, Mediocredito Centrale – Invitalia), Nicola Monti (CEO, Edison), Nello Musumeci (Minister for Civil protection and Marine Policies, Italy), Roberto Occhiuto (President, Calabria Region), Alberto Orioli (Deputy Editor-in-Chief, Il Sole 24 Ore), Ettore Prandini (President, Coldiretti), Vesna Pusič (Professor of Sociology and Political Theory, University of Zagreb; former Minister of Foreign and European Affairs and First Deputy Prime Minister, Croatian Government), Jeton Raka (Deputy Minister of Environment, Spatial Planning and Infrastructure, Kosovo), Giosy Romano (President, Italian Confederation for Economic Development – CISE), Abdulaziz Sager (Founder and Chair, Gulf Research Center), Amr Ezzat Salama (President, Association of Arab Universities), Paolo Scudieri (President, Gruppo Adler), Badreddine Toumi (Minister of Local Government, Libya), Gelsomina Vigliotti (Vice-President, European Investment Bank – EIB).

Scientific Committee

Francesco De Core (Director, Il Mattino; Deputy Director, Il Corriere dello Sport), Arancha González Laya (Dean, Sciences Po - Paris School for International Affairs; formerly, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Spain), Patrizia Lombardi (Vice-rector, Politecnico di Torino; President, Universities for a Sustainable Development Network - RUS), Stefano Manservisi (Professor, Sciences Po - Paris School for International Affairs and EUI School of Transnational Governance; former Director General, International Cooperation and Development, European Commission).

The topics

The third edition will explore the challenges of attractiveness of Southern Italy in the Euro-Mediterranean framework, starting from:

• Proofs of Cooperation and Peace in the Mediterranean: Middle-East Horizon; Balkan Horizon
• Beyond Food Security, Food as a Tool for Growth, Dialogue and Soft Power; Focus on the "Mattei Plan"
  
• The Demography and Human Capital Challenge
• A New Energy Vision for the South
• The Voice of the Regions
  
• Investments for Growth: infrastructures; sea as a resource: maritime security, emerging and adapting supply chains; innovation and business networking

During the event, we will present the new edition of the "White Book" of the Verso Sud project, and the updated Mediterranean Sustainable Development Index (MSDI), an innovative monitoring index for the positioning of South Italy within the Mediterranean, with regards to the Sustainable Development Goals of the UN's 2030 Agenda.