MED Dialogue for Rights & Equality is an EU-funded Technical Assistance Programme with the overall objective to strengthen the role of CSOs active at the regional scale, in building sustainable development, regional cohesion and resilience, as well as in influencing policy-making in the Southern Neighborhood and the Euro-Mediterranean Space. ‘Mobilising local communities on regional issues of common concerns to influence the agenda of public decision-makers and regional institutions, and involve CSOs in emerging regional agendas and thematic dialogues’ is its core specificity. The 3-years Programme (2019 – 2022) consists of four policy components and a communication and visibility strategy:

1. Strengthen the involvement of CSOs and CSO networks in emerging regional agendas and thematic dialogues, sustainably reinforcing their ability to coordinate and network with their peers from the region.
2. Support Majalat, the newly-created regional hub for structured dialogue at regional level and with the EU.
3. Reinforce the participation of young women and men in public life by expanding programmes for young civil society leaders. 4: Support CSOs’ role in developing resilience and stability at regional level, and 5: Communication and Visibility

In order to meet its ambitions, the Programme – of which this contract will be a part – has developed a strategy with the aim to addressing the needs of the civil society in the Neighborhood South as an agent for change from a regional perspective, where Mediterranean exchanges both South-South and North-South are enhanced; and the shrinking of civil society spaces in the region is challenged. It aims as well at strengthening civil society and young female and male activists in their capacity to strategize, cooperate together, advocate for rights and social cohesion, and sustainable development.

The Programme shall support CSOs so that they can better face the region’s crisis and instability factors, focusing particularly on the following regional challenges: – Confronting socio-economic inequalities, – Preventing youth radicalization & developing critical thinking, – Addressing the ecological challenge, – Aiming at institutions serving the citizens.

DESCRIPTION OF THE SHORT TERM MISSION

General objective

As a boosting step of its early development stage, MED Dialogue for Rights & Equality is launching an exciting consultation process that offers civil society actors and stakeholders a dialogue platform, aimed at shaping a shared vision of the Mediterranean for the years to come. This shared envisioning exercise will provide a useful framework and the opportunity for CSOs and other stakeholders to develop a coherent, shared set of conceptualizations, goals, and values for the future of the region that shape its development path, preserves its rich natural heritage, and celebrates its unique character.

The consultation will take place in three steps: – Two South-South consultation workshops, one for the Maghreb area (planned indicatively 18-21 July 2019 – South-South Workshop 1), and the other for the Mashrek area (planned indicatively 25-28 October 2019 – South-South Workshop 2), and – One North-South consultation workshop, gathering participants from the two Mediterranean shores, and based upon the outputs of the previous consultations (expected beginning 2020).

The objective of the consultation process is to come with the drafting of a document of vision of the Mediterranean region as a common space, and a lasting environment for cooperation and political construction. It would be a sort of manifesto on the Mediterranean for the years to come, whereby the roadmap and the process required to reaching such a vision are to be discussed as well.

The South-South consultations will be combined with capacity development on dialogue and negotiation techniques to equip participants with tools and techniques to scale-up their capacities in that matter, strengthen their regional networks, and eventually promote policy dialogue at a regional level.

Specific objectives

The specific objectives of the assignment are: – Articulating and shaping hopes and expectations of civil society players and other actors and developing a shared vision of the Mediterranean amongst civil society actors and stakeholders. – Developing strategies, actions and partnerships to make the vision a potentially achievable horizon, – Facilitating exchange of experiences and networking among CSOs and other actors, – Strengthening dialogue and negotiation techniques of participants to scale-up their capacities in policy dialogue at a regional level, – Drafting a citizens’ statement, a manifesto on the Mediterranean for the years to come.

The Senior Facilitator will work in partnership with a Junior facilitator.