The Project is in line with the Agenda for the EU’s partnership with the Southern Neighbourhood and builds on the achievements of the EU-funded AfricaConnect and EUMEDCONNECT digitally-focused programmes.

It seeks to further reinforce the role and capacities of national research and education networks (NRENs) in the Southern Neighbourhood and of their pan-Arab umbrella organisation ASREN in supporting research and education (R&E) with focus on long-term sustainability and business planning as well as promotion of gender equality.

EUMEDplus aims to improve access to modern digital infrastructures and technologies. Specifically, it will assist the North African NRENs in devising and implementing national readiness strategies to maximise utilisation of the Medusa submarine cable project, the implementation of the EU’s first digital global Gateway undertaking, which will secure high-capacity, long-term connectivity between North Africa and Europe and thus accelerate collaborative R&E, alleviate the digital divide and stimulate innovation across the two shores of the Mediterranean.
Furthermore, the Project will ensure continuous access to leased high-speed and secure broadband connectivity in the Eastern Mediterranean countries and investigate the feasibility of expanding the Medusa system towards the Levant.

Furthermore, EUMEDplus will tackle the challenge of making data infrastructures scalable and value-added services, tools and applications accessible to end-users with focus on open science as guiding principle and undertake targeted advocacy efforts to promote the NREN value proposition in the respective national and regional R&E ecosystems.

The overall objective of EUMEDplus is enhanced digital connectivity in the EU’s Southern Neighbourhood as vector of human capacity development through:

• reinforcing the role and capabilities of the Arab networking organisation ASREN and the national research and education networks (NRENs) to drive digital transformation in support of the research and education sector;
• increasing access to high-speed digital connectivity infrastructure (including Medusa) by research and education communities in the Southern Neighbourhood.

Overall objective

Enhance connectivity in the Southern Neighbourhood as a vector of human capacity development.

SO1

Reinforce the role and capabilities of ASREN and NRENs throug specific actions to increase their capacities, including promotion of gender equality.

• Output 1
  ASREN’s/NREN’s organisational capacities in managing enhanced connectivity in support of their research and education communities are expanded.

SO2

Increase access to high-speed digital connectivity infrastructure (including Medusa) by research and education institutions in the Southern Neighbourhood.

• Output 2
  Affordable, high-speed connectivity infrastructure to NRENs and research and education communities are ensured.
• Output 3
  Ability of R&E communities to better manage, use and exchange education, research and scientific data is increased.