Rabat: Organized in partnership with the Government of Catalonia, the European Institute of the Mediterranean (IEMed), and the Spanish Embassy in Rabat, the event reflects a deepening collaboration between the university and several Spanish academic institutions. Running through July 11, the initiative aims to foster a Euro-Mediterranean space for dialogue and exchange, grounded in values of tolerance, intercultural understanding, and critical inquiry.
According to Agence Marocaine De Presse, the summer school serves as a platform for academic reflection, bringing together Moroccan and Spanish researchers, students, experts, and specialists. Through a multidisciplinary and critical lens, participants will explore pressing themes such as migration, international relations, cultural diversity, environmental challenges, academic discourse, and cultural diplomacy. Organizers envision this gathering as a concrete step toward nurturing collective thought and intellectual cooperation, with the broader goal of cultivating new academic traditions that embody the spirit of Mediterranean partnership.
Speaking to MAP, Spanish Ambassador Enrique Ojeda Vila underscored the Mediterranean’s historic role as a bridge for dialogue and exchange between the region’s northern and southern shores. He praised the university’s pioneering efforts in hosting this reflective forum. ‘We are living in a time of profound complexity in the Mediterranean, often marked by division, which only reinforces the need for dialogue and collective reflection between our two shores,’ he said.
Jaume Duch, Catalonia’s Conseller for the European Union and External Relations, described the summer school as a vital academic platform to share the Catalan government’s initiatives in international cooperation across the Mediterranean. ‘The economic, political, and environmental shifts affecting our region concern us all,’ he noted, emphasizing the urgent need for stronger regional cooperation.
The Moroccan university’s President Bouchta El Moumni added that the summer school represents a dynamic and evolving partnership with Spanish academic institutions, including more than 20 cooperation agreements, many with universities in Andalusia. Significantly, this is the first time Aula Mediterr nia (Catalan for ‘Mediterranean classroom’) is being hosted in the southern Mediterranean. Now in its 11th edition, the program brings together 17 master’s programs from universities across the region, including, for the first time, a program from the Faculty of Letters and Human Sciences in Martil.