The Cross Border Cooperation Programme in the Mediterranean Basin (CBCMed) organized a conference to mark the passage to the new phase under the European Neighbourhood Instrument (ENI) which will run during 2014-2020. The ‘NextMed’ Conference took place on December 12, 2014, in Rome, under the sponsorship of the Italian Presidency of the Council of the European Union, and welcomed the participation of over 500 people from public administrations, local institutions, universities, NGOs, civil society, international organizations, and the private sector from the whole Mediterranean basin.

The conference showcased the achievements of Cross-Border Cooperation in the Mediterranean region through projects that are managed actively & cooperatively by all countries in this programme and highlighted the future challenges for the region. ASCAME’s SG and a large number of its members participated in this conference to confirm the willingness of the different Euro-Mediterranean countries to strengthen the cultural bridges between Mediterranean countries, and to work hand in hand towards a developed Mediterranean on the economic, political, cultural and social spheres.

Large attention was paid to projects during the nextMed Conference. An exhibition, together with a set of four thematic brochures under the title “Mediterranean Stories”, offered a unique journey through the 95 projects funded by the Programme. The 20 ENPI projects from the ASCAME network that participate in the event are FOSTEr in MED, GMI, Shaams, Med Diet, Optimed, Lactimed, E.H.P.P.C, EDILE, EGREJOB, GOALS, GR. ENE.CO, MED 3R, MED MOBIL, MED Generation, PRIME, Slowmed, Sustexnet, TexMed clusters and Umayyad Route.