On November 11, 2021, MEDREC (Mediterranean Renewable Energy Center) brought together decision-makers and key stakeholders from Tunisia, Algeria, Morocco, France, and Italy for a side event during the Glasgow Climate Change Conference (COP26), in collaboration with the Tunisian International Organization of the Ministry of Water of La Francophonie and the Institute of La Francophonie for Sustainable Development.
The main objective of the event was to form a core group of key stakeholders to share knowledge and experiences on green and sustainable jobs for economic recovery and social inclusion in agriculture and rural areas in North Africa.
The side event included:
1. A number of presentations highlighting the speakers’ experiences and feedback on:
– Digital technologies for promoting green jobs in North Africa;
– Projects to support green investments in the Tunisian agricultural sector;
– Green jobs on the horizon in the North African region;
– Outreach Program for Integrated Rural Development (PPDRI) and the green dam in Algeria;
– REFAT project, implemented by MEDREC, as an example for promoting green jobs in Tunisia.
2. A roundtable discussion involving decision-makers and key stakeholders was very dynamic and resulted in the following recommendations:
Local and broader contexts must be taken into account in order to adapt technological solutions to the territorial conditions of North African countries;
There is a need to focus on the design and implementation of training and capacity-building programs at all levels;
Gender is an important consideration: the considerable contribution of rural women to green job creation must be highlighted;
Financing schemes and mechanisms must be innovative: for example, tax incentives must be granted for entrepreneurship/investment in green projects, particularly in rural areas.
At the end of the event, the speakers agreed to create a collaborative core with the aim of proposing a regional project (North Africa) focused on green job creation, which will be submitted to funding programs/agencies, based on successful projects and initiatives in the region, as well as synergies between the various stakeholders. A second meeting will be organized in the coming weeks.