Our ninth and last episode rounds up our Mediterranean adventure by taking a look at the Mediterranean Sea basin in its entirety. This time we set sail for the Centre for Mediterranean Integration (CMI) and its director Blanca Moreno-Dodson. As a partnership between multilateral development institutions, national governments, local authorities, and civil society, hosted by the United Nations Office for Project Services, CMI works to turn the Mediterranean basin into an area of dialogue, exchange, and cooperation.
''If the sea could speak, it would not recognise whether you are from the North or from the South. It would focus on all the richness that you can find in the sea. It is for us to decide whether it is the sea that unites us or at sea that separates us.' '(Blanca)
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As a senior economist, Blanca previously worked at various international institutions. She has over twenty-eight years of experience as a World Bank development economist, including several positions as lead economist, mainly for the Global Tax Team, the West Africa Region, the Investment Climate Department, and the Office of the Vice-President for Poverty Reduction and Economic Management. Blanca authored and co-authored five books throughout her career including “Enhancing Mediterranean Integration” (CMI, 2020).
Together with Blanca, we discuss the role of a sustainable Mediterranean Sea for integration, its opportunities and challenges, the place for innovations and reasons for hope.
''I think that everything related to the environment is key for the future of this region because solutions must be found urgently. It's something that we have to start doing right away. Making sure that the rural areas, which are really essential for the development of the region, are preserved to allow the rural population to have a livelihood and contribute to food security in the region. All these issues require coordination. For us, all these are different dimensions of Mediterranean integration. It's not only economic, it's social, it's environmental.'' (Blanca)
Read our episode transcript here.
Learn more about the Centre for Mediterranean Integration here: https://www.cmimarseille.org/