1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:07,560 For the past decade, the Euro-Mediterranean partnership of 35 countries in Europe and 2 00:00:07,560 --> 00:00:12,000 the Mediterranean basin has sought to bring people together across cultural divides, its 3 00:00:12,000 --> 00:00:19,320 core ambition to create a region of peace, prosperity and stability. 4 00:00:19,320 --> 00:00:23,680 In order to achieve those objectives and with leadership from the European Union, this partnership 5 00:00:23,680 --> 00:00:27,120 is working to facilitate the growth of free trade throughout the Mediterranean and Middle 6 00:00:27,120 --> 00:00:32,360 East. But political instability and illegal migration continue to cause concern. Improving 7 00:00:32,360 --> 00:00:41,440 people's lives to prevent these problems happening has been an important target for EU funding. 8 00:00:41,440 --> 00:00:45,160 The Middle Eastern Kingdom of Jordan is a microcosm for some of the challenges faced 9 00:00:45,160 --> 00:00:50,200 by the Euro-Med partnership. Despite recent reforms and growth, debt, unemployment and 10 00:00:50,200 --> 00:00:54,720 poverty remain fundamental issues. For the Jordanian government, education is key to 11 00:00:54,720 --> 00:00:59,080 their future success and ensuring that all children receive schooling is a particular 12 00:00:59,080 --> 00:01:00,080 priority. 13 00:01:00,080 --> 00:01:08,440 The region at large is facing a big problem in terms of illiteracy and dropouts in many 14 00:01:08,440 --> 00:01:13,280 parts of the region, of course, and on that regard it's very critical that all countries 15 00:01:13,280 --> 00:01:20,800 have to show commitment in terms of targeting these dropouts by providing them with different 16 00:01:20,800 --> 00:01:26,360 forms of literacy training and employment at the same time. 17 00:01:26,360 --> 00:01:30,680 One EU-funded project, which partners with the Department of Education, encourages at-risk 18 00:01:30,680 --> 00:01:35,120 children back into school. Children drop out of school for a number of reasons, the most 19 00:01:35,120 --> 00:01:40,800 common working to support their families. Thirteen-year-old Amir al-Natour is just one 20 00:01:40,800 --> 00:01:46,080 of over 100,000 school dropouts in Jordan. Many of these children work up to 70 hours 21 00:01:46,080 --> 00:01:59,320 a week for a miniscule wage, and with no education, they are open to exploitation. 22 00:01:59,320 --> 00:02:03,800 Reading is very important. One must learn how to read. One cannot find work without 23 00:02:03,800 --> 00:02:13,960 being able to read and calculate. When I finish my school, I'd like to work and start my business. 24 00:02:13,960 --> 00:02:18,320 These education programs work in the long term to offset illegal migration by providing 25 00:02:18,320 --> 00:02:22,240 children with real opportunities to become skilled workers in their own country or across 26 00:02:22,240 --> 00:02:26,840 the region. 27 00:02:26,840 --> 00:02:31,540 The vocational education program is carried out by facilitators, not teachers, which helps 28 00:02:31,540 --> 00:02:36,400 to break down barriers. School doesn't begin until five in the afternoon to allow children 29 00:02:36,400 --> 00:02:40,840 to juggle their jobs with their learning. Importantly, school is also giving them back 30 00:02:40,840 --> 00:02:50,560 their sense of identity. 31 00:02:50,560 --> 00:02:54,440 I asked one of the children, when was your date of birth, and he said, maybe it is on 32 00:02:54,440 --> 00:03:01,200 my birth certificate. Now he deals with the birth certificate as an official document, 33 00:03:01,200 --> 00:03:05,600 and for them I am looking forward to a bright future and a big change in their lives and 34 00:03:05,600 --> 00:03:16,400 that they will achieve prosperity in their country. 35 00:03:16,400 --> 00:03:20,560 The establishment of a free trade zone across the region is one element of this strategic 36 00:03:20,560 --> 00:03:26,200 Euro-Mediterranean partnership. This zone will include some 40 states in the EU's neighbourhood 37 00:03:26,200 --> 00:03:35,880 with 500 million consumers. Businesses on all sides are acutely aware of the potential. 38 00:03:35,880 --> 00:03:39,680 Allied for Dead Sea Products is a Jordanian business which combines the minerals of the 39 00:03:39,680 --> 00:03:44,200 famous Dead Sea waters into a range of cosmetic products. Keen to capitalise on the export 40 00:03:44,200 --> 00:03:49,120 potential of his products, managing director Imad Khadoura looked to the European market 41 00:03:49,120 --> 00:03:55,600 but found that there is more to deal with the EU than he first expected. 42 00:03:55,600 --> 00:04:00,240 Every country has different laws applied, even though we are all in Europe. For example, 43 00:04:00,240 --> 00:04:04,920 we thought of a greater Europe, we would have one law, or we would have one regulation, 44 00:04:04,920 --> 00:04:09,240 but actually we were surprised and stunned to learn that every country still had its 45 00:04:09,240 --> 00:04:15,360 own regulations. For example, some countries regard these cosmetics as pharmaceuticals 46 00:04:15,360 --> 00:04:18,960 and they need to be registered with the Ministry of Health. 47 00:04:18,960 --> 00:04:23,140 Learning to negotiate these trading subtleties was helped by the local European Information 48 00:04:23,140 --> 00:04:30,300 Correspondence Centre. EICC put Imad Khadoura in touch with a European distributor. Face-to-face 49 00:04:30,300 --> 00:04:36,860 meetings have greatly increased his knowledge and his market. 50 00:04:36,860 --> 00:04:42,580 We saw his necessities and needs, and also we understood from him that there are a set 51 00:04:42,580 --> 00:04:48,300 of regulations that we have to abide to, and at the same time he explained to us about 52 00:04:48,300 --> 00:04:54,900 the markets, about what is needed, and just information. 53 00:04:54,900 --> 00:04:59,760 North of Jordan's capital, Amman, Hattin refugee camp is a physical reminder of the complicated 54 00:04:59,760 --> 00:05:06,760 political landscape in which the Euro-Mediterranean partnership exists. Hattin is home to 45,000 55 00:05:07,300 --> 00:05:12,760 Palestinian refugees who have full rights as Jordanian citizens. At national and local 56 00:05:12,760 --> 00:05:17,180 level much work has been done to ensure that these young men and women have an economic 57 00:05:17,180 --> 00:05:22,800 future in this society. 58 00:05:22,800 --> 00:05:26,100 Communication across cultural divides has been a cornerstone of the partnership agreement 59 00:05:26,100 --> 00:05:31,020 signed ten years ago in Barcelona. Learning to understand and accept each other's culture 60 00:05:31,020 --> 00:05:38,020 is vital in a region that has suffered decades of political instability, war and terrorism. 61 00:05:41,380 --> 00:05:45,020 Painting a new international image of the different cultures was the motivation behind 62 00:05:45,020 --> 00:05:49,740 a workshop and exhibition held in Jordan earlier this year. The project, now in its 63 00:05:49,740 --> 00:05:54,220 second year, involved six artists from Europe and the Middle East coming together to share 64 00:05:54,220 --> 00:05:56,220 their creativity. 65 00:05:56,220 --> 00:06:03,220 I think it's an instrument for changing attitudes, bringing people of different nationalities 66 00:06:06,460 --> 00:06:12,660 together to express themselves in art, in music, and I think it's a fulfillment of the 67 00:06:12,660 --> 00:06:17,660 dream of the Barcelona process that we, after all, became a member of ten years ago, so 68 00:06:17,660 --> 00:06:19,660 it's a good anniversary, I think, to celebrate. 69 00:06:19,660 --> 00:06:25,660 There's been a lot of good collaboration and group energy, and I've learned a lot about 70 00:06:25,660 --> 00:06:31,420 how different people work, which is different than being tied up in a studio, which is what 71 00:06:31,420 --> 00:06:36,340 these things are all about, travelling and coming across new techniques and new ideas. 72 00:06:36,340 --> 00:06:41,380 Nadeem Hamid is an Iraqi artist who moved to Jordan during the first Gulf War. Involvement 73 00:06:41,380 --> 00:06:48,380 in this exhibition was particularly important and timely for Nadeem. 74 00:06:49,380 --> 00:06:54,780 War is the dark side of this life and destruction to life. To the contrary, art unites all human 75 00:06:54,780 --> 00:06:59,900 beings and it's the common language among all the world's artists. They talk in an easy 76 00:06:59,900 --> 00:07:04,420 way without interference, without politics, and without interpretation of their thoughts 77 00:07:04,420 --> 00:07:11,020 and attitudes. 78 00:07:11,020 --> 00:07:14,820 Across the region, work continues to ensure this communication between cultures with the 79 00:07:14,820 --> 00:07:20,020 opening of the Euro-Mediterranean Foundation for Dialogue of Cultures, the Anna Lind Foundation 80 00:07:20,020 --> 00:07:25,900 in Alexandria, Egypt. The idea is to promote the human dimension of the partnership, promoting 81 00:07:25,900 --> 00:07:32,900 dialogue between religions, tolerance, and cultural understanding among neighbours. 82 00:07:33,420 --> 00:07:40,420 All countries here represented are deeply committed to this joint undertaking for the 83 00:07:41,020 --> 00:07:42,020 European Union. 84 00:07:42,020 --> 00:07:47,540 It is not only of great symbolic value to have an important Euro-Mediterranean institution 85 00:07:47,540 --> 00:07:54,540 on the southern shore of the Mediterranean, but it also opens new possibilities and participation 86 00:07:55,940 --> 00:07:59,100 in dialogue programmes. 87 00:07:59,100 --> 00:08:03,020 Bringing people together across cultures has been one of the successes of the Euro-Mediterranean 88 00:08:03,020 --> 00:08:08,140 Partnership. Opening the foundation marks a renewed commitment by everyone involved 89 00:08:08,140 --> 00:08:10,180 to the future of the region and its people.