The project aims at fighting social exclusion and poverty through improving the governance process for local development by promoting social and intercultural dialogue in the urban and peri-urban areas in the involved cities; Al-Balqa (Jordan), Rome (Italy), Mahdia (Tunisia), Barcellona (Spain).The project will implement a governance system to create a dialogue through formal organizational structures set-up between the public, 67 NGO /Associations, and private citizens in the realm of UPA. Social exclusion will find an answer in social and intercultural dialogue as an avenue towards the resolution of poverty's consequences. Groups at risk of exclusion will be provided with opportunities to render them self sufficient through urban and peri-urban agricultural (UPA) activities. The products from the agricultural process will be brought to the local organic Farmer's Market in all territories.
Projects
The agglomerations of the southern and eastern Mediterranean are facing a rapid increase in their population and a sprawl of their urbanization. The increase in the number and distances of trips may ultimately have negative consequences on the environment, especially as local authorities do not always have the technical means to plan the development of cities in a sustainable manner. It is therefore essential that local authorities equip themselves with the necessary expertise to face the current challenges in terms of urban mobility. In this context, the RAMUD project intends to promote the exchange of good practices in the field of transport policies, thus helping to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
The countries of the Mediterranean area face the same specific energy reality: the increase in the energy price and the weakness of the electrical grid (impossibility of having increase in the power supply, interruptions, etc.), which reduces the security of supply in critical facilities such as hospital and schools as well as the proper development of the small and medium size industries. These problems are common to the target countries of MED-Solar project (Lebanon, Jordan and Palestine) where all the population is actually connected to the grid, but with scarce quality and regular interruptions and cuts-off. Instead of using exclusively polluting and expensive fuel generators against electricity interruption, the project proposes to provide the generators with a solar photovoltaic system for energy backup. With the achievement of MED-Solar the energy situation in the three target countries will improve by reducing energy costs, decreasing the dependence on imported fuel and improving the security of supply through the use of clean energy resources.
The RELS project seeks to improve energy performance in social dwellings. A model for energy renovation - which includes a common methodology for audit, measure selection, implementation and performance validation - was developed by the partners and tested in 7 pilot buildings located in Tunisia, Italy and Spain. Works carried out on selected buildings concern thermal insulation (replacement of windows and better external walls insulation for instance), installation of photovoltaic panels or use of LED/CFL light bulbs. Overall, efficiency measures are expected to cut emissions of greenhouse gases and energy consumption in pilot buildings by 20%. By encouraging better efficiency in the housing stock of the Mediterranean area, partners of the RELS project hopes that energy savings will begin at home.