Today, 28 November 2025, the International Day of the Mediterranean is being marked throughout the Euro-Mediterranean area – a day that provides an opportunity to promote intercultural exchange, celebrate cooperation, embrace diversity and strengthen ties among Mediterranean countries, while honoring a shared identity, common heritage and love for the Mediterranean.
This year’s commemoration takes place in the spirit of the 30th anniversary of the Barcelona Process, launched in 1995 as a result of the Conference of Foreign Ministers of the Euro-Mediterranean region held in Barcelona on 27 and 28 November under the Spanish Presidency of the EU. It represents the first institutional form of Euro-Mediterranean partnership for bilateral and regional relations within the defined Euro-Mediterranean area (EuroMed), established between the then 15 EU Member States and 14 Mediterranean partner countries. On its foundations, the Anna Lindh Euro-Mediterranean Foundation for the Dialogue Between Cultures (ALF) was established in 2004, with its main role being the promotion of dialogue among cultures in the Euro-Mediterranean region. Through its activities, the Foundation promotes countering all forms of radicalism and extremism, and fostering an inclusive society and a culture imbued with empathy, grounded in dialogue and exchange. It achieves its goals through systematically empowering young people, researching and assessing public policies, and providing examples of good practice. ALF is present in 42 countries and operates through a system of national networks composed of public institutions and organisations as well as civil society organisations. Since January 2009, the National Foundation for Civil Society Development has served as the coordinator of the Croatian Network for Cooperation in the Euro-Mediterranean, which today includes 68 organisations in addition to the National Foundation.
In November 2020, ALF members decided that, in commemoration of the launch of the Barcelona Process on Euro-Mediterranean cooperation, 28 November would be proclaimed the International Day of the Mediterranean, and it has been marked annually since 2021. The National Foundation has commemorated it from the very beginning, including this jubilee year, within the framework of the International Conference “From Vision to Change: Toward 2030”, held in Zadar from 26 to 28 November.
The commemoration opened with welcome speeches from Ms. Cvjetana Plavša-Matić, Director of the National Foundation for Civil Society Development, a video message from Ms. Dubravka Šuica, European Commission Vice-President for the Mediterranean, and H.E. Mr. Gašper Dovžan, Ambassador of the Republic of Slovenia – the country chairing MED9 in 2025. This was followed by a panel discussion on challenges in the Mediterranean moderated by Ms. Ivana Dragičević, featuring H.E. Ms. Marija Pejčinović Burić, former Secretary General of the Council of Europe, H.E. Mr. Paolo Trichiolo, Ambassador of the Republic of Italy, Ms. Irena Fonda, Executive Director of the YouSea Institute, and Mr. Andriano Bisello of Eurac Research. The programme continued with the presentation of the results of the initiative “30 Days for the 30th Anniversary of Euro-Mediterranean Cooperation” and the presentation of joint actions under the programme “Community Potentials”. The closing of the Conference and this year’s commemoration of the International Day of the Mediterranean concluded with the presentation of the Zadar Declaration “2030: Act FOR the Mediterranean” and the strategic partners of the iM:PACT Innovations for the Mediterranean Programme (MED9).
Reflections on the Mediterranean and its future, which took centre stage in this year’s commemoration of the International Day of the Mediterranean, can be illustrated through the words of Predrag Matvejević, a distinguished Croatian writer and author of the Mediterranean Breviary: “Through the centuries, the shores have mirrored one another, recognising both closeness and differences. The Mediterranean has never been a single culture, but a space of many cultures that meet, mingle and sometimes clash. Similarities are encouraged by proximity and shared experiences of the sea, while differences are shaped by history, beliefs and customs. Neither are permanent: sometimes closeness prevails, and sometimes separation. Everything else belongs to myths. (…) In a time that prioritises the market and speed, it is necessary to reconsider the values created by the Mediterranean: measure, hospitality, dialogue and balance. This sea, which gave its name to a civilisation, must not become a boundary of silence, but a space of shared awareness.”
As part of this year’s commemoration of the International Day of the Mediterranean and the presentation of the results of the initiative “30 Days for the 30th Anniversary of Euro-Mediterranean Cooperation”, a video was presented providing an overview of activities aimed at promoting shared values and strengthening the idea of connection and unity within the Euro-Mediterranean area. You can watch the video below.
