Aula Mediterrània Expands to Morocco with Launch of First Interuniversity Summer School in Tetouan
8 July 2025 | Corporate news
Tetouan is hosting, starting today until July 11, 2025, the first edition of the Aula Mediterrània Morocco Summer School, a pioneering initiative promoted by the Government of Catalonia’s Delegation in North Africa, the European Institute of the Mediterranean (IEMed), and the Catalan Agency for Development Cooperation (ACCD), in collaboration with the Abdelmalek Essaadi University of Tetouan. Additionally, this first edition is supported by the Education Office of the Spanish Embassy in Morocco.
This new educational space marks the beginning of an academic cooperation phase between Catalonia and Morocco, and forms part of IEMed’s interuniversity program Aula Mediterrània, which this year celebrates its seventeenth edition with the participation of seventeen Catalan university master’s programs.
Under the theme “Understanding the Mediterranean in Turbulent Times”, the program will address, through a transversal and critical lens, the major challenges affecting both shores of the Mediterranean: migration, hate speech, historical narratives, cultural diplomacy, and urban diversity, among others. The School will combine lectures, workshops, debates, and academic visits, offering participants an immersive experience. It will also serve as a platform for presenting master’s theses, helping to highlight emerging research in Mediterranean studies.
The Summer School is aimed at master’s and doctoral students, early-career researchers, and professionals in diplomacy, cooperation, and social sciences. Its goal is to foster a vibrant, connected, and engaged Mediterranean academic community committed to intercultural dialogue and critical research.
The Summer School is established with the intent to strengthen collaboration between Catalan and Moroccan universities, to continue the Aula Mediterrània program as a platform for knowledge and academic networks, to empower young researchers, and to create new spaces for Euro-Mediterranean dialogue.
Faculty from various Catalan universities (UAB, UB, UPF, UdG, URV, Blanquerna-URL, ETSAB-UPC) and Moroccan universities (UAE, Moulay Ismail University), specialized in areas such as international relations, sociology, communication, law, urbanism, and history, will participate.
THE PROGRAM
The Aula Mediterrània Morocco Summer School program is structured into four thematic days combining lectures, debates, and practical workshops, featuring expert university professors from both Morocco and Catalonia. Each day focuses on a key issue for the Euro-Mediterranean region, approached from an interdisciplinary perspective.
The first day will focus on analyzing international relations in the Mediterranean and the energy and geopolitical challenges shaping the current regional context as a paradigmatic example. It will also explore the future of Spanish-Moroccan relations in light of global changes.
The second day will revolve around international migration and how it contributes to the construction of narratives about the shared Mediterranean. Topics will include migration policies in the Euro-Mediterranean region, the role of women in border contexts, and a practical workshop analyzing case studies and social dynamics related to international mobility.
The third day will address collective narratives and their impact on social coexistence in times of crisis. It will focus on hate speech, the role of social media among youth, and the challenges of building shared historical narratives between the two shores. The session will conclude with a workshop on creating narratives that foster dialogue and mutual understanding.
The final day will center on diversity and cultural dialogue. It will reflect on the role of cities as key agents in managing diversity and creating spaces for coexistence, as well as on the opportunities offered by cultural diplomacy to promote Euro-Mediterranean cooperation. The day will end with a closing session dedicated to the value of academic cooperation in strengthening relations between Spain and Morocco.
This thematic and methodological approach will enable participants to acquire theoretical knowledge, analytical tools, and practical skills, while also facilitating the creation of professional networks and intercultural exchange between the two shores of the Mediterranean.
Through this new Summer School, Catalonia and Morocco reaffirm their commitment to shared knowledge and interuniversity dialogue, contributing to the construction of a more cohesive, just, and cooperative Mediterranean..
Aula Mediterrània Summer School in Morocco
Aula Mediterrània inter-university initative