A Sea of Words. The Voice of Youths 2025 : IEMed

We give a voice to young people to promote new narratives and contribute to a culture of understanding, peace and dialogue

This programme creates spaces for intercultural encounters between young people in order to promote exchanges of experiences and ideas between peers, identify shared values in the region and transcend those stereotypes that tear us apart. By doing so, it aims to equip young people with tools so they can play a relevant role in future societies and actively promote the values of diversity and co-existence in the Euro-Mediterranean area. It features the youth contest “A Sea of Words”, organised in collaboration with the Anna Lindh Foundation and its national networks.

A Sea of Words 2025

The Mediterranean We Imagine: A Space for Young Mediterranean Storytellers to Envision and Build the Future

This year’s A Sea of Words edition invites young authors from across the Euro-Mediterranean region to envision possible futures for the Mediterranean, exploring both the challenges and opportunities ahead. Participants are encouraged to create stories that help rethink who we are and where we aspire to go at this crucial moment for the region’s future and to contribute to building a Mediterranean identity where diversity, democracy, and cooperation are fundamental pillars of a shared future.

A Sea of Words 2025 aligns with the discussions promoted by Mondiacult 2025 on culture as a driver of social change.

An international jury made up of writers from across the Mediterranean will select 10 finalists for this year’s edition, who will be invited to Barcelona to take part in the award ceremony, scheduled for the end of September 2025. During the event, the three winners will be announced. In addition, the texts of the 10 finalists will be edited and published. The selected authors will also participate in a discussion with writers from across the region to reflect on the role of literary creation as a tool for promoting narratives of peace and dialogue.

CALL AND CONDITIONS

Key information

The call is now closed.

We’ve received over 100 stories from 22 Euro-Mediterranean countries.

The top 10 authors will be announced in the coming weeks.

CONDITIONS

• Participation is open to young people between 18 and 30 years of age (1995-2007) at the deadline for submission of the texts (31st May 2025).

• People with nationality and residence from one of the 43 countries of the Euro-Mediterranean area*.

• The story must be original and may be written in any of the 43 states of the Euro-Mediterranean space’s official languages. Only one piece per author will be accepted.

• The text cannot exceed the maximum length of 2,500 words.

• People selected in any of the previous editions are not eligible.

• The document must be sent in Word format to the following address: atraidi@iemed.org. The message must include the title of the work along with the author’s personal data: name, telephone number, postal address, email address and date of birth.

• The selected works will be published in a book in digital format with the texts in the original language and their corresponding translation into English.

* If a person with nationality from one of the Euro-Mediterranean countries but residing outside that area wishes to participate, the travel costs to Barcelona will only be assumed from a Euro-Mediterranean country.

Full call and conditions

Publication

The selected works will be published in a book in digital format with the texts in the original language and their corresponding translation into English.

See the previous edition publication: 2023