EL BLOG DE LA FIIAPP. Cooperación Española

EUROCLIMA+ is a regional cooperation programme between the European Union and Latin America that addresses the challenges facing the region in light of the transformations that climate change is already causing. Its objective is to reduce its impact and its effects in the 18 partner countries, promoting mitigation and adaptation, resilience and sustainable investment in the region. Currently, the programme is implemented through a consortium made up of five EU Member State cooperation agencies (FIIAPP, AECID, GIZ, EF, and AFD) plus two United Nations agencies (UN Environment and ECLAC).

The signing of the Paris Agreement in 2016, the treaty promoted by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change with the goal of surpassing the Kyoto Protocol, with more ambitious targets in terms of reducing emissions and limiting temperature increases (below 2º, ideally 1.5º), requires the signatory countries to develop national plans to reduce GHG emission levels. These commitments must be reflected in the Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), which are reviewed every five years in order to further this ambition. The objective of the summit scheduled for 2020 in Glasgow, now postponed to 2021 due to the COVID19 epidemic, was to present these national reviews. Likewise, the commitments expressed in the NDCs must be accompanied by the design of climate plans and policies that guarantee they will be implemented, as well as transparency and accountability mechanisms vis-à-vis the rest of the parties to the Convention.

It is here that the EUROCLIMA+ Programme comes in, supporting actions that allow partner countries to fulfil the commitments reflected in their respective NDCs. Over these ten years, a significant number of actions and projects have been launched in order to support these processes, working at the request of the countries, preserving the horizontal relationships that characterise European cooperation, and promoting south-south cooperation to increase the impact with peer learning.

The work of the FIIAPP Foundation in this scenario has focused on four lines of action, out of the six the programme’s activity is currently structured into: Plans and Policies, Transparency and Data, Action for Climate Empowerment and Gender and Vulnerable Groups. All of them are approached with the objective of strengthening the governance of the countries by supporting them in developing their public policies, which is the hallmark of FIIAPP.

At FIIAPP, and within the framework of EUROCLIMA+, we have accompanied the process of preparing the draft Framework Law on Climate Change in Chile, which is currently being debated in congress and which we are hopeful will be passed, by supporting the preparation, participation and public consultation processes that the Chilean Ministry of the Environment launched with the aim of legitimising the law and feeding into the text contributions from the different levels of government, sectors and civil society. In addition, we have joined GIZ in supporting the development of the Long-Term Climate Strategy (LTS) that the country has just presented, linking us to the Action for Climate Empowerment component (Article 12 of the Paris Agreement), which includes the LTS.

Along the same lines, we are also supporting the Peruvian Ministry of the Environment in working with indigenous organisations. This involves providing support in consulting indigenous communities about the Regulation of the Framework Law on Climate Change, approved in January of this year. A broad process that deepens the need to incorporate citizen participation in legislative processes, and which will allow for greater appropriation by the population, creating demand for climate plans and policies for this purpose and which will result in the creation of a Indigenous Climate Platform, the second being implemented in the region.

In addition to working at the national level, we have supported and are supporting actions that include a regional, sub-regional and sub-national approach. This is the case of the work carried out in generating climate scenarios in Central America, in which we decisively contribute to the strengthening of climate services in these countries so that they can skilfully anticipate the impacts of climate change on their populations and economies. This work comes under the scope of adaptation, which promotes the use of meteorological data by developing collection, storage and presentation tools, providing training on how to use them, and developing climate models adapted to each country.

At the sub-national level, we are working on processes that have a broad impact on reducing emissions and are scalable to a national level. This is the case for the action ‘Development of a GHG Emission Reduction Plan in the Livestock Sector in Salta Province, Argentina’, which will allow one of the country’s most strategic sectors to adapt to the objectives set by Argentina in its NDCs. In addition, the plan will be able to be implemented in regions with similar characteristics.

Finally, FIIAPP is excelling in supporting the actions that the countries are beginning to design in the area of Action for Climate Empowerment (Article 6 of the UNFCCC, Article 12 of the Paris Agreement). We have started mapping the region, undertaking the thematic study ‘Action for Climate Empowerment and its Transformative Potential in Latin America’; we have begun supporting Chile, helping it to launch its first National Strategy for Climate Empowerment and Capacities, and we have also worked to support the educational component of ACE in Uruguay, in collaboration with the Ministry of Housing, Territorial Planning and Environment (MVOTMA) and the Uruguayan Agency for International Cooperation.

FIIAPP has also been actively involved in implementing the methodology that, in its new phase, the EUROCLIMA+ programme will follow in relation to the countries: the Country Dialogue, a long-term support process aimed at identifying demand; balancing progress and support in updating plans and priorities for implementing and/or updating NDCs; coordinating the implementation of EUROCLIMA+ actions; and aligning EUROCLIMA+ actions with the EU’s political dialogue with the country. This methodology has been inspired by the one developed by EUROsociAL+, an EU programme for social cohesion in Latin America led by FIIAPP, as well as by the work of the NDC Partnership, commissioned by Germany’s economic cooperation ministry. Over the past few years, we have promoted its implementation and piloting in four countries, together with the German cooperation agency GIZ, which has provided us with very valuable knowledge that is proving to be fundamental in achieving a working methodology that translates the programme’s collaborative logic and philosophy into the results required to meet the commitments made under the Paris Agreement.

We still have a lot to learn about this new coronavirus, and the real consequences of the global crisis it is causing. What we do know for sure is that in order to understand it better and overcome it (here and in other latitudes where its ravages may be even greater), without leaving anyone behind, solidarity, concerted action and cooperation are more necessary than ever. Together we are stronger and we achieve greater impact. As this pandemic once again teaches us, the natural place of multilateralism and cooperation is at the centre of the external action of the European Union (EU) and its member states.  

Values such as solidarity and cooperation are part of Europe’s DNA. 86% of EU citizens support development aid; and 70% think that the fight against poverty in developing countries should be one of the EU’s priorities.1 Furthermore, the European Union and its member states are the largest donor of Official Development Assistance (ODA) with €75.2 billion in 2019, 55.2% of global ODA.2 

For some citizens, the EU still seems a complex entity, even though they hear from it almost every day. We’re going to try to clear up some questions, such as what is its cooperation policy, what institutions are in charge of it and what is the link with implementing agencies such as FIIAPP.  

What is the European Union’s cooperation policy?  

The EU’s cooperation policy is one of the axes of external action, along with trade policy and security policy.  

The EU’s powers in the area of cooperation are granted by the Treaties and have to be exercised in coordination with the Member States and other international actors. The main objectives of the EU as established in the Treaties are the eradication of poverty, sustainable development and the promotion of democracy, human rights and the rule of law. Therefore, the EU’s activities in cooperation entail financial contribution by the partner countries and collaboration with them to improve governance, in accordance with common values.  

The main frame of reference for EU development aid policy is the European key response to the 2030 Agenda and its 17 Sustainable Development Goals: the new 2017 European Consensus on Development . 

What institutions are in charge of it? 

Several of the institutions that make up the EU are in charge of development cooperation.  

The role of the European External Action Service, in particular that of the High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, currently Josep Borrell, is of particular relevance. As ex officio Vice-President of the European Commission, he ensures the coherence of development aid policy by coordinating the work of all the Commissioners whose portfolios have an external dimension with that of the group of Commissioners whose names correspond to one of the priorities of the new Commission: “A stronger Europe in the world”, and which includes the Commissioner for International Partnerships J. Urpilainen and the Commissioner for Neighbourhood and Enlargement, O. Várhelyi.  

In fact, the community executive plays a central role in development. It negotiates cooperation agreements, draws up and executes development policy, providing aid to partner countries, through financing actions managed directly or by its partners. Two of its General Directorates stand out.  

On the one hand, DG NEAR (Directorate General for European Neighbourhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations), which implements actions in support of reforms for democratic consolidation in the southern and eastern neighbourhood and to help candidate and pre-candidate EU member countries move towards alignment with the EU body of law (“acquis”); promoting prosperity, stability and security in our immediate neighbourhood. An example of this support is the Twinning programme, recently extended to the other partner countries as well. 

On the other hand, the DG for International Cooperation and Development, known as DEVCO, which, under the leadership of the Commissioner for International Partnerships, designs the policy of partnerships for development in Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean, and Asia; ensuring that it is consistent with other community policies, is aligned with the 2030 Agenda and contributes to peace and stability. Its lines of action correspond to the Commission’s current priorities: the Green Deal, digitisation, migration and the EU’s relations with Africa. 

The Council of the European Union, meeting in the format of Development Ministers of the Member States, determines, adopts and applies the development cooperation policy. It is assisted in this by the Working Party on Development Cooperation, known as “CODEV”, which also examines and approves the legislative proposals of the European Commission regarding development cooperation policy.  

The European Parliament for its part advises and approves the EU budget, including that dedicated to development cooperation. It can also adopt resolutions on development cooperation in its Committee on Development (DEVE) or Committee on Foreign Affairs (AFET).  

In order to achieve the SDGs as soon as possible, the effectiveness of development cooperation is another fundamental principle for the EU, which is being put into practice through exercises such as joint programming of aid between the EU and its Member states. Furthermore, in the current financial context, in which the Council, the Commission and the Parliament are drawing the new architecture for European development cooperation, in the interests of greater efficiency and flexibility, one of the keys to the negotiation is the proposal that DEVCO made two years ago to merge most of the multiple financing instruments into a single one, known as NDICI (Neighbourhood, Development and International Cooperation Instrument). 

 What is the link with the implementing agencies such as FIIAPP?  

In order to achieve the objectives of its cooperation policy, the European Union needs partners to implement its development actions. These partners may be actors from civil society, international organisations (including international financial institutions and United Nations agencies), the private sector, or the Member States themselves through their cooperation agencies. 

FIIAPP is part of the Spanish and European cooperation system. As an implementing agency, following an accreditation process with the EU, the Foundation carries out programmes and projects via delegated cooperation, which is one of our hallmarks with respect to other actors. This makes us, mainly through the European Practitioners’ Network, part of the EU’s external action, and privileged interlocutors of the European Commission, since the EC is an observer member. 

Our link with the EU’s development cooperation policy finds expression in dialogue with our natural partners, DG DEVCO and DG NEAR, both with their central services and with the EU delegations on the ground, focusing both on the present and the future. We act as facilitators, accompanying actions financed by the EU to support public policy reform processes in the partner countries where we work.  

This link is essential. Now more than ever it is crucial in order to learn more about this coronavirus and its impact on our partner countries. An example of dialogue is the active contribution of FIIAPP as an actor in Spanish cooperation to the implementation of the European Commission’s “Team Europe” initiative to support partner countries in combating COVID-19. Through constant dialogue with Commission teams in Brussels and on the ground, offering our added value: experience, ideas and working methods in mobilising knowledge of the public sector and placing it at the service of external action; and above all, our ability to react and re-adapt quickly, within the framework of, among others, the regional programmes in Latin America and the Twinning programme. 

Silvia Prada, head of FIIAPP’s Brussels office 

Myriam Erquicia, officer with FIIAPP’s Brussels office 

Some scholars say that the earliest great vestige of human evolution was not the discovery of fire or the invention of the wheel. As anthropologist Margaret Mead said to a student: “It is a fractured, healed femur.”  

In the animal kingdom, a fractured bone means death. The first bone that was healed marked the beginning of humanity. Caring for others is a sign of evolution and in the context of a health crisis, cooperation between people and  institutions to save the greatest number of lives is the greatest exponent of humanity and evolution.   

It is just a month since the WHO declared the coronavirus a global pandemic, however, the consequences of COVID-19 already point to a shift in paradigms.  

In this scenario, the European Union is already working to provide a solid response to the spread of the coronavirus and its consequences. According to the European Commissioner for International Alliances, Jutta Urpilainen: ‘As TeamEurope, we must be united.The European Union and its member states are responding.We are working hard to contain the spread of the coronavirus, both in Europe and beyond.’

As members of that #TeamEurope, the FIIAPP is already developing specific actions to fight the global pandemic, at home, in Europe and further afield.  

One example of this is the work of the cooperation projects that the European Union finances and the FIIAPP manages. A job that has been redirected in accordance with the countries’ needs regarding the  mitigation of the effects of the pandemic. 

To mark International Health Day, which was celebrated this month, which this year has gained a special significance, it is important to explain the specific and direct measures the projects have developed to combat COVID-19. Different measures, but with a common objective, that will enable us to achieve the mission we are all talking about: #esteVirusLoParamosUnidos.  

Bridging the Gap: Accessible information.   

Among the top searches on the internet in recent weeks are ‘quarantine’, ‘confine’ and ‘virus’. The health crisis has caused a boom in our thirst for information and, therefore, the Bridging the Gap project is working to adapt such information for people with disabilities. The project is working with the Paraguayan government, which has launched a special accessible communication service about COVID-19 for people with disabilities. Bridging the Gap has worked on two areas: firstly, developing a communication service that connects deaf people with hearing people and organisations or services that they may need through a chat; and secondly, it has also contributed to purchasing equipment and software for the communication department of the National Secretariat for the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (SENADIS). These improvements have also been possible thanks to the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation (AECID), the implementing agency of the Bridging the Gap project in Paraguay.

EL PAcCTO: COVID channel 

How is each State addressing the fight against the pandemic? The EL PAcCTO project has launched the COVID channel, a tool for the security, justice and prison systems of Europe and Latin America, enabling them to exchange information and experiences. The objective of the information channel is coordination, cooperation and prevention of COVID-19 to guarantee the health of the population. Regarding the security forces, a colonel from the Civil Guard has been appointed to coordinate the COVID channel with several Latin American countries and to share information on the needs caused by the health crisis in Spain.  

EL PAcCTO: Support for AMERIPOL: against fake news 

Hoaxes and fake news are spreading like wildfire through social networks. The World Health Organization is calling this problem an “infodemic“. The state of alarm has also caused an increase in the use of technologies, which is adding another internet related problem: cyber attacks. The current situation has led to the proliferation of new types of scams. In times of crisis and insecurity, many cybercriminals are taking advantage of the vulnerable situation to scam people when shopping on line for masks or medicines, for example.  

In light of this situation, the project to support Ameripol proposed the holding of video conferences channelled through the Executive Secretariat and the Ameripol UNAs, to spread and encourage best practices from the European Union in the context of the spread of COVID-19. A video conference has been organised on detecting misinformation campaigns aimed at social and political destabilisation, as well as anticipating new types of cybercrime and scams by individuals who are using COVID-19 as bait to swindle people and steal their personal and banking information. 

EUROsociAL+: social cohesion against Covid-19 

 EUROsociAL+ has implemented tools   which are especially useful to strengthen the management of emergency measures required by the coronavirus. The programme is receiving and responding to requests for support from Latin American countries needing to adopt urgent measures in matters such as early warnings to avoid gender violence which is exacerbated by confinement, social protection systems, unemployment funds, transparency in institutions and the migrant population.   EUROsociAL+ is encouraging the adoption of a gender approach throughout the programme and the accompanying public policies to improve the physical, economic and political autonomy of women; an approach that focuses on carers; carers ( 70% women ) who, according to programme sources, are systematically invisible, underpaid and

who are proving essential to saving our lives.   

FIIAPP is still working, at a distance, without leaving anyone behind.  

By Cristina Blasco, ( @cbm_cris ). FIIAPP communication team. 

Torrential rain and droughts are water-related meteorological phenomena, all increasingly extreme anywhere on the planet. This year, World Meteorological Day, under the heading of “climate and water”, is dedicated to these and other similar phenomena and focuses on the climate change effects which manifest themselves through water. 

According to data from the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO), humans cannot survive more than three days without water and there are currently 3 billion people worldwide who do not have basic facilities to wash their hands. Furthermore, knowing this, it must be taken into account that in the next 30 years the world demand for fresh water will increase between 20% and 30%. 

With the aim of commemorating the creation of the WMO on 23 March 1950 within the UN, this day also serves to highlight the contribution made by National Meteorological and Hydrological Services (NMHSs) to the security and well-being of societies; and, why not, to reflect on the importance of meteorology in the global context of climate change in which we live today. 

Water, a shared asset 

Extreme meteorological phenomena, the result of the climate change we all experiencing worldwide, are one of the greatest global threats. Specifically, those related to water pose a major risk due to their impacts both on sustainable development and on people’s safety. According to the WMO Secretary General, Petteri Taalas, in the organisation’s statement about 23 March, “The changes in the global distribution of rainfall are having important repercussions in many countries. Sea levels are rising at an ever-increasing rate due to the melting of larger glaciers, such as those in Greenland and Antarctica. This is exposing coastal areas and islands to an increased risk of flooding and the submergence of low-lying areas.” 

Rising rivers or floods are a source of peace and conflict, as most rivers and other freshwater areas cross borders, and decisions made by one country regarding the management of water resources often have an impact on other countries. In addition, food security is closely related to water: for example, the concentration of rainfall at certain times of the year or in certain places affects agriculture, movements and, ultimately, the survival of millions of people all around the world. 

Ample evidence of the chosen heading’s international significance is to be found in the fact that water and climate are the cornerstones of Sustainable Development Goal 6 (Clean water and sanitation) and 13 (Climate action), both included in the 2030 Agenda for sustainable development, which contain the global priorities for the next 10 years. 

Every drop counts for the EUROCLIMA+ project 

As expressly detailed by the WMO, data on water resources are currently incomplete and scattered, which greatly hinders joint work between countries and international cooperation to face global challenges, such as climate change. 

The EUROCLIMA+ project is working along these lines, hand in hand with AEMET in Central America, where, together with the different countries’ institutions, they are generating climate scenarios to anticipate the impacts of climate change and plan adaptation measures. In this sense, the project, financed by the EU and with the FIIAPP participating in the management, has its sights set on reviewing the impact, vulnerability and needs of adapting to climate change. 

The usefulness of the scenarios, in the words of the project specialist and AEMET meteorologist Jorge Tamayo, depends on having information so as to know “what is going to happen and what measures can be applied”, and also that such information can “be used by those responsible for water management, for planning”, for example “if they have to make a greater number of reservoirs or have to resize those that they currently have, to try to mitigate these effects at least by knowing them.” 

Working together to adapt or mitigate climate change is the same as working together for a more resilient future, as EUROCLIMA+ demonstrates. 

It sounds paradoxical, but it is not. To be able to talk about equality between men and women, you first have to talk about inequality. “Finally, a female candidate for the presidency of the European Commission.” Ursula von der Leyen said it in her speech when she was still a presidential candidate for the European executive. The word ‘finally’ is an example of the differences between reality as experienced by men and women. Differences that translate into inequalities.

She continued, “40 years ago Simone Veil became the first female president of the European Parliament. I am running today thanks to her and other iconic figures.” Veil is a model for Von der Leyen, but she could well be for Latin American women who have taken the green scarf to the street, or for those who have taught the world that ‘the rapist is you’. Both Veil, Von der Leyen and the thousands of Latin American women mentioned, live a particular reality because they are women. Being aware of this, the international cooperation projects managed by the FIIAPP and financed by the European Union apply the gender perspective in their actions.

EUROSOCIAL+

Marie Dominique de Suremain is coordinator of the gender equality area for Expertise France in EUROSOCIAL+, one of the projects financed by the EU in Latin America and managed by IILA, Expertise France and the FIIAPP itself under the coordination of the FIIAPP.

“The gender area is an innovation at EUROSOCIAL+; we organise work around three areas: physical, political and economic autonomy” Suremain explains.  Physical autonomy addresses the fight against gender-based violence, since appropriate institutional responses are required to back the complaints. Therefore, EUROSOCIAL+ promotes tools that allow the development of effective protection mechanisms. The gender area also drives changes in masculinities. According to Sureiman, “It is about generating collective rethinking of gender, specifically around masculinity as a policy to address some phenomena related to violence and inequality.” Political autonomy addresses the problems encountered by women to access certain positions. “We have realised that women are often prevented, not only from accessing the positions, but once they access, from carrying out their work,” says Sureiman. Finally, economic autonomy promotes policies for reducing the feminisation of poverty. We promote reforms to improve labour inclusion and avoid discrimination, and results are sought in salary differences, type of employment, part-time work, unemployment rates, and informality.

“In addition to this economic and political backwardness, the most worrying issue is to reduce the high rates of femicide and violence against women. It is therefore a priority to expand the gender perspective in all institutions, to back public policies and guarantee the existence of comprehensive equality plans,” says the gender area coordinator.

Living together without discrimination, an approach based on human rights and gender

The project “Living together without discrimination, an approach based on human rights and gender” works to strengthen Moroccan public instruments and policies to prevent and combat racism and xenophobia towards the migrant population. The project promotes the protection of the fundamental rights of migrants while giving particular consideration to the inclusion of the gender approach. “We are accompanied by technical assistance that specialises in gender to ensure the inclusion of this perspective in all interventions,” explains Lucia Molo, project technician at the FIIAPP.

The project promotes the creation of tools to help Spanish and Moroccan partner institutions ensure a gender perspective. These include a gender action plan for the project, the checklist listing the phases to be performed to ensure gender perspective, as well as an explanatory document that guarantees the use of inclusive language.

EUROCLIMA+

EUROCLIMA+ is a programme funded by the European Union that facilitates regional dialogue and supports institutions to achieve adaptation to climate change and develop mitigation policies in Latin America. At EUROCLIMA+ they are aware that climate change has gender-specific implications, so the programme is committed to equality.

EUROCLIMA+ promotes the gender perspective through actions such as the collection and use of gender-disaggregated information and the establishment of gender-sensitive indicators or the creation of methods for involvement and consultation of women, as well as monitoring, evaluation and accountability from a gender perspective. To that end, EUROCLIMA+ addresses gender in the programme’s logical framework and indicators, as well as in the different theme components, so as to maximise the structure and mandate of EUROCLIMA+.

GAR-SI SAHEL

“The need for women’s empowerment in conflict zones is a central element when formulating development strategies. In the Sahel region, which is ravaged by terrorism, women suffer the concrete effects of a specific violence against them. If women see their rights limited systematically in States that are in peace, the difficulties increase in situations of war.” These are the words of Beatriz Moreno de la Vara, support technician of the GAR-SI SAHEL project.

The Sahel is a geographical area of great political instability, which causes problems regarding irregular migration and the presence of terrorist groups. In the face of this reality, security and development are therefore the cornerstone of the European Union’s strategy for the Sahel region.

From the GAR-SI SAHEL project, there is a need to have a gender approach not only for the specific protection of women in conflict situations, but also as a commitment to female empowerment in the field of the security forces.

One of the proposals carried out within the framework of the project is the training in gender and Human Rights for the units created, such as that developed in Senegal. These courses have also been promoted in Mali and Niger in collaboration with other relevant players in the area, such as EUCAP Sahel and the International Organisation for Migration, creating synergies around the fifth Sustainable Development Goal: gender equality.

In addition, at the GAR-SI SAHEL project we are committed to increasing the presence of women in these units, which currently have three female agents in Senegal and one in Mali.

By Cristina Blasco, (@cbm_cris). FIIAPP communication team.

When Albert Camus won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1957, he wrote a letter of thanks to one of his primary school teachers. Without you, without the affectionate hand you extended to the small poor child that I was, without your teaching and example, none of all this would have happened, wrote one of the most significant writers of the twentieth century. Albert Camus was born into a humble family of French settlers in Algeria.  His mother was almost illiterate and his father died during World War I when he was little. However, despite the poor little child that he was (his words), his teacher, a man named Louis Garmain, made sure to guarantee Camus’s right to education. A right to which millions of minors do not have access.  

According to UNESCO, there are more than 260 million children in the world who do not attend school and 617 million children and adolescents who cannot read. We can unequivocally affirm that there are not enough Garmains to remedy this. But it is necessary to mention that there are public institutions, agreements, the will of countries and international cooperation. And, fortunately, guaranteeing inclusive, equitable and quality education and promoting lifelong learning opportunities is one of the sustainable development goals that the international community has set out in the 2030 Agenda and to which the work of the FIIAPP Contributes actively.  

The FIIAPP and education 

Aware of the value of education in ensuring the sustainability, peace and development of societies, the General Assembly of the United Nations proclaimed 24 January International Education Day. Committed to this reality, the FIIAPP manages several projects funded by the European Union that work in Algeria and Morocco in this dimension.  

“Of the seventeen Sustainable Development Goals signed in 2015 in the 2030 Agenda, number four is the quality of education and I think it’s the most important one because all the others in one way or another depend on it for solving poverty in the world, achieving peace and bringing about the well-being of all the inhabitants of this planet,” explains Pilar Garcés, vice-minister of universities and research of Castilla y León and head of the two twinning projects financed by the Union European, and managed by the FIIAPP in Algeria and Morocco. 

The FIIAPP in Algeria  

Professor at the University of Valladolid, Antonio Bueno coordinates a project managed by the FIIAPP in Algeria in  support of the Algerian Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research. Bueno works hand in hand with the professor of the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research of Algeria, Amina Benbernou, to improve Algeria’s academic potential. “The aim is to reinforce the teaching skills of teachers in research and improve the administration’s management skills,” says Benbernou. 

A twinning between Spain and Algeria is established for this purpose, through which various specialists travel to Algeria to work alongside the Algerian institutions. Efforts focus on improving the governance of higher education institutions, in line with the standards of the Bologna Process and the European Higher Education Area. In this way, the project provides the necessary tools to improve higher education in Algeria.  

For Bueno, “Sharing educational ideas is based on the reality that all citizens who receive them have the same rights and duties and are called to the same mission: that of the progress of humanity.”  Through this project, Spain brings the work of highly qualified professionals to Algeria.  “Spain is well positioned at the level of pedagogy and monitoring in digital education and synergy. The contribution it can make to Algeria is to support this topic with high-level specialists,” says the Algerian professor.   

The project is funded by the European Union, and has the participation of specialists from the Agency for the Quality of the University System of Castilla y León (ACSUCYL).  

According to Bueno, the fact that international cooperation allocates resources to education is very significant for societies: “Education is surely one of the areas in which cooperation offers the best results in the short, medium and long term, and although wealth may not be immediately perceived, the truth is that it produces it in abundance.” 

The FIIAPP in Morocco 

Improving university education in Morocco. With this objective, the FIIAPP manages a twinning project with Morocco. “Higher education has its shortcomings, there are many more private than public universities, which can lead to a kind of “decompensation” and produces a certain inequality among the population,” says the head of the project and Deputy Minister for Universities and Research of Castilla y León, Pilar Garcés.  

Through the work of specialists, the project not only promotes improvement in educational organisation, management and legislation, but also explores solutions to the problem of overpopulation in the Moroccan higher education system. “There should be more infrastructure to be able to have a really important and strong higher public education,” says Garcés. 

Therefore, specialists from the Junta de Castilla y León work with their Moroccan counterparts on introducing techniques, methods and tools that serve to support the higher education system in Morocco. Among the objectives of the project financed by the European Union is the implementation of an ECTS system to assess qualifications, and the accompaniment in the development of a new national strategy in this area. 

For Garcés, “education is one of the most important issues in the life of any human being, because it provides social peace and well-being and enables people to get out of poverty, or reduces violence.” Therefore she agrees with Bueno and very much appreciates the European and Spanish institutions’ financing and development of cooperation and twinning projects: “I think it’s a very important duty that governments should take it even more seriously than they are at the present time, because although it’s true that the economy is important for a country to progress, education is even more so,” she concludes.