4 | MEDITERREAN REGION FOCUS
5 | PARTNERS
MEDITERREAN REGION FOCUS
A Strategic Focus on the Wider Mediterranean
In his acclaimed work The Great Sea: A Human History of the Mediterranean, historian David Abulafia describes the Mediterranean as “a sea between the lands”—a narrow, human-scale space, a zone of connection between three continents, and the setting for centuries of relations, conflicts, and exchanges.
From antiquity to the contemporary age, the Mediterranean has witnessed the succession of civilisations, migrations, wars, trade, and cultures, making it a true crossroads of worlds.
Today, however, this historic space is also among the most exposed to environmental, social, and economic risks. Climate change, growing inequalities, and increasing human pressure threaten the survival of an extraordinary and fragile cultural heritage, both tangible and intangible.
Environmentally, the Mediterranean basin is experiencing a rise in extreme events—droughts, floods, desertification—which jeopardize its already delicate ecological balance and endanger territories, communities, and cultural assets.
CHEDAR addresses the countries of the Wider Mediterranean, interpreting this region as a shared space to be enhanced through knowledge, cooperation, and resilience.
In line with international frameworks and inspired by initiatives such as the cultural legacy of Expo 2020 Dubai, CHEDAR promotes a broad and inclusive vision of the Mediterranean, overcoming geopolitical boundaries and positioning itself as a platform for innovation, protection, and intercultural dialogue in response to both global and local challenges facing this strategic area.
