MyMed, a civic project for young artists in the Mediterranean

In 2012, three Parisian students decided to set up a project on artistic expressions in the Mediterranean, MyMed. Today the project is evolving in the initiative OurMed that is open to the active participation of "artivists" of all Mediterranean countries

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From Mymed to OurMed, a civic project for young artists in the Mediterranean

In 2012, three Parisian students decided to set up a project on artistic expressions produced by young creators from several Mediterranean countries. The recent upheavals in Arab societies and the cultural proliferation that has spread thanks to their youths are fertile ground for their study. Their investigation will also focus on the civic engagement of Mediterranean youths, knowing that it can take different forms according to the social, political and economic situations from which it emerges.

A few months later, from August to October 2013, they set off, cameras in hand, on an exploration trip in six countries: Spain, France, Greece, Turkey, Tunisia and Lebanon. Interviews with photographers, choreographers, dancers, cultural operators... they returned with very interesting video material and immediately set up MyMed, a website displaying the testimonies of these young artists and organisers of Mediterranean cultural projects whom they encountered all throughout their journey.

Then the project matured and evolved. "Today, MyMED aims to bring together the youths of the Mediterranean area around common issues: commitment, freedom of expression, freedom of movement and respect for diversity" explains the young women on the website's home page. And indeed, the website MyMed promotes a civic and collective approach. In this way it is possible to learn about the project development in the region by means of the "toolbox" of the site, or to visit OurMed (our Mediterranean) to discover, in the 6 countries visited, a multitude of cultural initiatives. From Mymed to OurMed (still under construction), the project is expected to expand to other countries in the region and become a collaborative platform supplemented by external contributions.

Very soon the project was able to persuade donors. The first were several universities in Paris - Paris VIII, La Sorbonne, Inalco - and Crous who supported the young women's idea, then the European Union with the European Programme "Youth in Action". Several French international solidarity associations also fund MyMed that also resorted to crowdfunding. The site was designed in collaboration with AP2i (Agency of Promotion and Intercultural Engineering), an association that develops artistic and cultural projects defending intercultural dialogue.

Info: MyMed-OurMed project

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