Mediterranean Ethics Network launched with active participation from Portugal
The Mediterranean Ethics Network, with a particular focus on digital technologies and Artificial Intelligence, was formally launched during the Mediterranean Forum for Artificial Intelligence (FMIA), held on 20 and 21 November in Tunis, Tunisia.
Portugal, represented this year by the Vice-President of the CNECV, André Dias Pereira, is one of the founding members of this international network and has been present at every key milestone.
During the FMIA, the 2nd Informal Meeting of Mediterranean Ethics Councils took place, bringing together Portugal, Spain, France, Italy, Tunisia, Morocco and the European Commission. The multilingual meeting (in English, French and Arabic), supported by simultaneous interpretation, focused on the urgent need to update school curricula and strengthen digital education, ensuring that ethics in artificial intelligence plays a central role in shaping new generations.
The informal meeting also addressed several strategic issues for the Mediterranean region, including the abundance of green energy — particularly solar — the importance of energy transmission infrastructure and the crucial role of skilled human resources.
Participants also highlighted the need to encourage the creation of companies capable of driving a more productive and innovative economy that meets the Sustainable Development Goals.
Another topic discussed was the relevance of the major economic and cultural axis connecting Europe and the Mediterranean, seen as essential to maintaining balance in international relations, especially at a time when the United States leads in computational capacity and innovation, and China dominates the production of green energy technologies.
In this context of rapid technological change, ethical contributions were underlined as essential. The decisions that will shape future generations require, according to participants, a firm commitment to human rights and to development that serves all people and all communities.
In the afternoon, a workshop was held on “Enabling Ethics in Innovation: Strategies for Multisector Partnerships in Artificial Intelligence across the Euro-Mediterranean Region.” The session enabled dialogue with representatives from the public and private sectors, young researchers and civil society on the links between artificial intelligence and innovation.
The discussions were coordinated by the Anna Lindh Foundation (ALF), with the support of the European Commission, reinforcing a shared ambition to promote scientific cooperation and knowledge exchange.
