What is the common DNA of Mediterranean Cities? Take part in the debate to rethink the matrix of contemporary Mediterranean cities.
On October 15, 2024, a Round Table open to the general public, to experts and civil society is held as part of the Alexandria Metropolitan Seminar led by AVITEM. This Round Table is organized with the support of the European Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Agence Française de Développement (AFD) and the Biblioteca Alexandrina.
Mediterranean cities all have their own unique characteristics, yet a long history of interaction has resulted in a number of unifying elements: geography, climate, cosmopolitanism, and an appetite for cultural and commercial exchange. This DNA of the “Mediterranean City” is now in a state of crisis, with the Mediterranean marginalized from world trade, social and territorial cohesion undermined by conflict and climate change.
Alexandria was the city of Empires, the city of trade, the crossroads between East and West, further enhanced by the construction of the Suez Canal. For a long time, Alexandria was perceived through a romantic and idealized image, embodying the myth of the Mediterranean city. In his article “Banalizing Alexandria” (2017) Youssef el Chazli points out that the sense of loss, the focus on memory (literary and historiographical – and therefore elitist) and the erection of the sea as the only way out, a sentiment still shared by Alexandrians today, have long permeated the majority of productions (academic, literary, cultural) on the city.
Looking to the future, this round table aims to contribute to the design of a new matrix for Mediterranean cities. What could be the foundations of this contemporary matrix? What cards can Mediterranean cities, Alexandria in particular, play in the construction of this new matrix?
How to participate?
Tuesday, 15 October 2024; 6:00 pm
Bibliotheca Alexandrina Conference Center, Delegates Room
The roundtable is open to the public (subject to available seats)
The discussion will be in English
> Registration form
> Attend the round table in live streaming
Speakers
- Josep Ferre, Director of the Anna Lindh Foundation
- Dr. Emad Khalil, Director of the Alexandria and Mediterranean Research Center, UNESCO Chair in Underwater Cultural Heritage.
- Marie Baduel, Urbanist Economist, Strategy Director of AVITEM
- Vincent Languille, Mayor of Le Tholonet, Deputy Counsellor for Aix-Marseille-Provence Metropolis
- Maye-Laure Yehia, Architect Urbanist