The city councils are currently leading the implementation of the LASERMED pilot projects. These are the result of the first phase of the project and the local diagnoses developed locally and they all share an interest to foster local, sustainable and inclusive economic opportunities.

In Sousse, 25 local handcraft makers, all women, are benefiting from tailored training to support the creation and promotion of their brand, including specific modules on online marketing and the use of social networks. The same group participated earlier this month at an exchange with a delegation of Iranian handcraft-makers that were visiting the municipality of Sousse. The project will also organise four meetings gathering different stakeholders active in the Medina, and will promote local social dialogue to favour a more dynamic and flourishing Medina.

In As Salt, the first series of training on project identification and implementation benefitted around 10 city council staff members In addition, a business support training and mentorship programme for owners of micro home-based businesses has also started, in order to allow them to develop their business models and support their local business development. A similar programme will be launched soon targeting young unemployed freelancers.

In Oujda, Yes Green Association in collaboration with the city council organised the two opening sessions targeting informal collectors in the neighbourhoods of Hay Essalam and Hay Nsar, from which two groups were mobilised to be trained on the creation and management of cooperative organisations. The coming weeks will be key to wrapping up the training sessions on health and work-related security, while a public communication campaign will be launched in order to foster citizens’ responsible waste management.

In Zgharta-Ehden, the training will kick off at the end of this month and will mobilise local makers and entrepreneurs active in the field of olive-oil soap making and textile recyclers to discuss sustainability and circularity. A group of youth will also participate by learning about the making of video-montage which will help to document the whole process. Stay tuned to know more!

The Provincial Deputation of Barcelona (Diputació de Barcelona) is the funder of the project and will be participating at different stages of the project offering know-how and examples of similar strategies implemented in the province. The project will be closing its implementation with a final event gathering all relevant stakeholders before the summer.

The LASERMed project (standing for “Local action for the socio-economic recovery in the Mediterranean: the cities respond”) aims to strengthen the role and capacities of Southern Mediterranean local governments to favour a long-term recovery and foster citizens’ living conditions. The main players of the project are the municipalities of Zgharta-Ehden (Lebanon), Oujda (Morocco), Sousse (Tunisia), As Salt (Jordan).