Supported by the Provincial Council of Barcelona (Diputació de Barcelona), the project promotes social value, green entrepreneurship, and peer learning in Mediterranean municipalities

On 26 May, MedCities held the Kick-off Meeting of the Local Authorities Strengthening and Empowering Resilience in the Mediterranean – 2025 edition (LASERMED25) project, focusing on reinforced governance, peer learning, and inclusive economic development.

The event was honoured with the presence of two elected chairwomen, the social affairs vice-president of Agadir Municipality, Mme. Fatima Amzil, and the newly elected city council member of Zgharta-Ehden, Mme. Roula Frangieh. Additionally, the meeting was attended by the head of the Economic Development Department of El Prat de Llobregat Municipality and the president of Fundació Rubricatus, who presented their experience concerning the Integral Social Value Index (ISVI) to the entire partnership.

LASERMED25 will implement the Integral Social Value Index (ISVI) to monitor the social and economic impact of municipal policies in both territories. In Agadir, this will be accompanied by legal feasibility studies and training to develop socially and environmentally responsible economic projects. In Zgharta-Ehden, the project will support three socially oriented, productive initiatives.

Local councils will benefit from peer-to-peer exchanges and capacity-building sessions on the ISVI methodology. Furthermore, the project fosters regional learning among MedCities members through online knowledge-sharing within the LaserMed Community (former and nowadays MedCities city members engaged in past editions).

LASERMED25 actively contributes to SDG 8 (Decent Work and Economic Growth) and SDG 11 (Sustainable Cities and Communities) by promoting inclusive economic practices and participatory governance in Mediterranean cities.

Read here about the past editions LASERMED 2024, LASERMED 2023.