The CIHEAM launched its First Forum initiative for PhD students and young researchers from the Mediterranean area. The Forum was organized at its Mediterranean Agronomic Institute of Montpellier with the aim to foster communication, dialogue and co-publications between the various partner institutions conducting scientific research in the field of rural development in Mediterranean countries. In this endeavor, the CIHEAM has been supported by a strong partnership with The Union for the Mediterranean through the regional project on Higher Education on Food Security and Rural Development.

The Research Unit “System” and the Western Europe Department of the Agence Universitaire de la Francophonie (Francophone University Agency) also provided scientific and financial support to the event together with other partner institutions of the CIHEAM-IAMM in the Mediterranean area.

This forum offered about sixty PhD students and young researchers the opportunity to present and discuss recent research and development work undertaken within the CIHEAM as well as in other National Higher Education and Research Institutions in the Mediterranean region.

The discussions focused on the initiatives which could be implemented to meet the challenges of sustainable agricultural food production systems in the Mediterranean Basin, through various perspectives: sustainable agricultural production, preservation of natural resources, logistics, supply chain, food consumption, etc.

During the forum enabled several activities and events were organised:

• Oral presentations (10) and posters (59) on the basis of selected abstracts;
• Keynotes addresses (4) from invited guest speakers;
• Discussions with a panel of experts;Plenary sessions to debate the topics covered in the seminar;
• Plenary sessions to debate the topics covered in the seminar;
• Festivities.

Welcome speeches online by:

Jean-Paul Pellissier, Deputy Director of CIHEAM-MAIM

Hatem Belhouchette, Scientific administrator CIHEAM-MAIM

Placido Plaza, Principal administrator CIHEAM Paris

Contact: Hatem Belhouchette (Scientific Administrator, CIHEAM-MAIM): medforum2016@iamm.fr