Barcelona, Spain, 2 - 6 October 2023

The CIHEAM collaborated in the Young Leadership Programme – Mediterranean (YLPMED) 2023 organised by the European Forest Institute and which provided 20 young professionals with new scientific knowledge and communication skills that can help them become leaders for the future of the Mediterranean.

Dynamic sessions, stimulating exchanges, and practical training were the main highlights of this EFI Young Leadership Programme – Mediterranean (YLPMED) 2023, which focused on land abandonment, forests, and cultural landscapes.
Established by EFI in 2014, the Young Leadership Programme has had Mediterranean editions since 2018. The YLPMED 2023 was organised in partnership with the Union for Mediterranean and with the collaboration of key partners who helped set up the programme and select participants: FAO Silva Mediterranea; PRIMA; CIHEAM; CREAF; and CTFC. 

Over the week, the programme provided the participants with the possibility of increasing their scientific knowledge and developing cross-disciplinary skills useful for their future careers. The scientific sessions featured a number of high-level speakers who highlighted different aspects of land abandonment in Mediterranean mosaic landscapes.
During daily soft skill sessions, participants had the opportunity to work with storytelling experts to develop skills in oral communication, photography and video production, an initiative supported by the National Geographic Society project “Entangled destiny: the connection between trees and people in the Mediterranean