The 23rd edition of the Lisbon Forum, an annual event organised by the North-South Centre of the Council of Europe, took place in the Portuguese capital on the 1st and 2nd of June, under the title ‘Interconnecting People: Managing migration, Avoiding populism, Building inclusive societies and reinforcing the North-South Dialogue’.

High-level experts and representatives of national governments, parliaments, local and regional authorities, civil society and international organisations met at the Ismaili Centre of Lisbon to discuss the most urgent challenges that Europe and the Mediterranean region are currently facing.

In addition, this year’s edition of the Lisbon Forum wanted to bring at the centre of the discussion the “human beings” more than ever, by acknowledging their sovereignty, by trusting in their potential and by stressing their interdependence and interconnection.

The debates lasted for one and half days, where speakers, divided into four panels about broad but interconnected themes, such as ‘Managing Migration’, ‘Avoiding Populism’, ‘Building Inclusive Societies’ and ‘Reinforcing the North-South Dialogue’, shared knowledge and experience, as well as pointed out solutions and effective action to cope with the challenges we are confronted with.

During the opening session, Mr. Augusto Santos Silva, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Portugal, launched an optimistic message to the participants, remarking that the solutions for the current challenges are difficult but not impossible to find. On the other hand, Ms. Gabriella Battaini-Dragoni, Deputy Secretary General of the Council of Europe, added that 'democratic citizenship education, respect for cultural rights and intercultural dialogue are the ingredients enabling a society to move forward together, reconciling different identities on the basis of shared values'.

Participating in the ‘Managing Migration’ session, Ms. Lora Pappa, founder and president of the Greek NGO ‘Metadrasi’ and 2015 North-South Prize laureate, explained that ‘the current migration flow is not a crisis, as it is usually described. There are more than 300 million migrants and refugees all over the world’ and that ‘there will be 200 million more in the next years, due to climate change'. Europe should stop looking at migration as a crisis or a problem, but instead accept it is a natural movement. In her view "money is not enough to solve this issue, instead a smile and a handshake are the most powerful weapons to create inclusive societies and manage migration flows."

In the panel about populism, Mr. Nuno Rogeiro, researcher and analyst of international relations and political science, addressed the audience and gave them a set of advice through an ‘automobile metaphor’, including a road map to avoid bad populism.

Addressing the theme on building inclusive societies, Ms Mbarka Brahmi, laureate of the NSP 2016, commented that 'it is through the youth that our societies will learn to speak better, understand each other more, and thus draw new and cooperative paths. And it is through the women that we, especially those in the South, will walk on both feet and dare to hope for democracy'. Mr Nassir Abdulaziz Al-Nasser, High Representative of the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations (UNAOC), maintained that 'heavy-handed approaches and a single-minded focus only on security measures have failed'. Instead, 'supporting young people's dreams for a better life and for a positive vision of the future' is a more effective stance.

During the second day of the initiative, Mr Piero Fassino, Member of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities and Thematic spokesperson on the South-Mediterranean Partnership, stressed the importance of the north-south dialogue: ‘We are the actors of a common future, for which we need to work together to promote the dialogue and the cooperation with the aim of consolidating democracies and fostering a global citizenship on the basis of universal rights and values’. He added that North-South relations are at the center of the globalization, and the Mediterranean should not be looked at as a border but instead as an element of unity where the neighbours of our neighbours - Africa, and in particular the Sahel – should also be included in the dialogue. Ms. Verena Taylor, Director of OGDP of the Council of Europe, stressed that a meaningful North-South Dialogue must be symmetric, demand-driven and should take into account local capacities and the real possibility to achieve concrete and sustainable goals, both bilateral and multilateral.

The Lisbon Forum was closed by the Chair of the Executive Committee of the North South Centre, Dr. Jean-Marie Heydt, that underlined the importance of the Lisbon Forum for the North-South Dialogue: 'our Forum, at its 23rd edition, has confirmed once more its crucial role between the North and the South as a platform of dialogue, ideas and actions', and by the Portuguese Minister Assistant to the Prime Minister, Dr. Eduardo Cabrita, who stressed that 'migration is not a disaster but, on the contrary, an added value for Europe'.

Once more funded by the EU and carried out by the Council of Europe under the 'Towards Strengthened Democratic Governance in the Southern Mediterranean (South Programme II)', the Lisbon Forum 2017 gathered more than 130 participants from Europe, the Southern Mediterranean region and beyond. Based on the conclusions of the 2017 Lisbon Forum, the North-South Centre of the Council of Europe will join the efforts of all present stakeholders and participants present at the Lisbon Forum and continue to enhance the capacities for dialogue among all state and non-state actors of the quadrilogue from origin, transit and destination countries, integrating its expertise in the fields of youth, women and global education.