Amman, 19 Feb. (Petra) --HRH Princess Rym Ali, President of the Anna Lindh Foundation (ALF), concluded a series of meetings in Brussels with institutional partners aimed at strengthening cooperation on intercultural dialogue, advancing youth participation, and sharpening alignment with shared regional priorities, particularly the people-to-people dimension of the Pact for the Mediterranean.

The Brussels programme included the ALF’s 78th Board of Governors Meeting, a meeting with Roberta Metsola, President of the European Parliament, and additional exchanges with institutional counterparts to support upcoming regional initiatives in which the ALF is both leading and actively contributing.

On 12 February 2026, the ALF held its 78th Board of Governors Meeting, a key moment to review progress, align priorities for 2026, and reaffirm its continued usefulness and relevance to communities and institutions across the region.

Opening the meeting, HRH underlined that "current global mutations and regional spillover effects require a profound deepening of the founding values of our shared Euro-Mediterranean space." She also reflected on the internal evolution of the Foundation in recent years, maintaining its founding values and aims, reflecting that when intercultural dialogue is properly supported and resourced through civil society, it can contribute to a more peaceful region.

The ALF’s President noted that current realities demand more than symbolic engagement: polarisation has intensified within societies, disinformation is increasingly used to fuel division, and the gap between the world young people seek to build and the one taking shape is widening.

In this context, HRH stressed that empowering youth can no longer be an empty slogan, but it requires guided, credible, and values-based work rooted in equality and justice, alongside stronger bridges between civil society and institutions.

Looking ahead, HRH emphasised that special attention in 2026 will be dedicated to aligning ALF action with the priorities of the Pact for the Mediterranean, particularly its people-to-people dimension, and to launching the implementation of two new programmes, which represent the main new features compared to the previous plan, while reaffirming the ALF’s grassroots focus, with more than 80% of the current Phase (2025–2028) operational programme budget channelled directly to National Civil Society Networks and local-level activities across the region.

In parallel to scaling grassroots action and measurable outcomes, HRH highlighted the ALF’s growing role in sharing and managing knowledge through targeted publications, briefs, and learning products and making them accessible to institutions and practitioners.

HRH met Roberta Metsola to discuss strengthened ALF-European Parliament cooperation, including progress towards establishing a Youth Parliamentary Assembly for the Mediterranean, an action set out in the Pact for the Mediterranean.

HRH highlighted the strong relationship between the ALF and the European Parliament, supported through its Secretariat-General, which has enabled sustained exchanges on intercultural dialogue. These have also included engagement with Members of the European Parliament in DMED on the active participation of young Euro-Mediterranean leaders in the debates of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Union for the Mediterranean.

Princess Rym Ali also highlighted that, in line with the ALF’s mission the people-to-people and culture dimensions of the Pact for the Mediterranean will be central to AgorALF 2026. Taking place on 27-28 April 2026 in Limassol, it will convene 400 actors in intercultural dialogue from both shores of the Mediterranean. HRH extended an invitation to Metsola to attend.

//Petra// WH