The students reading for the M.A Conflict Resolution and Mediterranean Security programme offered by the Centre for the Study and Practice of Conflict Resolution were recently hosted by his excellency Dr George Vella at San Anton Palace, for a discussion on security challenges in the Mediterranean region.
The event, which was held in Agatha Barbara Hall, started with an introduction by the Director of the Centre, Dr Omar Grech, where he introduced the programme as a collaborative venture between the Centre and The Carter School for Peace and Conflict Resolution at George Mason University. He also provided a brief outline of the key characteristics of the programme of studies, including its multidisciplinary approach and its modular structure.
The President then proceeded to answer a number of questions posed by students and staff. These questions covered issues including Malta’s key contributions to Mediterranean dialogue, the challenges of managing migratory flows across the Mediterranean, the prospects for political stabilisation in Libya, and climate change.
During this event, Dr Vella also provided a tour d’horizon of the key issues with which the various countries across the southern and eastern Mediterranean littoral are faced with.
In conclusion, the Centre’s Director presented the President with a copy of the book Conflict Resolution after the Pandemic: Building Peace, Pursuing Justice, which was published by Routledge earlier this year. This work is edited by two Carter School academics, Richard E. Rubenstein and Solon Simmons, and also includes a chapter entitled 'Global Migration after the Pandemic', written by Dr Grech himself.