The Business Country Desk (BCD), one of the essential instruments implemented within the framework of the EBSOMED project, was presented during the MED Confederation 2019 Annual Conference, held on 1-2 October 2019 at the Bardo National Museum in Tunis. The conference theme was “The Mediterranean in the era of the Fourth Industrial Revolution: the impact of digitalisation on human capital and mobility”.

How is technology set to change Mediterranean economies? What are the current human mobility trends and financial inflows in the Mediterranean region? What economic sectors will experience a greater change in the future and how can we prepare the students of today to become the necessary professionals of tomorrow?
Those questions and many more  were addressed during  this international event, co-organised by the MED Confederation and the Tunisian Caisse des Dépôts et Consignations (CDC), event that  gathered high-level representatives and experts from the public and private sectors to analyse the future of the Mediterranean Region and the keys to face present and upcoming challenges related to the fourth industrial revolution.

During her speech, Mrs Jihen Boutiba, General Secretary of BUSINESSMED and Executive Director of the EBSOMED project, stressed the importance for employers' organisations, to get involved and to be part of this Fourth Revolution while insisting on giving ownership to the human aspect and the social dialogue concerning employment.

Mr Habib Zitouna, the BUSINESSMED expert working on  the BCD platform (under development), participated in the round table “Digitisation of the Mediterranean Labour Market” during which he explained the advantages of centralizing key information related to the economy of the Mediterranean region in order to assist and stimulate trade and investment, as well as to initiate and develop North-South or South-South business partnerships through Regional Markets. He highlighted how a platform such as the Business Country Desk could be a relevant tool to help achieve these goals.