The Union of Mediterranean Confederations of Enterprises (BUSINESSMED), represented by its General Secretary, Mrs. Jihen Boutiba Mrad, together with the General Confederation of Algerian Enterprises (CGEA), represented by its Honorary President, Mr. Habib Yousfi, took part to the Forum Futuralia 2020, which was held on March 30^th – 31^st 2017 in Lisboa.

Futurália is an initiative of AIP Foundation that in 2017 marks its 10th edition, whose main mission is to confront the youth with their options regarding academic and professional future where is possible the interaction with institutions, enterprises, government, universities and research centers. The Forum has been conceived in order to establish “bridges” of dialogue and cooperation with different regional areas and their actors, such as the European Union and the South of the Mediterranean.

In this context a Regional Seminar under theme “Social Dialogue on the Emergence of the 4^th Industrial Revolution: Education, Employment and Youth” was held on March 30^th under the auspices of H.E Secretary of State of Industry, Mr. Joao Vasconcelos, and the AIP’s President, Mr. Jorge Rocha de Matos.

The Conference gathered several representatives of Social partners across the Mediterranean and namely the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC), represented by its General Secretary, Mr. Mustapha Tlili, the International Labour Organization, represented by Mrs. Mafalda Troncho, the Economic Social and Environmental Council of Morocco (CESE).

During the opening session, Mr. Habib Yousfi, highlighted that in view of the new challenges brought by the explosion and the acceleration of the collaborative 4.0 technologies, it is fundamental that the social partners undertake a joint brainstorming about the attitude to adopt in order to take the best advantages and manage adapted action plans.

As far as the Business Support Organizations are concerned Mrs. Jihen Boutiba Mrad emphasized that those ones are in urgent need of trained talents on issues related to the transformative digital vision, enabling new management models of governance.

The Conference was for BUSINESSMED an excellent opportunity to confront the major actors of social dialogue and other stakeholders about issues that today are crucial in terms of qualifications, employment and youth, in a world increasingly based on a knowledge economy.