Summary: International EU-VALUES Conference on Promoting the Green and Digital Transition
The International EU-VALUES Conference took place on the 17th-18th September 2026 at University Mohammed VI Polytechnic (UM6P) in Rabat, Morocco. It brought together scholars and policymakers from Europe, Africa, Asia, Latin America, and Oceania to examine how the green and digital transitions are reshaping development, governance, and international cooperation. Against a backdrop of climate pressure, geopolitical tension, and rapid technological change, the conference explored what these transitions mean for sustainability, equity, and power in global governance. Contributions were welcomed in English and French.
A pre-conference day on the 16th September opened proceedings with the EU-VALUES General Assembly for members and two workshops, one on research and gender in academia and one on global doctoral research opportunities.
The main programme opened on the 17th September with remarks from IBEI and UM6P leadership and a keynote by Karim El Aynaoui, Dean of FGSES and Executive Vice-President of UM6P. Six parallel panels ran over the first day, covering:
the geoeconomics of the twin transition, including EU partnerships, critical minerals, and connectivity
regulation and public opinion, including AI governance
EU energy governance and infrastructure in the Mediterranean and Indo-Pacific
EU-Asia trade agreements
regional order and climate politics in Latin America
climate justice and international law
A roundtable on interdisciplinarity in comparative regionalism and a presentation of the EU-VALUES survey rounded out the day, followed by an evening reception.
The second day turned more to Africa and the Global South. Panels addressed green finance and the macroeconomics of the energy transition, along with society and marginality in the Maghreb, water and conflict, and strategic autonomy and geopolitical competition in Africa. A French-language panel focused on Morocco's green transition across finance, business, and monetary policy. A second roundtable debated whether sustainability and resilience in trade and value chains are "friends or foes". Radosław Markowski gave the closing keynote on the role of the social sciences in the Anthropocene, followed by the closing EU-VALUES session and a historical tour of Rabat's Old Town led by Jan Erk.
