EUMEDCONNECT - An Overview

The EUMEDCONNECT project is a pioneering IP research network within the Mediterranean region, linking Mediterranean and North African countries to each other, and to the pan-European GÉANT2 network.

The infrastructure provides an international backbone dedicated to research and other non-commercial purposes. It is linking national research centres and institutions in the region with over 3,500 research and education establishments in Europe, and other regional research communities worldwide.

The Mediterranean partners in the EUMEDCONNECT project are Algeria, Cyprus, Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Malta, Morocco, the Palestinian Authority, Syria, Tunisia and Turkey. The European partners are France, Greece, Italy and Spain.

EUMEDCONNECT has created the first regional research and education network for the Mediterranean, and is contributing to the acceleration of development of the Internet in the region. The network is helping to foster cohesion with the region, and supporting collaborations both between users in the region and with those in Europe on issues of common interest.

EUMEDCONNECT has been particularly instrumental in supporting e-learning and e-science projects, for example:

• EUMEDGRID, the first grid computing project in the Mediterranean region, which began in January 2006 and makes extensive use of EUMEDCONNECT’s infrastructure
• The EuMed Cancer - GeMed Network project, which aims to develop centres of excellence in genetics in Mediterranean countries through the provision of online courses and workshops.

EUMEDCONNECT is a key part of the European Commission’s drive to promote Information Society objectives in the region. It was the principal infrastructure project supported by the EUMEDIS programme and provided connectivity for many of the EUMEDIS application projects. To find out more, please visit the EUMEDCONNECT web site, which you can reach via the link in the black panel at the top-right of this page.