Professor Noursaid Tligui President Professor Andre Laurent Parodi Honorary President of REEV-Med The Mediterranean Network of Establishments for Veterinay Education (REEV-Med): Toward an improvement of Veterinary Education in the Mediterranean Region.

Introduction Veterinary Services activities are recognised as ‘ global public goods ’ ; Performance of Veterinary Services are strongly depending on the ability, skill and qualification of their human resources; According to some Veterinary Services Performance (PVS) OIE evaluations outcomes, the level of Veterinary Education is inadequate in some countries; so, Veterinary Education appears as a key component of any plan of Veterinary Services improvement.

In this purpose the Mediterranean Network of Establishments for Veterinary Education (R é seau des Etablissements d'enseignement v é t é rinaire de la M é diterran é e) was draw up. : Palestine

Foundation of the REEV-Med The idea of the network was initiated on 2010 October 7-8 in the Veterinary School of Alfort (France) as the conclusion of a workshop held under the auspices of the TA Ï EX office (European Commission) in which representatives of 20 mediterranean countries were present. Bases of a Mediterranean Union for Veterinary Training were adopted. A steering Committee was nominated.

In March 2012 in the Veterinary Faculty of Cordoba (Spain), the Steering Committee, with the presence of EAEVE and FVE representatives, and of the OIE General Director, the foundation of a Mediterranean Network of Veterinary Education establishments was decided.

The first General Assembly was held in the Hassan II Institute of Agronomy and Veterinary Medicine of Rabat (Morocco) on 27 and 28 of September 2012,

The First General Assembly of REEV-Med (Rabat, Septembre 2012) The meeting was attended by approximately fifty participants representing Establishments for Veterinary Education (EVE) from Algeria, Egypt, France, Greece, Italy, Morocco and Tunisia.

The objectives of the Association (1)  to maintain, develop and promote the standards of veterinary education in the Southern Mediterranean countries;  to ensure that those trained in veterinary medicine meet the requirements of the society;  The Association shall reinforce, particularly in the South of the Mediterranean, co-operation between Establishments for Higher Education in Veterinary Science and other relevant bodies. The Association should also act as a forum for the discussion of matters for Veterinary Education, in order to improve and harmonize veterinary education among the members.

 to promote exchanges of teaching staff between the REEV- Med Establishments as well as with Establishments in other parts of the world;  to promote mobility of students between these Institutions as well as with Establishments in other parts of the world;  to promote the development and distribution of teaching materials for use in veterinary education at all levels, undergraduate, postgraduate and continuing education;  to organize meetings having as their objectives the study and organization of the aforementioned points;  to facilitate, when relevant, twining between Establishments within the region or similar mechanisms. The objectives of the Association (2)

Most of these objectives fit with the recommendations! OIE recommendations on the Competencies of graduating veterinarians (‘Day 1 graduates’) to assure National Veterinary Services of quality.

Funding The payment of membership fees shall constitute the basic funding of the Association. Furthermore, the Association may receive grants from organizations and donations from individuals with a view to financing its activities and all other contributions as authorized by the law.

The Association will be supported by a permanent Secretary office established currently in the OIE sub-regional representation based in Tunis.

Evaluation The statutes of REEV-Med include, in particular, that every member of the network has to comply with an evaluation process comparable to international evaluation ones, particularly to the European system (EAEVE). EAEVE has accepted to manage this evaluation procedure through the "consultative on-site visitations ” system.

Conclusion (1) REEV-Med is a recently founded network of Regional Veterinary Education Establishments. Its Main Objective are to harmonize and to standardize veterinary training in the Southern Mediterranean region and eventually, in the future, to obtain a mutual recognition of degrees throughout the region.

Conclusion (2) The expected improvement of the veterinary training quality will be achieved through a personnal implication of every Establishment and also of their respective administration. In this undertaking the support obtained from international organizations such as OIE, EAEVE and FVE are mostly valuable.

Thank you for your attention