The MEDINA Initiative aims to enhance dialogue by reimagining the Mediterranean Sea not as a dividing border but a shared space of a complex historical relation of political, cultural, economic, and intellectual exchange between its shores. By exploring commonalities and differences in a constructive manner, it seeks to enhance connectivity, understanding, and to bridge gaps. It will emphasize the complex and interconnected histories of the shores of the Mediterranean, offering nuanced perspectives that highlight centuries of interaction, coexistence, and knowledge exchange. The initiative also seeks to explore the deep historical connections between Islam and Europe, examining how their interactions— and their tensions— have shaped development, knowledge, and identities across the Mediterranean. Through understanding this shared past, its continuity and disruption, and how to imagine a more constructive future by understanding these interactions as ‘cultural/historical networks’ that mutually influenced each other in many ways to create overlapping identities.

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The Inaugural MEDINA Forum in Granada, Spain, is scheduled for early 2026. It will convene distinguished scholars from around the world to explore how this exchange has informed the past and present, and how it can inform the future. 

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The MEDINA initiative will also develop actionable steps, foster new approaches for dialogue, mutual understanding, and challenging of divisive political and ideological boundaries. It will bridge the academic sphere with public discourse by translating complex, research-based knowledge into accessible, relevant, and engaging content for broader audiences through various channels including public conferences, exhibitions, and media.