Steps towards the creation of a Mediterranean Geosciences Union (MedGU)

Mediterranean Geosciences Union (MedGU) aims to create a unique federation that brings together and represents the Mediterranean geoscience community specializing in the areas of Earth, planetary and space sciences.

MedGU will be structured along the lines of AGU (American Geophysical Union) and EGU (European Geosciences Union).

The plan is to establish a large organization for the Mediterranean region that is more influential than any one local geoscience society with the objective of fostering fundamental geoscience research, as well as applied research that addresses key societal and environmental challenges.

MedGU’s overarching vision is to contribute to the realization of a sustainable future for humanity and for the planet.

The creation of this union will give the Earth sciences more influence in policy-making and in the implementation of solutions to preserve the natural environment and to create more sustainable societies for the people living in the Mediterranean region. It is hoped that the union will also provide opportunities to Mediterranean geoscientists to undertake interdisciplinary collaborative research. MedGU plans to recognize the work of the most active geoscientists with a number of awards and medals.

Although MedGU has not yet been officially inaugurated, its first annual meeting is planned for November 2021 in Istanbul. This will provide a forum to achieve a consensus for the formation of this non-profit international union of geoscientists. Membership will be open to individuals who have a professional engagement with the Earth, planetary and space sciences and related studies, including students and retired seniors.

Nabil Khélifi and Attila Çiner have taken an ambitious approach to the launch of the first MedGU Annual Meeting 2021 and hope to develop it in the near future into the largest international geoscience event in the Mediterranean and the broader MENA region. Its mission is to support geoscientists based in this region by establishing a Global Geoscience Congress.

It is expected that hundreds of participants from all over the world will attend this first MedGU Annual Meeting 2021, making it one of the largest and most prominent geosciences event in the region. So far, over 1300 abstracts have been submitted from 95 countries. The meeting’s sessions will cover a wide range of topics with more details available on the Conference Tracks.

This first 2021 Annual Meeting will have a "hybrid" format, with both in-person and virtual participation. Springer, its official partner, will publish the proceedings in a book series (indexed in Scopus) as well as a number of special issues in diverse scientific journals (for more details, see Publications). The official journal of MedGU is Mediterranean Geoscience Reviews (Springer).

MedGU Founder

"We want to establish a large influential organization for the Mediterranean region with the objective of fostering fundamental and applied geoscience research that addresses key societal and environmental challenges"

In recent years, as in-house Editor for Springer for the Middle East and Africa, I have had the opportunity to meet many successful geoscientists from the region and I have come to realize how difficult it is for many of them to travel to international conferences to show their work and build collaborations. It is my belief that a large event organized through a single federation representing the geoscience community around the Mediterranean and in the broader MENA region could be of enormous benefit.

Nabil Khélifi

Senior Editor, Springer
MedGU Founder
MedGU-21 Supervisor

MedGU (Interim) President

Attila Çiner

Professor, Istanbul Technical University
MedGU (Interim) President
MedGU-21 Chair

"The creation of this union will give the Earth sciences more influence in policy-making and in the implementation of solutions for more sustainable societies in the Mediterranean region"

We aim to create a unique federation that brings together the Mediterranean geoscience community. MedGU’s overarching vision is to contribute to the realization of a sustainable future for the people living in the Mediterranean region. It is hoped that the union will provide opportunities to Mediterranean geoscientists to undertake interdisciplinary collaborative research.