On April 10, 2014 the Secretary General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Michele Valensise intervened during the Training Academy for Democratic Governance with a presentation on "L'engagement international de l'Italie dans le domaine des droits de l'homme et la lutte contre la violence sur le femme".
The Academy for Training in "Democratic Governance for Young Professionals of Southern Mediterranean Countries" was set up at Venice International University in cooperation with EIUC and the Council of Europe. A series of courses on "Democratic Governance for Young Professionals of Southern Mediterranean Countries" are planned for the training of the new generation of Arab country leaders, the goal of which is to build a bridge between the northern and southern shores of the Mediterranean.
Human rights were prominent among the themes of the course, attended by 14 participants from Morocco, 16 from Tunisia and 7 from Algeria, 25 of whom were women and 10 men. The same theme was at the centre of the intervention by Secretary General Michele Valensise. The course was organised by the Council of Europe in collaboration with the European Centre for Human Rights and Democratisation (EIUC) and Venice International University (VIU), and is part of the joint European Union and Council of Europe "Strengthening Democratic reform in the Southern Neighbourhood" (South Programme).