To promote sustainability and inclusion I launched my project as a MEPI and TMC (Tunisia Mentoring Council) alumna which is ProActive Youth.
VISION: An autonomous and independent Tunisian youth.
MISSION: Encouraging the Tunisian youth especially GIRLS to be active and initiators through motivating and empowering them to think for themselves and be engaged citizens.
My initiative aims to make an impact and to boost the confidence and competencies of young Tunisians. I believe that information and inspiration are key tools to empower youth and to encourage them to be active citizens. I post opportunities and other interesting materials and I will start this month the workshops to enhance their competencies. It is amazing when people tell me that my initiative inspires them, that they are becoming active, and most importantly engaged in social change.
As a person coming from a small town in the north-west of Tunisia I encountered many challenges while coming to the capital city for studying and I had to do extra efforts to be as qualified as the others. Simply all of this because of regional disparities and the absence of access to information in my town. I noticed the huge difference between the two places as well as the gap of skills between a young person in Tunis and another one living in a rural place. I become engaged and I active and I have been participating in national and international initiatives to boost my skills so I can make an impact and be a change maker. After being a mentee with TMC the program gave me motivation to achieve. Moreover, my participation in the MEPI Student Leaders Program proved that I have the potential and I can make people discover theirs. All of these things were a catalyst for me to start my own project and be a social change agent and an ambassador for development in our country.
I think you are aware of the latest edgeryders gathering in Medenine organized by @yosser , @zmorda , and the Medenine crowd; People there are very active and working towards more activities in the small Medenine. It seems that Tunisia is very Centralized somehow in Tunis and mobilizing youth in small cities is definitely one of the ways towards a more decentralized country, where do you come from by the way ?
would love to know more about this, what is the content and where do you have such workshops, is there some coworking spaces or any kind of common space that young people can hang out and have workshops ?
totally agree.
what kind of information do you see lacking in your small town ? and what do you need to make this happen ?
Yes, I know about the gathering that was held in Medenine and I got accepted to participate but unfortunately I could not due to some inconveniences. It was a great initiative for youth in that area.I have many friends there and they suffer from the same issue as other youth in interior regions which is unemployment. Besides, as you mentioned they are working on activities to contribute in local development.
The workshops around leadership, personal development, effective communication, social entrepreneurship, civic-engagement, public speaking, etc. Luckily, several community members and organizations are offering to help me. the American Corner Tunis, the American Center (formely IRC), Elite Center, and other spaces are giving me the opportunity to host the workshops without fees. We do have co-working spaces especially in the capital city but mostly but they charge some fees. They offer a range of workshops for youth but few attend them. This is the problem in Tunisia even if there are plenty of events and opportunities youth don’t go for them.
The kind information that I’m working on and I want to focus on it is opportunities such as events, competitions, especially funds so youth can start their own projects. Recently, a painful event happened in my hometown which is the death of a young person. He is a graduate and he didn’t find a job, he went to the officials of the municipality asking for a small grant to create a project, they refused so he committed suicide because he felt hopeless and worthless. He didn’t know that many organizations are offerings grants. Furthermore, information about the different ways to be engaged in the community and how to be an active citizens, proactive and not reactive by creating the social change.
My vision seems to be wide and I seem to be a dreamer but I believe in it. I’m encountering several challenges which hamper what I want to achieve.