The Middle East Institute's (MEI) North Africa and Sahel Program and the North African Policy Initiative (NAPI) are excited to announce a six-part roundtable series through which Tunisian youth will examine key policy issues affecting their country. The series will consist of livestreamed discussions. Each roundtable will allow engaged Tunisian youth to present their observations and perspective on the policy issue as it presents itself in Tunisia. The inaugural roundtable will highlight education challenges and opportunities.

In 2021, a region-wide poll found that 77% of respondents were dissatisfied with education - more than in any other country in North Africa, and for a reason. In the years following Tunisia’s independence in 1956, large investments in, and reform of education made it an asset that distinguished the country from others in the region and granted a real opportunity for social promotion. Nowadays, after years of neglect and an unordered development of private education that followed the 2011 revolution, education has largely become a liability and a mechanism that institutionalizes social inequality. Nowadays, education represents an increasing cost for families that can afford it, and a decreasing value for those who cannot. How did we get here? During this policy-oriented roundtable discussion, engaged Tunisian youth will provide their perspective, and will shed light on challenges and opportunities related to education in Tunisia.

Speakers:

Nourjahen Gala-Ali

Mehdi Cherif

Mariem Bchir

Walid Hedidar

Jean-Louis Romanet Perroux, moderator

Intissar Fakir, co-host