Tunisian Heritage is Not for Sale: Privatization Threatens Country’s Historic Sites

In a rather low-key, overlooked way, the Tunisian Minister of Culture, Mourad Sakli, has announced yesterday on a radio program on Jawhara FM that the ministry plans on privatizing Tunisian heritage sites. The plan is to have private companies lease the sites for periods of 25 to 30 years.

What the Tunisian Government Should Learn from Egypt

The deposition of former Egyptian president Mohammed Morsi: call it what you like – a popular uprising, a military coup, a continuation of the “Arab Spring”, or a hammer blow to democratic reform efforts. Whatever it was, Tunisia is certainly not immune to it.

Tunisia and the make-up of a crisis: burkas, children’s rights, and accented spoken Arabic

Today, we are confronting what we could credibly call a ‘crisis.’ An identity crisis, a socioeconomic crisis, and most of all, a daily, practical crisis.

Assemblée tunisienne : un monde d’homme… mais les femmes peuvent aider!

Le 1 août dernier a eu lieu, au sein de la commission des droits et libertés de l’ANC, un vote sur des la protection des droits de la femme. Une protection édictée en des termes ambigues puisque la femme y est décrite comme « la partenaire de l’homme ».

Tunisian Assembly: It’s a Man’s World, but Women Can Help!

On August 1, 2012, the Tunisian committee on rights and liberties – one of the constitutional committees charged with drafted different chapter in the Tunisian constitution – voted in controversial new language that promises to protect women’s rights as “man’s partner.”

Failles dans la sécurité intérieure : Fuloul, Laarayed et « l’art blasphématoire »

« Derrière ces troubles en Tunisie se trouvent des criminels, des trafiquants de drogue et des extrémistes salafistes », c’est ce qu’a déclaré ce mardi à l’ANC, Ali Larayedh, le ministre de l’Intérieur. M. Larayedh a été invité à s’exprimer devant l’Assemblée…

Internal Security Failures: Fuloul, Laraayedh, and “Provocative Art”

“Criminals, drug traffickers, and Salafist extremists are the ones behind the unrest,” Ali Laraayedh, the Tunisian Minister of the Interior, told the Constituent Assembly on Tuesday. The minister was invited to speak to the assembly and answer its questions

Assemblée constituante: Du devoir de montrer l’exemple quant à la transparence et la responsabilité gouvernementale

Le 4 Juin, les membres du groupe OpenGovTN (une initiative qui vise à institutionnaliser la transparence dans la Tunisie nouvelle) ont rencontré Karima Souid, la représentante de l’information et de communication officielle de l’Assemblée constituante.

Constituent Assembly: Duty to Lead the Way in Transparency and Governmental Accountability

On June 4th, members of the OpenGovTN group (an initiative that works to institutionalize transparency in the new Tunisia) met with the information and communication official in the Constituent Assembly, representative Karima Souid.

Beyond Sheer Numbers, Greater Transparency Needed in Assembly Costs

It all started 3 months ago in the Constituent Assembly’s Finance Committee. One Constituent Assembly member, who does not sit on the committee, anonymously confided to me: “It was one of the first things they discussed.”

Mission Impossible: Accéder à l’information au sein de l’Assemblée constituante

Passer presque toutes mes journées au sein de l’Assemblée constituante au cours du mois passé ne m’a pas vraiment permis, contrairement à ce que peuvent penser les gens, à obtenir des documents importants afin de les transmettre au public.

Mission Impossible : Access to Information in the Constituent Assembly

Being at the Constituent Assembly nearly everyday for the past month or so has not, contrary to what people may think, helped me get most important documents out to the public. Until this day, there is no systemic way of accessing crucial information on committee work

Les nouvelles excuses de la commission des blessés de la révolution

Jeudi dernier, la session matinale de la séance plenière devait en effet traiter des dossiers des martyrs. Pourtant, en raison des événements du 9 avril et des tensions qu’ils ont causé, la conversation a vite tournée à un débat rhétorique.

تعليق عبد الرؤوف العيادي على اثر اقالته من الامانة العامة للمؤتمر

اصدر المكتب السياسي لحزب المؤتمر من اجل الجمهورية بيانا جاء فيه استياء و استغراب هؤلاء من التصريح الاخير الذي ادلى به الامين العام عبد الرؤوف العيادي بمناسبة مؤتمر حزب القوات اللبنانية. المؤتمر اعلن تبرئه مما جاء على لسان امينه العام مؤكدا انه متعارض مع الخط السياسي للحزب الشيء الذي انجر عنه اقالة هذا .الاخير من طرف المكتب السياسي

Sustainably Combatting Unemployment with New Regional Development

The delicate social climate in most inner regions of Tunisia is a reminder of the tension that unemployment has created over the years. Gafsa, home to one of the largest employment producing companies in the region, the Gafsa Phosphate Company (Compagnie des Phosphates de Gafsa, CPG)

Local journalism collectives reclaim media space

A tool that has been used and abused by the former regime’s propaganda teams. Information in Tunisia is described as centralized and monopolized by a few media outlets that are usually headquartered in the capital, Tunis. One initiative however, spearheaded by Nawaat jointly […]

Time for a “Bourguibist” Comeback? Essebsi Butters up Tunisians in Monastir

The dome shaped room was a sea of red and white. It smelled of amber musk and sea. The attendees were mostly well over the age of 40, and the buzz of excitement was impossible to miss. You would think you were attending a Michael Jackson concert. […]

Youth-led Wiki Workshop Held at Nawaat HackerSpace

In an effort to increase the level of Tunisian participation in wiki-media, a workshop was held on Saturday, March 17, at Nawaat’s “Hackerspace” – a space designed to hold community events – to discuss the concept of wiki-media. The workshop was led by Yamen Bousrih, a young Tunisian cyber-activist.