CampaignsMADA25

Five policy proposals by young Tunisians. One public vote.

Five ideas for Tunisia, written by young Tunisians. Which one should come first?

For a year, eight MADA Project fellows listened to young people across Tunisia. These are their five policy proposals.

The proposals

Five ideas, one vote

  • Mental health

    Demand for care has nearly tripled, yet Tunisia has one national psychiatric hospital and no community mental health centres.

  • School bullying

    How safe young people feel at school, and what schools can do to stop bullying.

  • Water

    Tunisia is among the 20 most water-stressed countries in the world. Whether water runs from the tap is a policy decision.

  • University clubs

    Space for students to organise, debate and take part in campus life.

  • Political schools

    Tunisia has 25,000 registered associations, yet young people stay out of formal politics. Political schools aim to open the door.

The public vote

Which idea should come first?

Read the five proposals, then vote on Decidim for the one Tunisia should act on first.

Vote on Decidim

The Journey

  1. The MADA Fellowship begins

    January 2025

    Eight fellows from different regions of Tunisia start the fellowship. They are trained in critical analysis and go into the field to find out what young people care about most and what holds them back.

    Meet the fellows

  2. Policy workshops

    March 2026

    In collaborative sessions, the fellows turn their research findings into five policy proposals: mental health, school bullying, water, university clubs and political schools.

    Read the proposals

  3. Public tours

    November 2026

    The fellows present their proposals in cities across Tunisia, gathering feedback and rallying support from their peers.

    See the tour diaries

  4. The public vote

    December 2026

    The five proposals go public on Decidim, where young Tunisians vote for the one that should come first.

    Vote now

The issues in numbers

  • Nearly 3×

    Rise in mental health consultations per 100,000 people, 2004–2017

  • 1

    National psychiatric hospital in Tunisia, and no community mental health centres

  • Top 20

    Tunisia’s rank among the world’s most water-stressed countries

  • 25,000

    Registered associations in Tunisia, while young people stay out of formal politics

Meet the fellows

The five proposals

How voting works 

Three steps 

  1. Read the five proposals on this page.
  2. Vote on Decidim for the one that matters most to you. Signing up takes two minutes.
  3. Tell us why in the comments under the proposal on Decidem.

FAQ

Who can vote?
Anyone. You only need an email address. Voting is open from [date] to [date].
Is my vote public?
No. You can use a nickname; your vote is private and only your comments are public.
When are the results?
Results are announced on [date].
What happens to the winning proposal?
The proposal with the most votes will become a policy brief, presented by its authors to public servants at a roundtable convened by ARI, and followed up in the media. You will be able to follow every step on Decidim.
Why Decidim?
MADA25 runs on Decidim, an open-source platform for participatory democracy. ARI is the first think tank in the MENA region to use it.

A word from the fellows

Our biggest challenge was to build a credible vision for public policy in Tunisia in a closed environment. “Change” and “reform” are words that have been worn thin over the last fifteen years. Through a reciprocal approach with young people, we wanted to create a space for dialogue and a shared vision of Tunisia’s future. — The MADA25 fellows

Partners and contact

MADA25 is a project of the Arab Reform Initiative, in partnership with Yaluna.

Press and partnership enquiries: [email]

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