MADA2025 is centered around rekindling participatory ideals and restoring faith in representative governance among Tunisia's youth. Rooted in inclusion and action, MADA2025 seeks to expand common spaces, empower young leaders, and foster an engaged citizenry capable of shaping Tunisia's future.
MADA2025, derived from the Arabic term meaning “reach,” “space,” and “range,” embodies the project’s mission to expand opportunities for youth civic engagement and amplify their voices in policy-making processes. Building on the legacy of Tunisia’s revolutionary youth, this project creates pathways for young Tunisians to become active agents of change, reigniting their trust in collective action.
The Context: Why MADA2025?
Over the past decade, Tunisia’s youth have faced growing marginalization in political spaces. From being at the forefront of the 2011 revolution to supporting political campaigns like Kais Saied’s in 2019, young Tunisians have seen their aspirations for representation diminished. Declining trust in political parties, self-isolation from formal politics, and structural barriers have left young people disillusioned and disconnected from collective civic life.
Research by ARI and others reveals a troubling trend: an increasing retreat towards individualism, with many youth seeking personal solutions, such as migration, or disengaging from collective political discourse. These patterns, exacerbated by Tunisia’s socio-political crises, threaten to consolidate authoritarian alternatives.
The MADA project is a response, aiming to preserve participative ideals and ensure that young voices shape Tunisia’s participatory journey.
Objectives of MADA2025
The project is driven by two overarching objectives:
- Reignite Civic Engagement: Revitalize youth participation in collective action and create avenues for their inclusion in public policy processes.
- Restore Faith in Representation : Encourage young Tunisians to view representation as a tool for progress by addressing their needs and aspirations through inclusive and participatory methods.
These objectives are realized through a Participatory Action Research (PAR) approach, which engages young Tunisians in research, learning, and co-creation, fostering ownership of outcomes and building sustainable capacities.
Main Pillars of MADA2025
1. Developing Youth-Centric Public Policies
- MADA Fellowship Program: Eight Fellows, representing diverse regions of Tunisia, are trained in critical analysis and tasked with identifying youth priorities and barriers to progress through field research.
- Policy Workshops: Collaborative sessions where Fellows transform research findings into five innovative policy proposals.
- Public Tours: Fellows present these policies across Tunisian cities, gathering feedback and rallying support from their peers.
- Advocacy Tools: A digital platform is developed to house the proposals, enabling online petitions and long-term youth activism.
2. Supporting Youth-Led Movements
- Research on Youth Movements: In-depth interviews with leaders of movements addressing issues like LGBTQ rights, feminism, and ecology to understand the unique challenges youth face in civic spaces.
- Policy Dialogues: Closed sessions with youth leaders to develop tailored recommendations for external stakeholders.
- Roundtables with Stakeholders: Facilitating direct exchanges between youth leaders, donors, and local organizations to align visions and support mechanisms for sustained engagement.
Meet the Fellows: (To be announced)
The MADA2025 Fellowship brings together a diverse cohort of young Tunisians committed to civic engagement. Over 24 months, these Fellows receive mentorship and training, conduct original research, and develop actionable policies that address the pressing needs of their communities.
Fellows at a Glance
- Represent Tunisia’s diverse regions, from urban hubs to rural areas.
- Combine backgrounds in civic engagement, research, and policy.
- Serve as catalysts for dialogue, bridging the gap between youth and decision-makers.