So Many T’s: TtF in Tunisia!

The second BRIDGE Training the Facilitator (TtF) workshop for civil society organizations in Tunisia took place in Sousse between the 26 November and 7 December. The TtF was part of the BRIDGE programme designed by the UNDP electoral support project in Tunisia that comprises two TtFs and a series of thematic modules workshops through which Tunisian BRIDGE facilitators will complete their accreditation process.

The TtF was co-facilitated by two international accrediting facilitators (Samia Mahgoub and Fernanda Lopes) and two Tunisian BRIDGE facilitators (Islem Omnari and Afef Mbarek). It constituted an opportunity for the two recently accredited Tunisian facilitators to gain more experience and knowledge on the BRIDGE methodology and different aspects of its implementation as well as preparation. During the two weeks of the workshop, the 21 participants worked hard but enthusiastically to facilitate and produce presentations according to the BRIDGE principles. Most of the participants had been exposed to BRIDGE before the TtF but for the few that hadn’t, the first day took them by surprise and represented a challenge that they overcame along the workshop. The first and second presentations were taken from the BRIDGE modules Civic Education, Registration, Introduction and Media and Elections. The participants engaged in the preparation of the first presentations and in the writing of the second presentations with interest on both the methodology and the content of the themes. Given the amount of new curriculum that is being created and the importance of the Tunisian elements that can be used in the customization of BRIDGE to the country’s context, the UNDP electoral support project is paying special attention to the translation, editing and structure of BRIDGE materials in Arabic.

At the current transitional phase in Tunisia, discussions over democracy attract most citizens and serve to awaken the awareness of the very different aspects that integrate the new way of living! At the final de-briefing, the participants identified as main challenge the work in pairs and in small groups. A symbolic challenge reflected in the new political life of Tunisia where civil society, media, different institutions and the recently elected members of the Constituent Assembly are given the opportunity to be active participants.