The 16th Tunis Exchange

The Tunis Exchange will open at the conference hotel in downtown Tunis with an orientation and security briefing at 6pm on Sunday, June 11 (the timing may change to accommodate late arrivals). We will generally hold sessions in the conference room or in Greater Tunis Monday–Friday from 9:30am–7pm. On Friday, June 16 at 7pm, the group will travel south for a day and a half of meetings. We will return to Tunis from the south by 1pm on Sunday, June 18 and close The Exchange (we therefore recommend booking departure flights after 5pm on Sunday, June 18).

In order to promote small group dynamics, the number of participants will be capped at 22. Sessions themselves will usually be conducted on an individual rather than a panel basis and will generally allow ample opportunity for question time (consecutive translation into English will be provided when necessary). All sessions will also be held under the Chatham House rule, although we customarily work with our speakers to approve any quotes/references that participants may need for their own work.

The first Beirut Exchange took place in June 2008, only a few weeks after sustained violence across Lebanon led to a political settlement known as the Doha Accords. It was our belief at the time that Lebanon was in dire need of more direct and diversified understanding, especially for those who are studying the country, influencing public opinion and discourse, or shaping their own country’s foreign policies. Given the current situation that finds Lebanon slipping in terms of international focus even as its citizenry is immiserated further by the day, this is – regrettably – more true than ever.

In the years following our first Exchange, and given the evident need regionally, we steadily expanded our efforts, hosting more than 40 different Exchanges across the Middle East and North Africa – including in Tunisia, Iraq, Syria and Turkey and on Libya as well as Yemen. Fourteen years later, over 1,000 people from 51 different countries have attended an Exchange, with many alumni returning in later years to join sessions once (or several times) again.

In 2019, in order to transparently organize and further professionalize our work, we were finally able to establish The Exchange as a US-registered non-profit, under the aegis of The Foundation for Global Political Exchange, with the mission of promoting professional and academic enrichment through a variety of small group, direct engagement conferences in Western Asia and North Africa.

Crucially – and since our beginning – all funding for the Exchange comes from only two sources: First, the participants who pay the participation fee and, second, scholarship recipients who benefit from individual, charitable contributions designed to broaden the social, political and geographic diversity of each Exchange table. As such, there is no government, commercial or non-profit support, an aspect that we believe provides a relatively independent platform for dialogue and understanding.

The Foundation for Global Political Exchange currently has two Scholarships (covering the participation fee) available in the following categories: A) The Tunisian/Tunisian Origin Researcher Scholarship for Tunisian researchers who additionally demonstrate a lack of institutional or self-funding ability; B) The Global Exchange Researcher Scholarship available for researchers who will deepen the social, political and geographic diversity of the Exchange and who can document a lack of institutional or self-funding ability. For any questions related to scholarships, email: info@globalpoliticalexchange.org

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• Transformations in the human rights & freedom of speech landscape since July 25, 2021
• The origins & principal political outcomes of Tunisia’s 2011 revolution
• The role of political parties in Tunisia since 2011, and whether or how political parties will continue to play a role in President Kais Saied’s proposed political system
• The roots, major outcomes of, and primary debates surrounding President Kais Saied’s July 25th, 2021 dismissal of the government and the freezing of Parliament
• Challenges for transitional justice, anti-corruption campaigners & accountability in post-2011 Tunisia
• Tunisia’s current economic situation & contrasting views on how to solve it
• Challenges for judicial reform in post-2011 Tunisia & current status of Tunisia’s judiciary
• Challenges for security sector reform in Tunisia & current role of police, police unions, and military in the country’s politics
• Environmental & food security challenges in Tunisia today and their history pre- and post-2011
• The role of Tunisia’s powerful trade union, UGTT, & civil society organisations in post-2011 and post-July 25, 2021 Tunisia
• Tunisia’s shifting regional and foreign relations

Accepted participants in the upcoming Tunis Exchange will receive the full Schedule of confirmed speakers one month prior to the opening, as well as readings pertinent to the sessions. We expect the 16th Tunis Exchange to meet or exceed the scope and level of our previous Tunis Exchanges.

View the Schedule of the last virtual Tunis Exchange (Summer 2021)