Youth participation in M’Saken: from theory to practice
In September 2019, the M’Saken Municipality took part in the launch of participatory processes and trainings for the creation of a youth council as a means to reinforce participatory democracy and appropriation of local affairs for and by youth. Following that process, a youth council (namely “Conseil des Jeunes”) was elected by young citizens. The council is composed by 30 young counselors, women and men, ages 18 to 32, from several neighborhoods of M’Saken, as well as representatives from local youth organizations.
Year: 2021
Parternship
- MedCities
- Municipality of M’Saken
Funding
- Catalan Agency for Development and Cooperation
Tags: youth participation, youth policies, governance, Tunisia
Challenges addressed
- Lack of antecedents in the participation of the city’s youth in local affairs, including youth from the newly created neighborhoods (created in 2016) and young natives of M’Saken living abroad. The project aims to raise awareness and promote young people’s direct involvement in local affairs.
- Imbalance between the M’Saken city center and its outskirts, due to a lack of efficient local transport and public facilities’ remoteness.
- Lack of public facilities addressed at the city’s youth.
Main objectives
To implement a space for dialogue, coordination, communication and participation between M’Saken’s young citizens and the Municipality. The youth council enables young people to express their demands concerning local affairs participate and acquire experience in decision-making.
Specific objectives
- Consolidate the Youth Council of M’Saken as a space for dialogue between the city’s youth and the municipality.
- Strengthen municipal capacities for the implementation of youth policies and projects and citizen participation in Tunisia.
Facts
Project type Social cohesion, Economic development
Partnership
MedCities
Dannieh Union of Municipalities.
Collaborators: Dannieh Youth Dialogue Organisation, Sfireh Women Association, Cooperative Association for Agriculture and Irrigation in Dannieh
Funding
Catalan Agency for Development and Cooperation
Start date January – May 2021
Project description
To support the sense of belonging to the city and encourage youth engagement in local affairs, the Municipality of M’Saken, with the technical support from MedCities and the financial support from the Catalan Agency for Development Cooperation, has implemented a process of youth participation.
This process aimed to establish areas of genuine cooperation and coordination within the municipality through the creation of the “Conseil des Jeunes”.
The Conseil des Jeunes, as an advisory body, aims to:
- Support the municipality council in the decision-making process by providing relevant information or suggesting actions related to city issues;
- Ensure greater transparency in municipal affairs;
- Assist the city council to make its action more effective;
- Work with the municipality council for the success of the various projects through direct involvement or/and taking part in search of financing.
The Youth Council started its work in February 2021.
Actions taken
- Implementation of 3 youth projects in different localities (Borjine, Beni Rabiâa, Beni Kalthoum), based on youth demands.
- Organization of the “Forum de la Jeunesse”, gathering 60 people from youth, civil society and the municipal council.
- Organization of the official election of the Youth Council of M’Saken.
- Organization of several capacity building activities for the youth on local governance, communication, design thinking and youth councils.
- Support the development of a participative “Youth Diagnostic Report” of the city.
- Create and launch a website of the Youth Council of M’Saken with information of youth services and activities.
Impact and results
- More than 60 young people were directly involved in the definition of the structure and role of the Youth Council. Now M’Saken’s Youth Council is composed by 30 members (12 representatives from CSOs, 16 from localities, 2 for special needs).
- An electoral process took place, with election days on February 6th and 7th.
- 35 people, technical and political staff from 11 Tunisian municipalities and representatives of youth organizations attended a series of trainings on local youth policies.
- 1 Policy Guide published on “Experiences, good practices and recommendations” on Youth
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