Europe wants to help with job regionalization in Tunisia
17 May 2011
Read by 1523 persons
"Europe has watched you and must help you in this transition," declares Michèle Sabban, president of the Assembly of European Regions (AER), on an official visit to Tunisia with a delegation of AER members. "In 48 hours, we have tried to listen, to understand. We have taken a strong signal on the commitments to be made. A revolution is beautiful, it is strong, it is powerful. But it requires a huge amount of work to be done in the long term," she adds.
The visit of this European delegation aims at the decentralization process underway in Tunisia. It is in this sense that a memorandum of understanding was signed on May 13, 2011, between the Ministry of Regional Development and the AER to materialize this cooperation through projects, which qualifies Tunisia, by extension, to be an observer member of the organization.
Finding sustainable solutions...
For Abderrazek Zouari, Minister of Regional Development, Tunisia is called upon to draw inspiration from the experiences of other countries in terms of local governance in order to successfully implement its regional policy. "This is not an agreement between a Tunisian region and a European region; but an agreement between Tunisia and 270 European regions," he emphasizes.
Following this visit, the AER delegation will identify, by the end of June 2011, cooperation projects that could be carried out by consulting the various member regions. This consultation will involve working groups composed of European regional elected officials, Tunisian ministerial representatives, experts from Tunisian-European chambers of commerce, and actors from European civil society. "You are in a race where you must not have excessive speed. To manage expectations, you must find sustainable solutions that will lead to sustainable governance," says Ms. Sabban.
One project has already been put on the table, "Eurodyssée," a European mobility program, which has so far involved 20,000 young Europeans. "This program worked well in Europe and it must work in Tunisia," says the head of the AER. It involves the Ministry of Vocational Training and Employment and the Ministry of Higher Education since it targets young graduates of vocational training and higher education, who will benefit from professional experience in European regions.
Supervisory committee...
The memorandum of understanding and the projects to be carried out will be monitored by a supervisory committee to be created in Tunisia. It will include representatives from the Ministry of Regional Development, Vocational Training and Employment, the AER, and NGOs. Its coordination is entrusted to the Tunisian-Italian Chamber of Commerce and Industry in collaboration with other CCI. "We have signed for better or for worse. I hope it will be mostly for the better," wishes Ms. Sabban. For her, Tunisia is an integral part of Europe, hence there is a mutual need to strengthen cooperation between the two parties.
Regarding the coordination of actions to be taken, Mr. Zouari affirms that it is up to the Tunisian regions to identify their needs and development priorities expressed by civil society (NGOs), as stipulated in Article II of the memorandum of understanding. "The Ministry of Regional Development will only have a coordinating role," he emphasizes.
However, faced with this plethora of associations that have sprung up like mushrooms since January 14, 2011, the ministry's task will not be the easiest to coordinate these different organizations. Mr. Zouari considers it fundamental, first of all, to change the law on associations, which is no longer adapted to the current context, and specifies that it is planned to create a general directorate to support civil society, especially since these associations need training, funding, and coaching to properly carry out their actions.
Published May 16, 2011
Posted online May 17, 2011
webmanagercenter.com
The visit of this European delegation aims at the decentralization process underway in Tunisia. It is in this sense that a memorandum of understanding was signed on May 13, 2011, between the Ministry of Regional Development and the AER to materialize this cooperation through projects, which qualifies Tunisia, by extension, to be an observer member of the organization.
Finding sustainable solutions...
For Abderrazek Zouari, Minister of Regional Development, Tunisia is called upon to draw inspiration from the experiences of other countries in terms of local governance in order to successfully implement its regional policy. "This is not an agreement between a Tunisian region and a European region; but an agreement between Tunisia and 270 European regions," he emphasizes.
Following this visit, the AER delegation will identify, by the end of June 2011, cooperation projects that could be carried out by consulting the various member regions. This consultation will involve working groups composed of European regional elected officials, Tunisian ministerial representatives, experts from Tunisian-European chambers of commerce, and actors from European civil society. "You are in a race where you must not have excessive speed. To manage expectations, you must find sustainable solutions that will lead to sustainable governance," says Ms. Sabban.
One project has already been put on the table, "Eurodyssée," a European mobility program, which has so far involved 20,000 young Europeans. "This program worked well in Europe and it must work in Tunisia," says the head of the AER. It involves the Ministry of Vocational Training and Employment and the Ministry of Higher Education since it targets young graduates of vocational training and higher education, who will benefit from professional experience in European regions.
Supervisory committee...
The memorandum of understanding and the projects to be carried out will be monitored by a supervisory committee to be created in Tunisia. It will include representatives from the Ministry of Regional Development, Vocational Training and Employment, the AER, and NGOs. Its coordination is entrusted to the Tunisian-Italian Chamber of Commerce and Industry in collaboration with other CCI. "We have signed for better or for worse. I hope it will be mostly for the better," wishes Ms. Sabban. For her, Tunisia is an integral part of Europe, hence there is a mutual need to strengthen cooperation between the two parties.
Regarding the coordination of actions to be taken, Mr. Zouari affirms that it is up to the Tunisian regions to identify their needs and development priorities expressed by civil society (NGOs), as stipulated in Article II of the memorandum of understanding. "The Ministry of Regional Development will only have a coordinating role," he emphasizes.
However, faced with this plethora of associations that have sprung up like mushrooms since January 14, 2011, the ministry's task will not be the easiest to coordinate these different organizations. Mr. Zouari considers it fundamental, first of all, to change the law on associations, which is no longer adapted to the current context, and specifies that it is planned to create a general directorate to support civil society, especially since these associations need training, funding, and coaching to properly carry out their actions.
Published May 16, 2011
Posted online May 17, 2011
webmanagercenter.com
