Tunisia Young Leaders Programme – Discussing the National Dialogue – 17th March 2021

On Wednesday 17 March, participants in the Tunisia Young Leaders Programme met to discuss the prospects for a national dialogue in Tunisia.The national dialogue has been suggested as a way to break through the current political impasse in Tunisia. The group discussed the details and potential merits of a national dialogue, including who would be involved and what it should address. Participants made various suggestions on the content of a dialogue and what it could achieve. However, they were in broad agreement that any dialogue must be inclusive and involve engagement with Tunisian youth. They also agreed that the dialogue should include a mechanism of accountability to ensure that decisions are implemented.Discussions also focused on the current state of Tunisian politics. Overall, the group agreed that the political and economic in Tunisia is worse now than it was in 2013-14. There is a crisis of political decision-making and economic decline has only been compounded by the coronavirus pandemic.