With funding from a Public Affairs small grant, Not4Trade organization completed a project that offered two series of trainings on human trafficking for 20 youth from Jendouba, Bizerte, Tunis, Sousse, Kairouan Sfax, Sidi Bouzid, Gafsa and Medenine regions. Both trainings took place at La Marsa Youth Complex and lasted for five days, covering topics like …

On November 4, WoLTech association held the closing ceremony of a U.S Embassy funded small grant project called “Tunisia Mentoring Council” (TMC).  TMC is a mentoring program that supports female entrepreneurs in technology. The project linked women leaders in technology with young women with project ideas for six months of regular mentorship and coaching sessions.  …

On August 30, a group of Tunisian State Department exchange program alumni were joined by Ambassador Rubinstein and embassy staff in a meeting with Tunisian President Beji Caid Essebsi and his Youth and Diplomacy Advisors at the Presidential Palace.  During this meeting, alumni shared the results of their experiences in the United States on a …

If there is an opportunity to help others, January YES Student of the Month, Hiba Kammoun (YES 2016-2017, Tunisia, hosted by World Link in Visalia, CA), will volunteer for it. Hiba has also been a great representative of Tunisia, her home country, and undertaken a demanding schedule of extracurricular activities at Mount Whitney High School …

“I didn’t run for President so that the dreams of our daughters could be deferred or denied. I didn’t run for President to see inequality and injustice persist in our time. I ran for President to put the same rights, the same opportunities, and the same dreams within the reach for our daughters and our …

At a Public Affairs reception on Tuesday, Ambassador Rubinstein presented certificates of completion to Tunisians who recently returned from five exchange programs: Fulbright Visiting Scholars, Fulbright Language Teaching Assistant, International Visitors Leadership Program and Global UGRAD. The event attracted around 22 participants, who had the opportunity to share their U.S. experiences with the Ambassador and …

Congratulations to exchange alumni Mondher Tounsi and Ahlem Nasraoui for their peace initiative in Kasserine. To counteract the spread of violent extremism and the lack of opportunities for youth in Kasserine, Mondher and Ahlem have launched the Youth Impact project. Youth Impact is creating a network of strong and educated peace ambassadors who will launch …

The Young Tunisian Coders Academy (YTCA ) Summer Camp takes place August 1-5.  The young coders share their experiences with us through their daily “Postcards from Kelibia.” Young Tunisian Coders Academy (‎YTCA‬) Summer Camp Day 2 We got off to an early start with an introductory session on Scratch for Arduino and Blocklyduino. We learned about robotics and made our first …

‎Fulbright  Foreign Language Teaching Assistant (FLTA) alumna, Aya Chebbi, has been making news and appearing on top lists of people to watch! The accolades include:  HuffPost Women  UK’s list of women working to improve the lives of others (link to story:  http://goo.gl/G7saSq ) and ArabianBusiness’ list of the 100 most influential young Arabs in the world. Congratulations to Aya …

Check out photos and video of Tunisia’s own Ahlem Nasraoui at the Emerging Young Leaders Award ceremony at the U.S. Department of State, on Wednesday, April 20. In her thank you speech, Ahlem stated proudly: “This award was an opportunity to speak up and voice my country’s aspirations: We Tunisians won’t be defeated by terrorism. We wake up every day to rejoice …

A group of TechWomen alumni launched an initiative to mentor Tunisian women in the Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) fields.  Through their Mentoring Council, TechWomen alumni hope to reproduce the mentoring component of their exchange program in a way that benefits women in their communities and areas of expertise.

Sara Snoussi, a 2015 Thomas Jefferson alumna, was chosen to represent the Kids Uprise project at the annual Clinton Global Initiative University ( ‎CGIU ) meeting at the University of California, Berkeley in early April. Kids Uprise is an initiative developed by Sarah and her fellow Thomas Jefferson alumni to create a network of school clubs to teach …

The journey of the 2015 Tunisian TechWomen has begun! Seven participants from all over Tunisia attended a pre-departure orientation at the U.S. Embassy in September. TechWomen alumna Amel Ghouila, with the help of other alumnae, walked them through different phases of the program and shared tips on how to make their participation more fruitful. Having …

Congratulations to the Young Leaders Entrepreneurs NGO and all exchange alumni volunteers who organized and took part in the She Can event on Saturday, October 10th. The event focused on women’s leadership as an inspiring power for youth and emphasized the importance of ending violence against women. The conference opened with a short video and …

Embassy staff had the opportunity to meet with Nada Makhlouf, who recently returned from the Between the Lines (BTL) program. This program brings young writers, aged 16-19 to the U.S. for two weeks of intensive creative writing workshops and cultural exchange. The workshops are held at the University of Iowa. According to Nada, “The BTL …

On Thursday, August 27, a group of fifteen TechGirl and TechWomen alumni attended a roundtable discussion lead by Mariem Ayadi, Youth and Exchange alumna and a NeXXt Scholar aluma in Science and Technology. Ayadi shared with the group different opportunities to study science and technology in the U.S., and discussed the challenges facing women in …

hey may have different academic and professional backgrounds and they come from different regions in Tunisia; however, they share a lot in common regarding their U.S. Government (USG) exchange experience in the United States. August 21-23, the U.S. Embassy in cooperation with the We Youth USG alumni association organized a reintegration camp—an opportunity for USG …

Ambassador Walles met with the AEIF 2015 winning team from Tunisia and presented them with a certificate in recognition of their achievement.  This is the second time since the AEIF competition began in 2011 that  a Tunisian team has won a grant. This project, one of 48 winning projects worldwide, is the Young Tunisian Coders …

Saber Ben Hassen, a Thomas Jefferson Scholar studying at Northampton Community College in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, blogs about living outside his comfort zone, the benefits of volunteering, and the effect of study abroad on future employment prospects.  

Inspiring, a life-changing experience, an adventurous journey.”  This is how the Thomas Jefferson alumni described their American experiences during an event commemorating Thomas Jefferson’s birthday on Tuesday, April 14th. At the Embassy-hosted event,  Ambassador Walles joined the alumni to celebrate the achievements of the newly-established Thomas Jefferson Alumni Association , which was founded by the first group of TJ …

Inspired by their rich and diverse experiences in the United States, Thomas Jefferson alumni came back with a great deal of enthusiasm and a strong desire to give back to their local community.  Through the recently established Thomas Jefferson Alumni Association, these returnees founded an English club for young students in the cultural center in …

IVLP alumna Ms. Salma Abida, a judge at the Center for Legal and Judiciary Studies at the Ministry of Justice, made a presentation at the U.S. Embassy in Tunis on March 18 about the U.S. approach to combatting trafficking in persons to a dozen members of the steering committee of S.H.A.R.E (Support and Hand-over of …

Last week, Ambassador Walles presented certificates of completion  to 27  YES participants from 13 governorates of Tunisia. On the same occasion, he presented a certificate and a gift of appreciation  to the International Exchange Alumni Member of the Month, Leila Baghdadi, in recognition of her outstanding achievements following her participation in the IVLP program. Learn …

Mohamed Arous, MEPI Student Leaders alumnus has recently represented Tunisia in the Young Leaders Forum Maghreb – EU at the European Parliament where he had the chance to discuss and debate upon policies at the level of Economic and Political cooperation between Maghreb Countries, Tunisia Specifically and EU. At the European parliament, Mohamed talked about …

SUSI and Access alumna Oumaima Tayari made a presentation to 30 Access students at the school Le Monde des Langues Bab Saadoun about her experience as a participant in the SUSI for Student Leaders on Civic Engagement program. Oumaima talked about the qualities of a leader and offered some tips for making an effective speech. …