2022-23 Thomas Jefferson Scholars Welcomed Back to Tunisia

Cultural Affairs Officer (CAO) Dmitri Tarakhovsky welcomed back Thomas Jefferson Scholarship Program (TJSP) alumni at a reception on August 15. These 33 young Tunisian leaders spent an academic year in the United States preparing themselves to contribute to Tunisia’s development. Through academic opportunities, professional engagement, and leadership development, the Thomas Jefferson Scholarship Program (TJSP) fosters …

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MEPI Alum of the Month – Dhia Zitouni

MEPI Alum of the Month Dhia Zitouni   We love pets, and so does Dhia. Dhia Zitouni is a 2017 MEPI Tomorrow’s Leaders student. This four-year MEPI scholarship allowed Dhia to pursue a bachelor’s degree in business administration at the American University of Beirut (AUB) where he graduated with distinction and, then, moved to his …

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MEPI Alum of the Month – Moncef Ben Rejeb 

MEPI Alum of the Month Moncef Ben Rejeb   Inspired by the history of ancient Carthage, Moncef Ben Rejeb, an alum of the Middle East Partnership Initiative (MEPI)’s Leaders for Development Fellowship (LDF), created Qartaj.com to help small business and women artisans in rural regions of Tunisia to market their product worldwide.  Qartaj.com is the …

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MEPI Alum of the Month – Ihsen Amri

MEPI Alum of the Month – Ihsen Amri Happy New Year from Gabes, Tunisia   While many talented young Tunisians plan to move abroad, Ehsen Amri chose to stay in his hometown in Gabes. Ehsen Amri is a 2014 MEPI Student Leaders Program (SLP) alum and the co-founder of Volonté et Citoyenneté (Will and Citizenship …

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October Alum of the Month – Wajdi Hamza 

October Alum of the Month – Wajdi Hamza Good governance can only be established by establishing maximum levels of trust in public institutions and government officials; this motto is a central belief of MEPI Leaders for Development (LDF) Alum Wajdi Hamza and the guiding force behind all his initiatives. Wajdi’s participation in the 2018 MEPI LDF …

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Chargée d’affaires a.i. Natasha Franceschi Welcomes Thomas Jefferson Scholarship Program (TJSP) Returnees

Chargée d’affaires a.i. Natasha Franceschi and Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research Moncef Boukthir celebrated the return of our Thomas Jefferson Scholarship Program (TJSP) who spent an academic year in the United States. These 27 young leaders from across Tunisia shared with Minister Boukthir and Chargée Franceschi stories from their experience, where they gained …

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MEPI Alum of the Month – Dhia Daly

MEPI Alum of the Month – Dhia Daly Embodying the ‘Good Pharmacist” approach After graduating from high school with distinction, Dhia enrolled in the Faculty of Pharmacy of Monastir for a six-year degree. He soon realized that to be a “good pharmacist,” he had to do more than just memorize molecules, structures, and side effects, …

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MEPI Alum of the Month – Allaeddine Rezgui

MEPI Alum of the Month – Allaeddine Rezgui A Passion to Serve the Community In case you are unable to do much after your day job and need inspiration, this month we chose an alum who juggles many responsibilities with great skill and passion.  Allaeddine Rezgui is a jurist, conflict resolution trainer and civil society …

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February Alum of the Month – Malek Sebri – Student Leaders Program (2018) 

February Alum of the Month – Malek Sebri – Student Leaders Program (2018)  Empowering youth in rural areas is no longer a dream. Sharing Malek Sebri’s story not only inspires future MEPI Student Leaders Program applicants, but it is also a lesson in perseverance for all Tunisian youth. We invite you to dream while reading it. In a recent interview with the MEPI Coordinator, Malek shared “from a young age, I had always been passionate about education. I always wondered how my life would have been different if I had not had the chance …

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Ambassador Blome Meets With Access Alumni In Tabarka

While in Tabarka this week Ambassador Blome had a great discussion with a group of Access alumni who shared their hopes and dreams for the future.  Through the U.S. Embassy’s Access English Microscholarship program, students across Tunisia are improving their English as they develop leadership skills and learn the importance of civic engagement.   Since 2004, …

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MEPI Alum of the Month: An Ardent Advocate for Youth and Local Development

Our first featured alum in 2022 is Ahmed Missaoui, a social and political activist who participated in the U.S. Embassy’s Leaders for Democracy Fellowship (LDF) and International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP). Ahmed is currently a municipal councilor in Sfax and President of the district of Sidi Mansour.     Ahmed has worked on several youth engagement initiatives, such as the BuildUp Tunisia project, which built the capacity of young entrepreneurs, and the Tunisia Accountability and Political Participation project, which improved young people’s involvement in the Tunisian elections. Both projects were funded by the Middle East Partnership Initiative (MEPI). The embassy admires his active participation and involvement …

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MEPI Alum of the Month: North African Region’s Youth Ambassador for Peace for the African Union 

We’re closing the year with our final MEPI Alumna of the Month, Khouloud Ben Mansour. After participating in the MEPI Student Leaders Program in 2017, Khouloud had the opportunity to take part in several other programs and to participate in trainings and conferences at an international level.    “I believe that the MEPI Student Leaders Program has offered me so many advantages and knowledge in a way that shaped my skills to be ready for the professional world,” Khouloud told …

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MEPI Alum of the Month: LDF Alumna Fiercely Advocates for Women Empowerment 

Our Second Alumna to be featured on the MEPI Alum of the Month is Amira Marzouk, a Leaders for Democracy Fellow (LDF) and an International Visitors Leadership Program (IVLP) alumna.  Amira is a former member of Tunisian parliament, and the Pan African Parliament, where she was the only Tunisian woman representative from 2012 to 2014. Amira was also a member of an observation election mission in different African countries, and she served as the Ambassador of the …

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Tunisian and Libyan Fulbright Alumni Gather in Djerba  

In support of the Fulbright alumni network, AMIDEAST Tunisia organized a conference for around 100 Fulbright alumni from Tunisia and Libya, November 22-25. The conference strengthened the Fulbright alumni community of the North Africa region, allowed Tunisian and Libyan alumni to develop leadership and community engagement skills, and facilitated innovative and cross-sectoral solutions to community …

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Ambassador Blome’s Trip to Kebili and Tozeur

On April 16-18, 2019, Ambassador Blome visited Tozeur and Kibili, which he identified as important regions to demonstrate U.S. economic development and diplomacy support.  On the trip, he visited a number of beneficiaries of U.S. assistance, including the Kibili Municipality, a date farm, and a public school.  He also spoke to citizens of the region …

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Tunisian Exchange Alumni Lead a Project on Environmental Protection 

On February 9 and 10, the Tunisian Blue Ambassadors (TBA) project organized a two-day workshop for a group of English Access Microsholarship Program graduates on themes related to marine and environmental protection and preservation in Tunis. The project – implemented by Notre Grand Bleu association and led by alumni of the Thomas Jefferson Program – …

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Faten Khalfallah – TechWomen Exchange program – 2015

Faten is the founder of “First Skills Club”, a non-profit organization that provides soft skill development and informal STEM education for kids and teenagers, with a special focus on robotics.  Her TechWomen exchange experience gave her the opportunity to intern with leading Tech companies – such as Mozilla and Autodesk – with which she collaborated …

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Kyane Kassiri – NESA UGRAD and Coca-Cola MENA exchange programs – 2014

As alumnus of NESA UGRAD and Coca-Cola MENA exchange programs, Kayane teamed up with a group of other U.S. Department of State programs alumni to apply for the Alumni Engagement and Innovation Fund (AEIF).  Their project idea was selected and the team managed to launch Young Tunisian Coders Academy (YTCA). As a coding training program, …

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Manel Bargaoui, Professional Fellows Program (PFP) 2017

As an English Language teacher, Manel is the first Tunisian who teaches English through sign language to deaf Tunisians. Her experience as a Professional Fellows Program (PFP) alumna inspired her to create the first English teaching book that uses sign language – entitled “Let’s handspeak English”- as a follow-up project. “Being the first and only …

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Public Affairs Supports The Fight Against Human Trafficking

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 …

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Closing Ceremony of “TMC” Mentoring Program for Women Entrepreneurs in Technology

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.  …

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Tunisian Presidency Welcomes Exchange Alumni

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 …

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PAS Supports Technovation National Pitch Competition for Young Women

The Technovation National Pitch gathered 22 teams representing 9 governorates from across Tunisia along with their mentors and parents to present their mobile applications before a panel of judges.  Ambassador Rubinstein delivered opening remarks, congratulating all of the teams on their work solving problems in their communities through the development of mobile apps.  PAS funded …

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MEPI Student Leaders Alumni Met with the Ministry of Youth and Sports Representatives

A group of the 2016 MEPI Student Leaders alumni participated today in a meeting with the Chief of Staff and Directors Generals at the Ministry of Youth and Sports. Following the MEPI Capstone conference organized in Tunis last March 2017, the Minister of Youth and Sports, Ms. Majdouline Cherni, offered her Ministry’s support for the implementation …

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TAAN Capacity Building Workshop

The Tunisian American Alumni Network (TAAN) organized on February 18 and 19, a capacity building workshop in Sfax for USG exchange program alumni from various programs representing several different regions of Tunisia. The workshop covered personal and professional development skills including communication skills, public speaking, debate, and argumentation. The second part of the workshop was …

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Award Ceremony for the Winning Teams of Technovation Competition 2016

In partnership with the U.S. Embassy, Technovation Tunisia, an initiative launched by a Techwomen alumna, organized an award ceremony for the winning teams of the 2016 Technovation competition. The event was also an occasion to launch the 2017 Technovation competition.  150 girls ages 10 to 18 attended the event along with their parents and mentors …

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A Roundtable Discussion on How to Be the Next Techwomen Leader

Women Leaders in Technology (WoLTech), an association founded by a group of Techwomen alumnae to support women in STEM fields, organized a round table discussion entitled “How to be the Next Techwomen Leader.” During the event, the WoLTech team introduced a group of Tunisian women working in STEM to the Techwomen program. The presentation was followed …

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Capacity- Building Training for Alumni

The Tunisian American Alumni Network (TAAN ) organized a capacity building training in Tunis on December 24th and 25th, 2016, attended by 21 Alumni representing diverse exchange programs and coming from different regions.  The participants had the opportunity to have an introduction to civic engagement through Alumni success stories. In addition to the leadership and …

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Democracy Ambassadors Supporting Municipal Elections

Tthe Will and Citizenship Organization (OVC)  launched its the “Ichrak” (Engaging) project. With the support of the U.S. Embassy and the National Endowment for Democracy (NED) and in partnership with Gabes Action association, OVC held an opening ceremony to introduce participants to the project, its partners, and relevant experts. Following the ceremony, OVC held a …

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Rahma Sghaier MENA Leaders For Change Program, 2013

MENA Leaders for Change (MLC) is an innovative regional leadership online State Department-sponsored program. The program combined online training with face-to-face workshops in order to create a cadre of skilled, connected, emerging young leaders (aged 18-35) from all across the MENA region. The intensive, fast-paced program included two online courses, ongoing online dialogues and periodic …

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Monia Jendoubi, Communication and International Cooperation Manager, El-Gazala Technopark

Monia Jendoubi, Communication and International Cooperation Manager, El-Gazala Technopark Goldman Sachs 10,000 MENA Women Entrepreneurs, March 2015 10,000 Women is a global initiative supported by The Goldman Sachs Foundation that provides female entrepreneurs around the world with practical business education, business advising, and networking.  The program cultivates the leadership potential of women in the region, promotes …

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Technovation Inspires Tunisian Girls to Make Change

The IRC organized an interactive session entitled Technovation: Girls Solving Community Problems Through Mobile Applications, led by Amel Ghouila, Technovation Regional Ambassador in Tunisia and TechWomen alumna. The session started with an overview of the program by the global director of Technovation, Madhavi Bhasin, who joined via Skype from San Francisco and who focused on …

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Ambassador Attends Alumni Reception

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 …

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Mourad Ben Hassine Ben Ali, PhD: The Fulbright Visiting Scholarship Program

MOURAD BEN HASSINE BEN ALI, PHD: THE FULBRIGHT VISITING SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM, AUGUST 12, 2015 TO JUNE 30, 2016, BIOLOGY The Fulbright visiting scholar program made me realize how beautiful it is to travel and meet other people from different cultures. My stay at the University of Arkansas was very productive as a research scientist; I …

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Youth Impact: Peace Ambassadors In the Making

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 …

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Young Tunisian Coders Academy (‎YTCA‬) Summer Camp

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 …

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Ambassador Welcomes Exchange Programs Returnees

Ambassador Rubinstein welcomed the Kennedy-Lugar Youth Exchange and Study Program (YES) family to the U.S. Embassy for a special reception.  He was joined by newly-minted YES alumni, just back from their year as exchange students in the U.S.  Alumni regaled the Ambassador and other Embassy staff with stories of their host families, recollections of their …

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Ambassador Opens TJSP Alumni Conference

Ambassador Rubinstein gave opening remarks at the Thomas Jefferson Scholarship Program (TJSP) Alumni Conference.  He reminded Alumni, hailing from all 24 governorates, that they truly represent the nation, and that they will play crucial roles in developing Tunisia’s economy and nurturing its young democracy. The Ambassador also highlighted the success of three alumni who have …

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Training the Next Generation of Tunisian Media Professionals in U.S.

Nine Tunisian graduate journalist students from the Tunisian public Institute of Press and Information Sciences (IPSI) were sponsored by U.S. Embassy in Tunis to participate into  a two- week training in U.S. on March, 2016. They were trained in professional newsrooms and had the opportunity to share, with their partner International Center for Journalists (ICFJ) …

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Aya Chebbi has been making news and appearing on top lists of people to watch

‎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 …

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Technovation Challenge 2016: National Pitch Tunisia

Please meet the winning teams of the Technovation National Competition held May 1. The top three teams pass on to the semi-final round of the Technovation International Competition to compete with their counterparts worldwide. Later in May, 10 Technovation teams from more than 50 countries will be selected to participate in the Technovation World Pitch …

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Nizar Ben Neji, Fulbright Visiting Scholar Program, University of Massachusetts – Amherst, 2015

Nizar Ben Neji, Teaching Professor, Faculty of Sciences of Bizerte Fulbright Visiting Scholar Program, University of Massachusetts – Amherst, 2015. “I had a great opportunity to experience life in a typical American university town while attending the University of Massachusetts, Amherst (UMA). One of the finest tertiary institutions in America, UMA is now ranked among the …

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Pizza and Coding

As part of the global Technovation Challenge, more than 20 teams of young girls representing different governorates in Tunisia are developing mobile applications to solve problems relevant to their communities.  Taking part in “Pizza and Coding” parties, some teams have had the opportunity to meet weekly at Orange Developer Centers, where they get input on …

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Ahlem Nasraoui is among 10 Emerging Young Leaders Award Winners

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 …

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Mentoring Council Program

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.

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Tunisian Alumni: Coding for change!

The U.S. Embassy hosted the Young Tunisian Coders Academy (YTCA) at the Information Resource Center (IRC.) YTCA to teach young students the Scratch programming language, introducing basic programming fundamentals and giving them the basic programming skills to create their own interactive stories, games and animations. Thirteen students ages 9 to 16 years old from Tunis …

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Zoubeir Tourki: Director of the National School of Engineers of Sousse and Professor in Mechanical Engineering

2014 Technology Transfer Innovation in Higher Education Technology The highlight of my exchange experience is what I learnt about the university role in stimulating the partnership between the university and the business world to help promote an environment for professors and researchers and to transform the innovative ideas into valuable products and assist the marketing …

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Celebrating 75 Years of Exchange Programs!

The U.S. Embassy kicked off International ‪Education‬ Week ‎IEW2015‬ with a celebration of 75 years of State Department exchange programs.Ambassador Rubinstein spoke to an audience of leaders from the education field, including Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research and IVLP alumnus Chiheb Bouden; Director General of International Cooperation at the Ministry of Higher Education …

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Zied Mehouachi, Co-founder of the Thomas Jefferson Alumni Association Sharing

Zied Mehouachi Thomas Jefferson Scholarship Program – 2013-2014 Program Assistant, IREX “For me, the Thomas Jefferson scholarship program is a chance for non-experienced students to discover themselves and their abilities, to develop [their] skills and to come back and help Tunisia progress.  That’s what happened to us exactly, we all came back to Tunisia with …

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The Journey of the 2015 Tunisian TechWomen Has Begun!

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 …

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“She Can” for Women’s Empowerment

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 …

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Attention Alumni! Have YOU Joined TAAN – Tunisian American Alumni Network Yet?

On Friday September 18th more than 100 U.S. program alumni and supporters gathered to celebrate the launch of the Tunisian American Alumni Network (TAAN.) This umbrella network, open to all alumni of U.S. government-sponsored programs, will give each alumnus in Tunisia the opportunity to be involved, network, volunteer and give back to their communities with …

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STEM Obstacles and Opportunities: A Discussion Among TechGirl and TechWomen Alumni

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 …

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Alumni‬ Reintegration Camp

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 …

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Techwomen Alumna Organizes Technovation Tunisia National Pitch

  TechWomen Alumna Amel Ghouila hosted the Technovation Tunisia National Pitch,  an apps development competition launched in Tunisia for the first time.  Nine teams of young girls from 6 different regions presented different mobile apps that they developed to solve problems in their communities.   A mentor guided the teams, whose members ranged in age …

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Thomas Jefferson Birthday Commemoration

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 …

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Global Village by TJ Alumni Association

On Saturday, April 4th, the Thomas Jefferson Alumni Association (TJAA) organized a multicultural event called  “Global Village” at the Maison des Jeunes in the Tunis suburb of La Marsa. The event brought together different cultural centers and embassies to share with the public different components of their cultures and to introduce the services they provide. …

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Thomas Jefferson Alumni in Action

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 …

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U.S. Embassy Tunis Alumni Continue to Inspire !

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 …

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Alumnus Mohamed Arous represented Tunisia in the Young Leaders Forum Maghreb–EU at the European Parliament

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 …

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