Culture and sports policies, a handle for fostering social cohesion among youth in Tunisia

Does participation in cultural and sporting life influence the social inclusion of young people? The European cooperation program EU4Youth is clear: “The involvement of young people has a significant impact on the creation of a society capable of contributing to the reduction of inequalities, strengthening social ties and reinforcing identity as a sense of belonging to a community,” explains the program coordinator, Sandra Berthelot.

The program, funded by the European Union, in consortium with FIIAPP, AECID and the British Council, has organized several consultative workshops in 24 provinces (gouvernorats) of Tunisia with officials from municipalities and civil society organizations. Participants also joined the Youth Forum in the city of Monastir in order to continue and deepen discussions at the local level on issues related to the social inclusion of youth through culture and sport policies with a particular focus on:

– Human rights, cultural and sport rights: they have a crucial role in the expression of citizenship, inclusive and sustainable development.

– A better understanding of the ecosystems by each province (gouvernorat): from strengths, to addressing the limitations of existing mechanisms, the factors that encourage or inhibit desired reforms and analyzing gaps.

– Promising practices for rethinking culture and sport as a mechanism for inclusion, integration and social cohesion.

– Lay the groundwork for collegial reflection mechanisms at regional and local levels from a broad and strong network of youth, associations, state and non-state actors.

Cultural and sports development has an impact on the reduction of social, political and economic inequalities, especially for groups of special attention, suffering from forms of discrimination and exclusion. Specialists of the EU4YOUTH program have listened to and made use of the global orientations of the World Conference on Cultural Policies and Sustainable Development, MONDIACULT 2022 for the achievement of the full integration of culture as a global public good in the Post-2030 Agenda for inclusive and sustainable development.

From a results-based approach, the recommendations of the regional forums have made it possible to develop a set of recommendations from the local level that contribute to optimizing the strategic orientations of decentralized public policies adapted to each reality:

– Change the perception of culture and sport from a simple means of entertainment to a new conception that considers culture and sport as a pillar of development.

– Develop and implement a strategic vision in the cultural and sports sector that includes the expectations and needs of young people in order to create participatory governance mechanisms.