BUNNT-CO

Citizens' initiatives for nature and environmental protection 

in Northwest Tunisia - Community Organising

A project within the framework of the Ta'ziz Partnership for Democracy funding programme of the Foreign Office of Germany.

The aim is to promote civic participation in North-West Tunisia and to create discursive spaces for the future generation. The project objectives correspond to this 

• Strengthening and expanding a civil society network of environmental   protection associations and initiatives as "advocates for nature and the environment" in society  
• Motivating and involving citizens to participate in nature, environmental and climate protection initiatives in the governorates of Beja, Jendouba, El Kef and Siliana in north-west Tunisia 

The existing structures from the predecessor project "BUNNT" - the network "Réseau des Associations Environnementales dans le Nord-Ouest de la Tunisie" (RAENOT) - must therefore be revitalised and sustainably developed. To this end, the organisation's ability to work must be established in terms of personnel and secured financially in the long term. The networking work of the target group of environmental protection initiatives in four governorates in North-West Tunisia is to be advanced in productive cooperation with social stakeholders by imparting qualifications and skills, especially for multipliers, pioneers and all "driving forces" with the help of the democracy-promoting problem-solving and moderation concept "Community Organising".

The project focuses on supporting and empowering the Tunisian partners to develop their civil society network work on nature, environmental and climate protection on their own responsibility and in a self-organised manner and to promote and anchor the conservation goals in the wider civil society by setting up dialogue and citizens' forums.

ENEA supports the Tunisian project partners through peer counselling, team reflection, coaching and by offering qualifications and training. After an „inventory“ and "multiplier training" in October and November 2023, a "strategy conference" was held in January 2024, at the end of which a decision was made on the common goals and concrete work plans. Finally, a decision was made on the measures to be implemented to set up dialogue and citizens' forums and working groups and on the use of financial project funds. These measures were selected from the 78 ideas proposed in a competition among environmental and nature conservation organisations, stakeholders, key players and citizens from civil society.

Impressions from the work in the project modules

The project design is shown in the graphic below

The project set-up was finalised at the strategy conference with the appointment of project steering committees. Project steering committees exist at the level of the four governorates of Beja, Jendouba, El Kef and Siliana as well as at the supra-regional level of "Northwest Tunisia", where the governorates are grouped together. These steering committees decide on the dialogue and citizens' forums to be held at the respective governorate level and at the Northwest Tunisia level.

Approximately 40 of the measures proposed in the ideas competition will be selected for implementation by the associations of the RAENOT network in cooperation with stakeholders and citizens from civil society. For this purpose, special methodological training sessions will be organised for 40 people to prepare the designated team leaders for these tasks. The methodological training sessions will take place in February and May 2024.  

RAENOT's concrete networking work in the sense of "community organising" already started in January 2024!

An interim evaluation of the project work will take place at the end of April 2024.