Tunisia

DVV International began its involvement in Tunisia in 2019 with the start of a three-year project (2019-2021) titled “Adult education in Tunisia: Promotion of multisectoral approaches and structures” financed by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ). The DVV International Tunisia’s office was inaugurated in May 2019.

The Tunisian Ministry of Social Affairs has established a new strategy for literacy, non-formal education and adult education (2017-2027) with the support of UNESCO. On the basis of the needs required by the strategy, DVV International’s support focuses on building an interdisciplinary system in which lifelong learning not only embraces the acquisition of knowledge and competencies but also contributes to the development of the community, the promotion of democracy and development of the local economy. The collaboration work will have the objective of creating an integrated system, crossing over sectoral borders and institutional levels (centralised vs. decentralised, state vs. non-state actors, etc.), which would open up and connect the different education providers that are currently working in silo, and give learning access to all of those who have been excluded from it.

The project is in line with DVV International’s strategy on the African continent as well as with what the Sustainable Development Goals must achieve by 2030, particularly with regard to SDG 4, which aims to ensure inclusive, equitable and quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all.
DVV International will operate in seven governorates in peri-urban and rural areas in the North (Ben Arous and Mannouba), North West (Jendouba, Kef, and Siliana), and Centre West (Kairouan and Kasserine). These regions are characterised by high rates of illiteracy and poverty.

Main focus of work

DVV International is supporting, via technical and financial assistance, the implementation of an operational system for youth and adult education, non-formal education and lifelong learning, the strengthening of partner organisations, and the maintaining of a policy dialogue in the interest of adult education.

The focus of DVV International’s work in Tunisia is to:

• strengthen collaboration, coordination and synergies between governmental and non-governmental actors in non-formal adult education, between public actors, academic and research actors, the private sector, and civil society.
• support the development of conceptual guidelines for the new adult education strategy, reviewing of teaching approaches and methods, and building the capacities of the different competent structures that provide non-formal education opportunities.  
• support the implementation of concepts and approaches in the local territories, with the main objective of integrating the reform of the adult education system into a holistic and needs-based approach providing quality provision for integrated functional adult education.  
• provide support to six adult education centres: three of them managed by the Ministry of Social Affairs and the three others managed by the National Union of Tunisian Women.
• support the creation of the “Tunis University for Lifetime Learning”, initiated by the Ministry of Social Affairs. The assistance includes advice from and exchange with German Adult Education Centres (Volkshochschulen).

Partners

DVV International started the project with three strategic partnership agreements with the Ministry of Social Affairs as the institutional and political partner, the National Union of Tunisian Women as a major actor focusing on women’s education and socio-economic integration, and the NGO “Association of Training / Employment of Women / Youth in Rural Areas in Kef” (AFEFJRK), which supports women and youth in the field of non-formal youth and adult education in the region of Kef.