TAYP November 2014 Editorial

Dear TAYP members and friends,

The definition of “progress” per the Oxford Dictionary is a forward or onward movement toward a destination. Progress inherently has elements of incremental success, celebrated advancement as well as the occasional missteps and miscalculations.

All Tunisians and the rest of the world have been witnessing the substantial progress in Tunisia’s march towards an inclusive, peaceful and pluralistic democracy. After adopting a new constitution back in January 2014, Parliamentary elections were held in Tunisia on 26 October 2014 for the 217-seat Assembly of the Representatives of the People. The result of the elections established the foundation of a peaceful and a mature transition of power. A new political majority in the Assembly was elected to manage the affairs of Tunisia, democratically, for the next five years. A vibrant opposition gracefully accepted the will of the people and is expected to act, democratically as well, and become the much-needed balance in the political scene in Tunisia. The road is set, the marching orders from the people were given, now it is time to execute and deliver on all economic and social development programs.

TAYP and the Tunisian Diaspora have also participated and celebrated the outcome of the elections. We are excited to be part of such change and very hopeful for the Future of Tunisia. We are also committed to keep on contributing to Tunisia’s success on all fronts – economical, social and political.

As usual, this edition of our newsletter is rich with interesting articles and updates. Kevin Coyne will present to us Afkar, a Forum for Tunisian Thought Leaders. Mondher Ben Hamida, Executive Vice President, writes about his experience and impressions about the Tunisian Elections. Amina Laouani, Core Team Member and Director of Communications, writes about Tunisia diaspora participation in the election and the role of independent election monitors. Mohamed Malouche, TAYP’s Chairman of the Board, writes about Bridging the Gap between Arab and Western Cultures and strategic planning for Diaspora organizations such as ours. Ikbel Achour, TAYP Core Team member, writes about her journey with the prestigious Chicago Council on Global Affairs. , while TAYP board member Zied Mhirsi writes about his participation in the World Affairs Council Peace Symposium.

TAYP will also be launching a Tunisia American Your Leaders program early in 2015. The goal of such program is to further enhance the US and Tunisian relationship by immersing selected your professionals from both countries into a weeklong exchange program. Hamouda Chekir, TAYP Core Team Member, gives a brief description about this program in this newsletter.

Continuing on TAYPs tradition of supporting Tunisian entrepreneurs, it is important to give a quick overview to our readers of the next Global Entrepreneurship Summit 2014 – to be held starting on November 19th through 21st, 2014 in Marrakech, Morocco. Firas Ben Achour, President of TAYP, who attended few of the summits, will present a highlight of the event. Similarly, TAYP’s Tunisia chapter recently held a great discussion, moderated by Mondher Khanfir on the rise of Private Equity in Tunisia.

Lastly, TAYP is progressing and growing and therefore we are reorganizing to better manage our projected expansion. The Executive Team will add more members to include positions for Vice President of Development, Vice President of Operations and Vice President of Communication.

Dear readers, I hope that you enjoy this edition of TAYP’s newsletter.

Firas BenAchour
President
@firasbenachour