Visit to Tunisia

Professor Safwan Masri visited Tunisia on July 27 - August 1 in follow up to his week-long exploratory visit in January 2015 with Columbia University President Lee C. Bollinger and Jean Magnano Bollinger.

July 27, 2015

Professor Safwan Masri visited Tunisia on July 27 - August 1 in follow up to his week-long exploratory visit in January 2015 with Columbia University President Lee C. Bollinger and Jean Magnano Bollinger.

Professor Masri returned to Tunis both to conduct research for an ongoing academic project, and to continue discussions regarding the expansion of Columbia’s engagement in Tunisia. He met with Amel Bouchamaoui, President of the Tunisian American Chamber of Commerce and the Chairwoman of the Amcham MENA Council, and Ziad Oueslati, Co-founding Partner of the AfricInvest Group, among other key partners.

Meetings were held with Tunisian President Beji Caid EssebsiSheikh Rached Al-Ghannouchi, Co-founder of Ennahda; Neji Jalloul, Minister of Education; Chiheb Bouden, Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research; Noomane Fehri, Minister of Information and Communication Technologies; Abdelatif Abid, Vice Secretary General of the Arab League, Director of the Tunis Arab League Center, and former Minister of Education (2011-2013); Hamma Hammami, leader of the Popular Front; Judge Ahmed Sweb, former Vice President of the Administrative tribunal; Ghazi Jribi, former Minister of Defense (2014-2015); and Yadh Ben Achour, a prominent Tunisian lawyer appointed by Mohamed Ghannouchi as President of Tunisia’s Higher Political Reform Commission; charged with overseeing the country’s constitutional reform.

Professor Masri also attended a reception with approximately 15 Columbia alumni residing in Tunis.

The visit also included a roundtable, organized by the Columbia Global Centers | Amman, which focused on education, reform, employment, and youth disenfranchisement in Tunisia. Participants included:

  • Achraf Aouadi, President of I-Watch
  • Michaël Béchir Ayari, Senior Analyst at International Crisis Group
  • Neila Chaabane, Professor of Law at the Faculty of Juridical, Political and Social Sciences at the University of Carthage
  • Abdelwahab Ben Hafaiedh, President at Applied Social Sciences Forum
  • Lamia Chaffai, Chief Executive Officer at Education for Employment Foundation - Tunisia
  • Abdessatar Sahbani, President at l'Observatoire Social Tunisien auprès du Forum Tunisien et des Droits Économiques et Sociaux