mic revolution after the political revolution, democracy
has to pay off, and despite the distance and the many
challenges diasporans can contribute substantially to
a successful transition. This article suggests employing
both the “bottoms up” mentality and the “top down”
approach to engage and leverage the potential of the
diaspora. In the first section, simple actions are suggested that individuals and groups within the diaspora
can undertake to support transitions in their countries
of origin. This is supported through a case study of a
successful export program in which a Tunisian diaspora
association in the United States worked with both the
Tunisian and US governments, and the respective private sectors, to enable handicraft exports from Tunisia
to the US. This resulted in the creation of hundreds of
jobs and, most importantly, hope for women and youth
of several interior regions in Tunisia. The second section
lays out how governments can increase foreign direct
invest by focusing on engaging people in their diaspora.
It examines a few actions that the Tunisian government
ought to enable to leverage the untapped potential of
diaspora investment and savings.
Diaspora involvement: Four impactful ways
the Tunisian skilled diaspora can support the
transition
During a conference in New York City last year, I was
intrigued by a comment that a Tunisian official made to
a professional diaspora audience: he said in substance
“come back to your country! You will be paid much less
but your country needs you in these difficult times”.
While the call is appealing and deserves serious thought,
Tunisians living abroad can be as useful to Tunisia overseas, as they could within the country. If properly engaged, the skilled diaspora can be a powerful engine of
economic growth for Tunisia and an important advocate
in their country of residence. Diasporans can serve as a
bridge to increase economic ties, develop partnerships
and create exchanges between Tunisia and the World.
Tunisian diaspora engagement has taken many forms
in the past, mainly through remitt ances and investment.
Remittances, for instance, accounted for 5% of GDP in
2014 and 22.7% of national savings, one of the four leading sources of foreign currency .Diaspora investments
covered nearly 5,500 projects in 2014, two-thirds of
which were in the services sector. Unfortunately, since
the revolution, both remittances and investment levels
have gone down. While the situation in Libya and the
economic crisis in Europe can partially explain this regression, security concerns and the political turmoil
have also played a major role. Today, with the adoption
of the constitution and the upcoming elections, the energy that seemed to be fading away over the past two
years is back. While the political, economic and security
hurdles will continue, there is a window of opportunity
now for the diaspora to reengage in force. With 1.2 million Tunisians living abroad, a third of them in managerial, scientific and services oriented positions , the
skilled diaspora can and should engage in supporting
the economic rebirth of Tunisia at this critical juncture
by contributing its knowledge, network and advocacy
capabilities.
It is ideally positioned to undertake the following four
major actions:
1. Promote the value proposition of Tunisia abroad
The skilled diaspora can be a powerful voice for Tunisia as it can portray an accurate, representative and
balanced image to potential investors, tourists and civil society. The key learning out of our experience at the
Tunisian American Young Professionals (TAYP) is that
promoting Tunisia as an investment destination needs
to be done in a very subtle, differentiating way because
our audience hears similar messages coming from other
countries in the region. An effective investment pitch
needs to go above and beyond the fundamentals of Tunisia (geostrategic location, educated society, attractive
wages to quality ratio, fiscal advantages, infrastructure)
and encompass the value add of the country as a platform
for expansion to Africa, the Middle East and Southern
Europe. The pitch also needs to point to Tunisia’s gains
since the revolution: isn’t our proactive civil society the
best guarantor for transparency and rule of law? Hasn’t
the compromise reached on the constitution and the appointment of a non-partisan technocratic government
in early 2014, a great example that dialogue can become
the norm and thus pave the way to fair dispute resolution and better governance? Aren’t the Women of Tunisia, a powerful and compelling differentiator, and an
indicator of openness and risk mitigation? Those are a
few examples of Tunisian trademarks, and the diaspora
should emphasize them when presenting Tunisia.
In promoting investment to Tunisia, the diaspora plays a key role in enabling a balanced exchange of
views on partnerships, opportunities and challenges.
The diaspora should highlight the comparative advantages of Tunisia but also provide reality checks because
while it would be great to attract additional investors to
Tunisia, we should also be equally interested in seeking
their feedback in order to communicate the message
back to the Tunisian government on what needs to be
improved from an investor standpoint. In this way,
diasporans can truly play the role of facilitator between
policy makers and private sector, and a bridge between
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diaspora led business competitions and events are also
contributing to strengthen the ecosystem of entrepreneurship in the country.
Our goal at TAYP is more modest: to create a few
success stories that are impactful through proper mentorship. By highlighting successful endeavors, these
examples could serve as a locomotive to encourage
entrepreneurship and spur further economic growth
through private enterprise. It is important at this early
stage of democracy to create a dynamic where trust is
enhanced in order for the youth to believe that success
is achievable in a system that now favors fairness and
meritocracy.
4. Engage in volunteering and community service in
Tunisia
Diasporans visits home to Tunisia often become a frenetic family and friend’s roadshow. What was once envisioned as a peaceful time to reenergize turns into an
enjoyable, but often hectic time that almost necessitates
a vacation after the vacation.
Yet, diasporans can contribute to sharing with their
friends and families some of the best practices learned
in their country of residence. One idea is to engage in
community service and volunteering for local or national causes. When the idea of community service is
brought up in Tunisia, people tend to discard it rather
quickly and ask why they would do something for which
they are not paid. The reasons are simple: in addition
to the self-satisfaction of doing something for the community and the country, volunteering is an experience
that is proven to teach creativity, valuable soft skills,
and how to deal with different, and sometimes difficult,
situations. It also provides a venue to build a greater
network which, in turn, may well enable many to find
a job or an activity that they are passionate about. President Obama was a community organizer in Chicago
and he often refers to that experience as fundamental
stepping stone in his life.
The Tunisian skilled diaspora has the capacity to
contribute to Tunisia’s transition, above and beyond
these suggested actions. It ought to channel its energy
and care for Tunisia and transform them into actions.
Distance is a challenge, but it can also be an opportunity as a perspective from outside the country is often
less emotional, grounded in facts, and therefore more
constructive. In a global World where collaboration and
information sharing is critical, the Tunisia’s skilled diaspora involvement has to focus further on knowledge exchange and on joining projects with the home country.
It is an engaged way to give back, but also to learn,
connect and strive to overcome many constraints and
imperfections that exist in the home .
the two countries.
2. Advocate for international support to a nascent
democracy
Tunisia is the best hope for a functioning democracy
in the region. It is a huge opportunit y for the World,
but one that remains fragile. In order to deliver on security, restart the economy and create an atmosphere
prone to investments, the future elected governments
will need support from every Tunisian, in particular
those who live outside the mother land. The diaspora
can increase Tunisia’s visibility with other governments,
international organizations, the media, and nongovernmental organizations by sending letters, collecting signatures for a petition, writing opinion pieces in local
and national newspapers, blogs and news-related Web
sites to express their opinion and advocate for Tunisia.
On example is advocating for accrued elections monitoring, democracy and governance aid. But no elections
would go smoothly without a stabilized economic and
security environment. Hence, support is equally important in these domains. So are exchanges for students,
academics, civil society leaders and private sector which
enable increased understanding, ties and partnerships.
3. Launch training, mentorship and capacity building programs in Tunisia
Diaspora can be a meaningful force of economic
change. Many ministers in the current and previous governments were selected among the diaspora to bring
new ways of operating. Skilled diaspora members possess much needed knowledge, experience and international connections. They exhibit a dual understanding
of the art of the possible in their host country coupled
with exposure to the challenges that exist in Tunisia.
Successful diaspora engagement is abundant worldwide. The Indian and Irish diaspora networks are
known examples of groups that have provided connections, facilitated technology and knowledge transfer.
For example, the ‘Indus Entrepreneurs’ was started in
the 90s by Indian diaspora engineers with the intent to
support and mentor promising Indian entrepreneurs. It
contributed to thousands of success stories by helping
to advance regulations while promoting the venture capital industry in India.
For Tunisia, organizations such as ATUGE in France,
NATEG in Canada made economic empowerment of
youth in Tunisia a core goal. NATEG, for example, organizes an annual three-day engineering summer camp,
that brings together engineering students, faculty and
business leaders from Tunisia, the US and Canada.
ATUGE organizes a yearly forum to connect enterprises
with job seekers, foster entrepreneurship, discuss policy and build networks among business leaders. Other
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