ICIU has received a grant from the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs to cover a new two-way professional exchange project between Iowa and Tunisia that focuses on enhancing and improving the sports opportunities for youth with disabilities in Tunisia. Over the next 18 months, the project, titled Improving the Lives of Youth with Disabilities in Tunisia through Sports, will allow seven Tunisians to travel to the U.S. to examine programs and efforts to promote and sponsor sports, recreation, fitness, and leisure opportunities for youth with disabilities.
As a part of the project, ICIU will also send three small delegations of Iowans to Tunisia. One goal of the project will be to provide relevant examples demonstrating best practices of organizations providing sports, recreation, fitness, and leisure opportunities to youth with disabilities. Another goal will be to facilitate lasting change by assisting Tunisians in implementing the concepts learned upon their return to Tunisia. ICIU recognizes that this new project offers an opportunity to further its mission of “Building cultural respect at home and around the world one person at a time” and assist a vulnerable part of the Tunisian society. The total program cost is $154, 277 with $19, 211 in cost sharing.
According to government figures of 1994, Tunisia, a country of more than 10 million, had 107, 282 disabled persons. In August 2005, Tunisian government passed a comprehensive law that gives a special attention and protection to disabled people. The law provides for protection against discrimination in education and work place, and provides disabled individuals with a wide range of special privileges. Finally, five training centers have been established throughout the country for those who are visual, hearing or physically impaired. Although it is apparent the government is giving serious attention to the needs of disabled in Tunisia, several insufficiencies remain. In general, the new laws are not fully implemented or enforced and much remains to be done to evaluate the overall culture of Tunisian society to accept disabled individuals into the mainstream of Tunisian life. Also, there is an absence of specialized training for those who work with and are responsible for the disabled. In summary, there is lack of training for professionals working and serving the disabled and little if any information is provided to staff, much less to those they serve, of the importance of physical activity. In short, there is no culture of sports among the disabled.
ICIU ’ s Executive director, will serve as the project director for the Improving the Lives of Youth with Disabilities through Sports project. The project will support Tunisia’s new laws that require equal treatment for disabled persons by providing training in physiology, coaching techniques, and development of special sports and recreation programs to professionals and volunteers working with disabilities. The project director will be responsible for general oversight of the project, as well as some specific training areas. Through this new two-way exchange project, ICIU intends to build stronger relationship with Tunisians and hopes that the project will be a success.
Quick Facts—
Tunisia: Tunisia is situated on the Mediterranean, in the centre of the North African seaboard. It incorporates the northernmost part of the African continent and is a mere 80 km from Sicily. The country shares a 965 km border with Algeria to the west and a 459 km border with Libya to the south-east, while the coastline to the north and east is 1290 km long.It is the smallest country in North Africa.
The majority of population is composed of:
- Muslims 98%,
- Christians 1%,
- Jews and other 1%
Capital: Tunis
Climate: Hot, dry summers and mild winters
Population: 10, 175,014
Ethnic Makeup:
- Arabs 98%,
- Europeans 1%,
- Others 1%.
Languages:
Government type: Republic.
