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Improving the Lives of Youth with Disabilities in Tunisia through Sports
 Tunisia, a country of more than 10 million declared its independence from France in 1956. Since then, the country has emphasized gender equality for all its citizens and has been praised by Western democracies for its progressive laws regarding equal rights in education and employment. However, until very recently, government concerns for the needs of the disabled have remained neglected. According to government figures of 1994, there were 107,282 disabled persons in Tunisia; a number which is thought to be low by those working in the no-profit sector on behalf of the disabled.
Despite the gains of a 2005 law designed to protect and provide special attention to the rights of the disabled in Tunisia, advances in the opportunities for physical activity and recreation remain limited. Social inclusion of the disabled in the country remains limited, particularly due to the lack of efforts to facilitate their increased incorporation into Tunisian society. The growth of civil society organizations devoted to assisting the disabled and addressing their particular needs has been not been matched by the increased funding and efforts to promote organizational cooperation and communication. Moreover, there has been a general lack of training for professionals working with Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) serving the disabled on the importance of physical activity and techniques for managing disabilities.
The Iowa Council for International Understanding (ICIU)’s program on “Improving the Lives of Youth with Disabilities in Tunisia through Sports” is a two-way exchange program which brings together representatives from government, NGOs, coaches and community leaders in Tunisia and Iowa experts in developing programs, promoting and sponsoring sports, recreation, fitness and leisure opportunities for youth with disabilities. The collaborative exchange was implemented by ICIU and the Center for Applied Training (CAT) in Tunisia and works in collaboration with the Tunisian Federation for Sports for the Handicapped (FTSH). The project support s Tunisia’s new disability protection laws through a series of training workshops and exchanges in Tunisia and Iowa, with the development of new knowledge and techniques, as well as the development of long-term project planning and action plans beyond the grant period.
From December 13-21, 2008, our training delegation composed of three trainers and ICIU program manager, Christina Sibouih, traveled to Tunisia to complete the final component of the Program, “Improving the Lives of Youth with Disabilities in Tunisia through Sports.” This trip was set to not only provide an introduction to basic sports and recreation techniques for Tunisian professionals working with disabled youth, but also to build upon the knowledge and techniques obtained by the Tunisian trainers who traveled to Iowa the previous year. Three of these four trainers were able to assist as peer trainers, illustrating not only the success of the initial exchange, but ensuring continuity in the program.
The central training component of the trip featured two, two-day training sessions, each including over 30 participants ranging from physical trainers to educators, occupational therapists and sports trainers. We were also able to incorporate hands-on training with some local children with both physical and mental handicaps, which really helped to put the material into practice for the participants.
 The Tunisian Federation of Sports for Handicapped did an excellent job of organizing the entire visit and the training session. All four of the only four trained inspectors in the country which work for the Ministry of Sports in Tunisia and are essentially the quality inspectors for those attending the training were able to attend and two of them have committed to disseminating the materials of the training across the different regions of the country, personally. They have also begun to collaborate with the participants to work to find new ways of developing curriculums and skills, as well as increased coordination between the different occupations represented. The excitement expressed not only by our partners and the participants in Tunisia, but also the trainers involved in this project is very reflective of the importance and passion behind the work that is encompassed in this program. The success of the Tunisia delegation visit to the U.S. provided important insight that guided this final training, building upon the information gained the year before and expanding to ensure not only a better understanding of the different adaptations, benefits and possibilities of recreational and sports activities for the disabled, but will also assist them in developing projects and plans that will go beyond the time frame of this grant and attain maximum exposure and dissemination of the techniques and knowledge gained.
There has been a tremendous appreciation on all sides of the work accomplished during this program and we have received repeated inquiries from all sides as to how we can continue this work in Tunisia—including from the U.S. Ambassador to Tunisia.
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.
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