The Ma3an: For Resilient Communities program will increase the capacity of communities to withstand political, social, and economic stresses and shocks by spurring 30 of Tunisia’s most vulnerable communities to generate sustainable resources for development in areas that are vulnerable to instability.

IREX will be leveraging its positive youth development expertise and network of youth in Tunisia to engage a youth mentor network to provide marginalized youth with peer support, skills development, and opportunities to leverage technology & innovation.

Youth mentors will contribute to community resilience and stability as they increase critical thinking, coordination, and employability skills and share these capacities with youth in the target communities where they implement trainings and professional events and engage the community.

• The Ma3an project will increase the capacity of communities to withstand political, social, and economic stresses and shocks. The project will spur 30 of Tunisia’s most vulnerable communities to action and generate sustainable resources for development in areas that are vulnerable to instability and violent extremism.
• IREX leverages its positive youth development expertise and network of youth in Tunisia to engage a youth mentor network to provide marginalized youth with peer support. Youth mentors will be trained in information literacy (Learn to Discern curriculum); positive storytelling; essential soft skills (YES curriculum); principles of monitoring, evaluation, and learning; and peer mentoring. Youth mentors will then reproduce the trainings for youth in target communities by holding storytelling events, engaging in Professional Insight visits, and providing one-on-one mentoring sessions.
• Professional Insight Days held by youth mentors in marginalized communities and training activities held in coordination with the Young Tunisian Coders Academy will provide engagement opportunities for youth in target communities that capitalize on technology and innovation.  

• Youth mentors selection and training: Cohort 1 of 12–14 youth mentors were selected through a competitive process to serve their communities during the period of 2019–2020. These exemplary youth attend an 8-day training of trainers to build essential soft skills such as critical thinking, information media, empathy, storytelling, and employability skills. Mentors are equipped with tools to provide community youth with peer support, skills development, and professional networking opportunities. Youth mentors develop event coordination and project management skills as they implement community activities for fellow youth. The mentors support marginalized youth empowerment and community stability by improving the skills and abilities that are necessary for future opportunities and working together to enhance their community’s resilience.
• Community events implemented by youth mentors: After the training of trainers, youth mentors conduct:
  • Storytelling events: Build empathy, foster social bonds, and introduce diverse youth voices to the communities.
  • Learn to Discern Trainings: Support youth resilience to misinformation and the critical consumption of media and information as well as exposure to technology and innovation, through IREX's Learn to Discern methodology.
  • Professional Insight Days: Build a stronger professional and peer network and expose community youth participants to career opportunities.
  • Mentor Sessions: Provide peer support to community youth through conducting peer-to-peer mentoring.
• Partnership with the Young Tunisian Coders Academy: IREX Ma3an team is collaborating with the Young Tunisian Coders Academy, which will hold training sessions in target communities that will engage community youth and interested youth mentors.   

• In the first six months of implementing community events, youth mentors have provided 327 community youth and peers with opportunities to support and grow their own communication, media literacy, and professional skills through storytelling events, misinformation Learn to Discern trainings, Professional Insight Days, and peer mentoring.
• The 12 youth mentors in Cohort 1 attended a refresher training course during which they shared their own improvements and successes, as well as best practices, lessons learned, and recommendations. In 2020, 40 more youth mentors will be trained and conduct activities in an additional 12 communities.
• Youth mentor events and mentoring sessions have already begun to show impact and benefit for community youth. At one event, two participants chose to apply to internships and have received mentoring support during the application process. Some participants have voiced interest at becoming youth mentors themselves.