TRAIT D'union - Tunisia

The TRAIT D'union (Travail et inclusion pour les territoires et le Développement) project, financed under the 2019 call promoted by the Ministry of the Interior and dedicated to "International collaborations and cooperation and assistance to third countries in matters of immigration and asylum , also through participation in European programmes", intends to promote economic and social development in Tunisia based on an integrated approach, which is aimed on the one hand at women and young people looking for employment and on the other at local institutions, key actors in the process of sustainable development and strengthening democracy. The underlying theme of each activity is the construction of production chains in compliance with the principles of the social and solidarity economy, with a particular focus on the opportunities linked to the circular economy. The Tunisian municipalities directly involved are those of Tunis, Mahadia and Sfax; the National Federation of Tunisian Municipalities will guarantee the dissemination of the activities to all interested local authorities.
The Municipality of Milan participates in the intervention by contributing to training activities, capacity building and exchange of practices to promote the local circular economy in the Tunisian territories involved, through participatory planning and public-private partnerships, and to the involvement of the Tunisian diaspora residing in the our territory.

The partnership is made up of:

  • Tuscany Region (leader),
  • ANCI Tuscany,
  • FNVT (Fédération Nationale des Villes Tunisiennes),
  • The municipality of Milan, 
  • Municipality of Tunis,
  • Municipality of Sfax,
  • ARCI Tuscan Regional Committee onlus,
  • TCSE (Tunisian Center for Social Entrepreneurship),
  • Nosotras Association, 
  • Ethical Finance Foundation, 
  • ASEV (Empolese Valdelsa Development Agency).  

The overall budget is equal to Euro 1.311.894,00.

The project has a duration of 36 months, starting from 14 December 2020 and expected to end on 13 December 2023.

General objective:

  • Address the root causes of migration from Tunisia, promoting economic and social development in the country.

Specific objectives:

  1. Promote local and socio-economic development and the creation of new job opportunities through the relaunch of youth and female entrepreneurship and the strengthening of municipal governance oriented towards inclusive public-private partnership in the areas of intervention;
  2. Inform residents about the risks of irregular migration and in particular the links to human trafficking and smuggling.

Creation of training workshops on the creation and management of social enterprises, on micro-credit and on inclusive and public/private governance;
Training of trainers and technical master classes in the sectors of interest (fashion, design, web marketing);
Training on the circular economy as an opportunity for socio-economic development, through the reuse of processing materials in further production/consumption/recovery cycles, and the reduction of waste;
Exchange between officials and institutional strengthening on the topics of the circular economy and public-private partnership;
Incubation activities for the creation of social enterprises (consultancy, individual coaching, micro-financing) and exchange of practices on the role of the public body as a driver of sustainable local development, based on participatory local planning;
Acceleration activities for the strengthening of already existing social enterprises (individual coaching, in-depth seminars, micro-financing, social entrepreneurship fair);
Scouting among Tunisian migrants engaged in work or training sectors that intercept the interest of those attending the training, identification and transfer of skills to young people intercepted by the training and incubation activities;
Communication campaign on the risks of irregular migration and in particular on the links with human trafficking and trafficking through: the development of a communication concept involving the Tunisian diaspora in Italy, the monitoring of the contents developed, the diffusion of the message through various media and through institutional channels throughout the Tunisian territory. 

  1. Increased employability of young people and women, through new training opportunities, combined with the strengthening of local institutions;
  2. Increase employment and local economic development prospects with the stabilization of social, innovative and eco-sustainable enterprises in the intervention areas;
  3. Financial products created (guarantee funds for the granting of micro-credit) that meet the needs of residents and in line with the territorial planning of the Municipalities;
  4. A program has been launched to transfer professional and financial skills and abilities of Tunisian migrants to Italy, to contribute to the economic and social development of their country of origin;
  5. An information campaign was created and disseminated in Tunisia on the risks of irregular migration and in particular on the links with human trafficking and trafficking.

Updated: 30/09/2021