In 2015, the UNESCO Chair, Cultural Diversity and Social Justice partnered with the Council of Arab-Australian Relations (CAAR) to host a series of events exploring the role of civil society organisations in Tunisia’s transition to democracy.

Bringing together local and international academics and representatives from civil society, the symposium facilitated a detailed examination of Tunisia and the challenges of pursuing democratic reform in a volatile region.

“Tunisia, birthplace of the Arab Spring, is the only country where any kind of democratic blossoming has eventuated. And the recent experience of Arab countries – from the military’s return to power in Egypt to Syria’s and Libya’s descent into the chaos of bloody civil war and the rise of ISIS – makes the exploration of Tunisia’s experience all the more important.”

Professor Fethi Mansouri, the UNESCO Chair on Cultural Diversity and Social Justice, the Alfred Deakin Institute for Citizenship and Globalisation’s Director and host of the Symposium