Our Shared Commitment to Youth Empowerment in Rural EuroMed

At Commonground Initiatives, we believe that inclusive community participation is key to building more democratic, resilient, and equitable societies, especially in rural and underserved areas. In this spirit, we are proud to announce a new partnership with the We Love Kairouan Association, as part of a mutual effort to strengthen youth empowerment and civic engagement across the Euro-Mediterranean region.

Founded in 2012, We Love Kairouan is an independent nonprofit organisation based in Kairouan, Tunisia. The association works at the intersection of culture, environment, citizenship, and public participation. Through its activities, it promotes youth engagement in shaping the future of their city, mobilising local energy to foster meaningful change at the grassroots level.

Together, we are launching the Mutual Capacity Building Program on Youth Community Engagement Strategies. This program is designed to facilitate knowledge exchange, co-create effective tools for youth participation, and identify new opportunities for collaboration among civil society organisations operating in challenging and often under-resourced environments.

We’ve structured this initial round of collaboration into three core sessions:

• In the first session, we will work with the We Love Kairouan team to map out the local context, identify specific barriers and risks faced by civil society actors, and explore opportunities to build trust and improve relationships with key stakeholders. 

• The second session will offer a deep dive into youth engagement strategies, incorporating creative approaches and lessons learned from our pilot project in Monfalcone, Italy. 

• In the third session, we will co-develop a set of ideas and proposals to spark civic participation among young people in rural areas, develop strategies for resilient civil society amidst global backlash against  CS organisations, and review fundraising strategies and opportunities that could support these initiatives.

This partnership is not only about sharing our experiences, it is also a valuable opportunity for us to learn from the team at We Love Kairouan. 

We are particularly interested in understanding how they adapt and pivot their impact programs, how they manage to mobilise youth in interior regions with limited resources, and how they build and sustain relationships with key stakeholders in a constantly evolving political landscape. 

Through this collaborative process, both of our organisations aim to gain greater clarity around our respective contexts, strengthen our expertise in community engagement, generate concrete project ideas, build strategic partnerships, and improve our funding readiness. 

We believe that local community movements have the power to shape social, cultural, and environmental change from the ground up, creating an effect that can influence policy and protect the well-being of our collective future. 

This is the vision that brought us together with We Love Kairouan, and the foundation of our shared commitment to empowering young people and strengthening democratic participation in the EuroMed region.