[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text][render_custom_map location =”Tunisia”][/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row row_title_position=”left”][vc_column width=”2/3″][vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1586344253618{padding-top: 20px !important;padding-right: 20px !important;padding-bottom: 20px !important;padding-left: 20px !important;background-color: #d0eaf2 !important;}”]The civic tech ecosystem flourished in Tunisia after the fall of dictator Ben Ali. With newfound freedoms such as the right to free expression and the right to access information, technology became the natural partner in helping improve the everyday lives of Tunisians. Digital technologies are in the very DNA of the Tunisian revolution: it is no secret that the use of social media networks and online forums assisted tremendously in the overthrow of the former regime. Labeled by TechCrunch as “MENA’s next start-up hub” in 2016, today, civic tech enjoys a lot more than the creation of private enterprises. Instead, many initiatives today are focusing on addressing pressing social and economic issues through greater digital citizenship, participation, and accessibility.

Still, challenges persist – such as the strict regulatory landscape in Tunisia, and the lack of coordination with government entities. Despite the presence of these acute challenges to budding civic tech initiatives, the work continues; most especially to build on the nascent, emerging democracy that Tunisia represents – the only one of its kind in the Middle East and North Africa region.[/vc_column_text][vc_raw_html css=”.vc_custom_1586436982053{margin-bottom: -10px !important;}”]JTNDaDIlM0VQcm9qZWN0cyUyMCVEOCVBNyVEOSU4NCVEOSU4NSVEOCVCNCVEOCVBNyVEOCVCMSVEOSU4QSVEOCVCOSUzQyUyRmgyJTNF[/vc_raw_html][listing_options listing_multi_options=”location_view” listing_loc=”988″ listing_per_page=”50″ listing_layout=”grid_view” listing_grid_style=”grid_view1″][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/3″][vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1586343777553{padding-top: 10px !important;padding-right: 20px !important;padding-bottom: 20px !important;padding-left: 20px !important;background-color: #d0eaf2 !important;}”]
Curated by Wafa Ben-Hassine

Wafa Ben-Hassine is a New York qualified attorney specializing in international law and technology. She is currently consulting with the UN Special Rapporteur on freedom of expression (OHCHR) and the International Finance Corporation. Most recently she was the Middle East and North Africa Policy Manager for Access Now, a global non-profit organization defending and human rights online.

Ben-Hassine has experience in international human rights law, technology and innovation policy, and transparency in government. She holds a Juris Doctor from the University of Denver, Sturm College of Law, and a B.A. in Political Science, Public Law from the University of California, San Diego. Ben-Hassine is the Co-Chair of the Global Future Council on Human Rights and the Fourth Industrial Revolution (World Economic Forum), and a Global Shaper with the WEF’s leadership program.

In 2015, Ben-Hassine was a former Open Technology Fund (OTF) fellow hosted at the Electronic Frontier Foundation in San Francisco, where she researched counterterrorism and cybercrime laws in select Arab countries. She was also selected as a Geneva Internet Conference Fellow, a Hivos Fellow, and a United Nations Internet Governance Forum Fellow.

Prior to her OTF fellowship, Ben-Hassine completed a legal internship at the Appeals Chamber of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon in The Hague and the U.S. Department of State Bureau for Democracy, Human Rights and Labor in drafting its annual human rights reports.
Ben-Hassine served as a member of the Freedom Online Coalition (FOC) Advisory Network, and a board member of the Arab World Internet Institute. She has also advised several organizations such as UNESCO, Association for Progressive Communications, and International Media Support on matters related to open data, transparency, and gender and technology. She works regularly with various UN bodies and Special Procedures in assisting them with reports and consultations on international human rights law and technology.

In 2011, Ben-Hassine served as Tunisia’s first-ever legislative aide in assisting a Constituent Assembly member in drafting specific provisions in the Preamble of Tunisia’s Constitution. She is a founding member of the OpenGovTN group in Tunisia and was one of the lead assemblers for Tunisia’s eventual state membership in the Open Government Partnership.

Curators are not responsible for all of the entries in their categories.

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