This event was co-sponsored by the Project on Middle East Democracy (POMED), AFL-CIO Solidarity Center, and the United States Institute of Peace (USIP).
Date: November 3, 2015
Time: 2:30 – 3:45 pm
Location: Dirksen Senate Office Building, Room 562
As Tunisia has democratized since its 2011 Jasmine Revolution, its frail economy remains a danger to social peace, with unemployment even higher than when the country’s mass protests began in late 2010. Terrorist attacks this year killed more than 50 foreigners, undercutting tourism, the country’s third-largest industry. On November 3, Houcine Abassi, Tunisia’s most prominent labor leader, and leading U.S. analysts will discuss these economic challenges and their implications for the country’s evolution. Abassi heads the Tunisian General Labor Union (UGTT), part of the National Dialogue Quartet that was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in October.
What should the priorities for spurring economic recovery in Tunisia be? What policies should the Tunisian government adopt to improve employment, especially for youth? What role can Tunisia’s labor unions play in the country’s political and economic environment? And how can the United States and the international community help Tunisia make difficult reforms and recover economically?
Abassi will discuss Tunisia’s situation with U.S. experts in a forum co-hosted by the Project on Middle East Democracy (POMED), the AFL-CIO Solidarity Center, and the United States Institute of Peace.
A conversation with:
Houcine Abassi
Secretary General, Tunisian General Labor Union (UGTT)
Brad Cunningham
Economist, Millennium Challenge Corporation
Research Fellow, Center for International Development, Harvard University
Amy Hawthorne
Deputy Director for Research, Project on Middle East Democracy (POMED)
Moderated by:
Ambassador William Taylor
Executive Vice President, United States Institute of Peace (USIP)