Objectives
With the support of the International Republican Institute (IRI), and in cooperation with the Central European University (CEU), the project aims at organizing a study trip for leading Tunisian politicians in Budapest. The one week long training focuses on sharing and interpreting the relevant Hungarian transition experiences for the participants, and providing a thorough overview of the transition process, and present good practices.

Background
Theevents in Tunisia that took place in early spring 2010 initiated the process of the Arab Spring in the region. As a result of the protests, President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali resigned in 2010, and the country set off on the path of democratic transition. Tunisia has expressed at several forums its willingness to cooperate with Hungarian organizations to share their experience in the process. The country is of strategic importance for the Hungarian foreign policy, and transmitting the lessons learned in the process could further enhance the representation of the interests of both the ICDT and the Hungarian foreign policy in the region.

Project Description
During their one week long visit to Hungary, the delegates of the Tunisian political parties take part in academic sessions every morning, while in the afternoon they meet key figures of the Hungarian democratic transition, including representatives of the economic sector and non-governmental organizations.

The project is implemented in the framework and according to the guidelines of IRI’s Rising Stars program, to ensure the leaders of new democracies are fully equipped with skills in effective democratic governance before they take office. Throughout the elaboration of the agenda, the ICDT aimed to equally implicate the fields of sharing the experiences of the Hungarian democratic transition, introducing the country itself and strengthening bilateral relations. The program will thus contain an academic component characterized by seminars and workshops on key subjects as well as a practical component that will include meetings and roundtable discussions with political and governmental actors and site visits.