The curtain came down on the third field training workshop organised by the Hammamet Environmental Education Association (AERE) for the design of a cultural and tourist circuit in the Medina of Hammamet on Tuesday 7 March 2023.

In all, 13 young NEETs, 7 girls and 6 boys, Tunisian and international, aged between 18 and 29, took part in this workshop organised within the framework of the RESMYLE project - Rethinking employment and social integration of Mediterranean youth through sustainable development - and whose objective was to design a cultural and tourist circuit in the Medina of Hammamet.

The young volunteers from France, Jordan, Lebanon and Tunisia braved the cold winter weather and chose to work for a fortnight on a project of general interest that allowed them to meet, exchange ideas and experiences, actively exercise their citizenship and produce concrete results.

After two weeks of hard work, alternating between immersion, fieldwork, production, evaluation, formatting of results, etc., the young people invited the authorities, local executives, the press and representatives of civil society to the closing reception that they organised at the municipality of Hammamet to present the results of their work, not without pride.

In front of a large audience, they presented the results of their training workshop: the elaboration of a map of the Medina tour including 20 stations, 10 of which are essential; the design of a brochure of the tour, the preparation of a video of the tour, a podcast that tells the story of the tour in English, French and Arabic and, last but not least, the creation of 20 smart plaques corresponding to the 20 selected stations with QR codes containing photos and exhaustive information on each stop of the tour in Arabic, French and English.

The work carried out by the young people is in line with the national projects carried out in Tunisia for the rehabilitation and enhancement of old historical centres and is in perfect synergy with the country's commitment to sustainable tourism.

Bab Bhar, the fort, the ramparts, the souk, the great mosque, Hammam Belghith, Sidi Abdelkader, Errahba Square, Sidi Abdallah, Chelma Square, Sidi Bouhdid, the Christian and Muslim cemetery, Bab Haouara, etc. are all tangible and intangible heritages selected from the different strata of the history of the Medina of Hammamet which unfold a part of the memory of this beautiful city and invite visitors to discover the riches it conceals. The young people have really taken up a great challenge, that of presenting to today's visitors the heritage of a Medina founded in the 9th century.

Wednesday 8 March was the time for parting. And however painful it may be, it will of course be mitigated by the strong feeling of having taken part in a beautiful adventure in the service of a territory and a community.

"It is the fever of youth that keeps the world at normal temperature. When youth cools down, the rest of the world grinds its teeth. Said Georges Bernanos.

Dr Salem Sahli

President of AERE