Final Blog Post

Taylor Dillingham

Final Blog Post

I spent my entire semester discussing the Tunisian economy and youth. I covered a lot of topics. Some of the topics were how the youth fit into the new economy, the transition into the new economy, where women are taking place in society, the new culture of the youth, Tunisia and their new government, and where Tunisia stands on a global perspective. I tied these together and talked about how Tunisia grew as a whole, and how other countries involved in the Arab Spring can work to be like Tunisia too. My theme for the semester was that change is possible. If the people really want change, it will happen. Tunisia is a perfect example of how if a country comes together, they can accomplish anything they want.

As I said in my very first blog posts, I had numerous reasons why I chose the Tunisian economy and youth as my topic for the semester. At the global workshop last year, I was put at the Tunisia table. I was taught about the country and its social as well as economic problems. When I saw this as a topic choice, I was intrigued because I was curious to see if they had gotten out of the bad spot that they were in as of last year. As I began reading I thought I was reading about the wrong country. They had already come such a long way within the last year. At the beginning of the year I would have never guessed that they would have continued to make the increasingly large amount of progress that they have throughout this year.

The first thing I talked in my blog after that was about is where the youth fit into the economy. A lot of the articles I read discussed how as of right now, 40% of the educated youth are not employed. What is so unfortunate about that is that they are the most educated, and if they were in the workforce they could really turn the economy around. They are trying to turn their economy around, but it is hard when a big portion of the youth cannot be in the workforce due to lack of jobs. They are going to have to start creating jobs to match the new era. The problem is that the older and less educated people are staying in the workforce, and holding onto their jobs. Which would not be a problem, but since the youth are more educated, they could do the job significantly better. The other issue is that the older generation are trying to hold onto jobs that just are not needed as much anymore due to a change in the times. With advances in technology, and other outside factors, Tunisia needs to get rid of some of the jobs that the older generation are trying to keep. I read an article that talked about how a traditional hat for religious practices used to be Tunisia’s big cash crop. However, other countries are now making more of a profit because they can get the resources cheaper than Tunisians can. The older generation are trying to keep the old economy, and that just cannot happen if they want to be prosperous as a country. That 40% of the educated youth need to step in and continue to build up the new economy that has already been started to be built up by the youth.

My next topic I covered was the transition into the new economy. Tunisia within the last few years has made tremendous progress as a country. Their economy has completely turned around and is becoming prosperous. The real reason why the economy has turned itself around is due to the youth. They are changing the way that the country earns its money. They are making technological advances which are increasing the country’s profits as a whole. By creating a new generation of products, they are putting Tunisia on the map. Along with all of these new products and advances comes global recognition. One of my articles talks about Obama seeing the potential in the Tunisian youth, and giving them over a billion dollars in funding for the entrepreneurs within the youth. I have noticed the entire semester how far they have come and their future is definitely bright.

I also talked about women in Tunisia. The Tunisian women are definitely beginning to be a big contributor to the success of their country’s economy. I posted an article that discussed education in Tunisia along with other relevant statistics about what the education people are doing. What it showed was that there are more educated women than men. They start out in the work force, and all leave around the same age to start families. What is so unfortunate about that is that if the educated women stayed in the work force, a lot more could get accomplished. The reason why they do not come back has to do with society and the gender roles that have become social norms. Women traditionally are not in the work force, and the men work to support the family. With the times changing, women are becoming educated, but men are not wanting to stay home. The women are ready for the social norms to change, they are simply waiting on the men to be ready as well. This will work best when men can let go of old traditional gender roles and find peace with staying at home and taking care of the family. If the women are more educated, they deserve to be in the work force. The only solution to that problem is time. They are most definitely heading in the right direction.

I also noticed a pretty drastic change in the culture of the youth. What was very obvious was that they are becoming what is internationally perceived as, “Americanized.” One of the articles that I talked about discussed the rave that the youth threw on the set of the new Star Wars movie. They all seem to like that American party lifestyle, and are wanting to integrate it into their own culture. What is bad about that is they will begin to lose their own culture. They are so obsessed with integrating technology, staying u to date with the rest of the world, and changing their traditions, that they are going to lose everything about their culture that their country was built on. With all of these new changes with the country, especially with their technological advances and social media, the youth are just wanting to change their entire culture. I am very interested to continue to watch the behavior of the Tunisian youth and how it progresses with more time.

I discussed Tunisia and how they are changing their current government to a democracy. I think this has a lot of different factors within it that somewhat bring all of my subtopics together. Tunisia is beginning to form a democracy. I think they are doing this for several reasons. The first is the youth trying to be more Americanized. They want to have a similar culture, have a similar economy, so why not have a similar government to ensure that those things happen. I think the new government is coming in hand in hand with the other changes that are being made. In order to have a more successful economy, they need to change their government to match what they want as their new economy. This was what I saw as a very noticeable statement to the world that they are ready for a fresh start and they are ready to be a key player in the global perspective of things.

My last big topic was where Tunisia stands on a global perspective. They are trying to be noticed. They are trying to become a country that competes with the rest of the world on a global level. So far they are doing a pretty good job. One of the articles I discussed talked about how this year for the second year in a row, Tunisia has won the contest for Global App of the Year. Out of all of the competing countries in the entire world, they not only won this year, but the year before. They are trying to make huge technological advances in order to get noticed. I think that this topic brings all of my sub topics together in a sense that this is the big picture. Turning the economy around, starting fresh with a new government, creating jobs and for the new workforce, having that new workforce create new products, and changing social norms, is how they are going to get noticed on a global perspective. They are working at all of the sub projects for the big project; to put their country on the map.

This is very relevant to the Arab Spring. Tunisia as very involved in the entire Arab Spring, just like all of the other countries that were involved. However, they have come out of that are and still managed to build something out of themselves. I think that this sets a huge example for anyone who was involved in the Arab Spring that wants to see progress within their country. Tunisia’s story should give all of them hope. Tunisia was in just as bad of a state as anyone else. The difference is that they did everything that they could to overcome it. They made the changes that needed to be made for the greater good of their entire country.

Before this project, I always thought all of those third world countries, and the other countries that were in poverty and extreme forms of trouble in general, were never going to see any progress. I just thought that they would be like that forever, and all of those people were just extremely unfortunate to be put into that bad situation. I was dead set that there was no hope, and they were never going to amount to much of anything. This project made me realize how wrong I was. Tunisia showed me how a country that has absolutely nothing can turn themselves around if they really believe in themselves and want to see a change. This applies to all of the countries. All of these countries that are going through hard times are just as capable of helping themselves and rising up against all odds. Hard work within a country as a whole genuinely pays off.

Even though I am done with this project for the semester, I am still very excited to continue to watch Tunisia grow. This country has an extremely bright future. It is full of a new generation with fresh ideas that I think will add value to the entire world population.

Blog Entry 11

For my final blog post, I will be doing a reflection of what I learned through my blog this semester. I learned a lot about not only the Tunisian Economy and youth, but the entire middle east as a whole. I saw such a big change go through Tunisia. Their culture is changing, their economy is changing, their government is changing, they are changing as a country. They have wanted to progress in the global aspect. I have watched that happen this semester. If i have learned anything, it is that all of these countries are capable of tremendous improvement. They can get there. I think that Tunisia is having a change in social norms, which is going to benefit their economy. With as many women as they have who are educated, they need more women in the workforce. This will happen with time. Tunisia has so much potential with the youth to rise up and be a country who is globally prosperous. I am very excited to see their further improvement, and what the future has in store for them.

Blog Entry 10

My two articles this week talk about Tunisia winning the global app contest for the second time and about a Tunisian rapper that joined ISIS. My first article was about Tunisia’s success with the global app contest. They won and that is very significant because it shows the progression of the country and more specifically the progression of the country from the youth workforce. The youth are definitely steering their country in the right direction to be successful in the new era. Having something be the best in a technology field is very significant and it is remarkable for a country that is currently in the process of uprising. It relates to what we have been talking about in class because it talks about how countries are still trying to make progress after the Arab Spring. It reminded me of when we had that discussion asking if the Arab Spring was over. I think this shows that it might not be over for everyone, but I think that it is coming to an end for some countries. My second article was written be Alessandria Masi, and it was a bout the rapper that joined ISIS. He was falsely arrested for marijuana possession, but what others think he was really arrested for was talking about police brutality in his song lyrics. After this, he realized that the government was against the people, he joined because he knew that was his only way of making a difference at that point. He is definitely a radical. He wants to see change. The government is hurting everyone, and anyone that does not agree with them, they are punishing. He decided the best way to fight that was to actually fight with ISIS. We were talking about ISIS in class. Until I read this article I did not really understand how anyone could justify ISIS. I do not support ISIS at all, but I do not support things not changing either. People all have ways of trying to make a change.

Blog Entry 9

The two articles I picked for this week are about the Tunisian women and youth unemployment and Tunisian youth joining the Islamic State. The first article was written about unemployment. Apparently, the Tunisian unemployment rate is going down, but the youth’s unemployment rate is going up. This relates to our readings because it roots from the Arab Spring. They had a good unemployment rate pre-Arab Spring. They have definitely had trouble bringing it back down after the revolution. This author to me sounds like a political realist because they want to see change, but they still have some faith in the government and are willing to work with them to make said change. My second article was written by Christine Petre. She talked about how Tunisian youths are joining the Islamic State due to the fact that the majority of them have given up on the government. They have watched themselves as a group continue to be unemployed after everything that the country had been through. They kept waiting for progress, and never got it. So in their minds, if they joined the Islamic State, maybe something would get done. To them, they have the time because they do not have jobs, and they have tried everything else, so why not. This group of people would definitely be considered radicals. They want to take down the government and run the country the way they want it to be. This definitely relates to class because it is part of the Arab Spring, and we have had so many discussions about how this revolution has been affecting the youth.

Blog Entry 8

This week the two articles I talked about involved segregation. These articles were very interesting to me because I did not really fully realize of understand that this was going on. The first article was written by Adam Hanieh. He talked about segregation within the revolution. Within the rebels involved in the uprising, there are different groups. Some countries have seen better results than others, and this is causing segregation within  the revolting. Some countries are having more innocent people hurt, while others economies are starting to prosper. I would consider Haneih to be a cosmopolitan as well as a political realist. He wants to see a realistic form of change, however, he sees that there is no one ideal form of state for all of the countries that would make everyone happy. The second article was written by Maysa Jalbout. This article talked about women in the work force. Apparently, there are significantly more educated women than men. When women are in their early workforce years, there are way more employed women than men from the youth. What happens is the women leave to start families, and it throws off the ratio of men to women in the work place. The other thing holding women back is society. Their society is not ready for women to be in power. I would consider her a political realist. She wants to see improvement, but knows that it will not come in a day. This will take time and a change of culture.

Blog Entry 7

The two articles I picked for this week focuses more on the youth and what they are contributing or trying to contribute to society. The first article was written by Bruce Strand. He wrote about a high school student winning the peace essay writing contest discussing the best ways for Tunisia to solve some of their country’s current issues. The winner’s name was Jennifer Koeler. She talked about how there needed to be a significant reform. They need new people in power. Their current government is going nowhere, and they recently elected another person who is set on not changing the country’s ways. There needs to be change. She would be considered a radical or a political realist. She talks about how there will be no necessary changes if they don not change the government, but if they change the government, that is the start to progress. The second article was written by Jeremy Fryd, and his article discusses Tunisian economy and where the youth fit in. There is currently a 40% unemployment rate in the youth. This needs to change. Two out of five Tunisian youths are unemployed, not counting the ones not able or not seeking work. They are reconstructing the current company policies for hiring and firing, as well as updating the required qualifications for jobs. There will definitely be changes made. I would consider Fryd a political idealist. There will be changes made with negotiation between the companies, the government, and the people to try to figure out the best solution for the country as a whole.

Blog Post 6

The two articles I picked for this week continue to talk about where the Tunisian economy needs to go, followed by what needs to be done by outside forces in order for Tunisia to succeed. My first article was written by Abdulawahab Alkebsi. He discussed the Arab Spring, and how most people forget that half of the Arab Spring is about economic reform that comes with political reform. Alkebsi definitely is under the categories of both a radical and a market liberal. He is in those categories because he mainly talks about how there needs to be a new economic reform that does not involve the government. He discusses how if the government creates the reform they will be in even bigger trouble. It needs to be done by the people in order to be successful. Even though the unemployment rate has dropped it is still at 15% and that is way too big if they want to have a good economy. My second article was written about the Tunisian youth threatening to kill themselves or kill others. That is a pretty big step considering regardless someone dies. They are willing to sacrifice any lives, including their own, to see a change. They are doing it in a protest of terrorism. They want to see an end to terrorism and have stated that everyone has to come together to make it stop. The people have to come together with one another as well as all of the governments. This reminded me of our readings from the Arab Spring, talking about reformation and progress. These are definitely a group of radicals that want to be political idealists. They wanted to negotiate but that was not working so they were forced to become radicals.

Blog Entry 5

This week I read four articles concerning the new economy of Tunisia and some actions that took place that effect the youth. The first article I read was about how much better Tunisia’s economy is continuing to do. They are continuing to rise and rise, and are being predicted to be an important country in the global economy in the near future. This reminded me of the video we watched this week because like Egypt, Tunisia had problems that needed to be solved too. With hard work and dedication from the people (similar to the protesters in the movie) the change was made and it redirected their entire economy, making it successful. The second article I read was also regarding Tunisia’s economic progress, and tied it to their political reformations. Again, this reminded me of the movie because Tunisia is trying to make the same changes that were being made in the movie. This article talked about how Tunisia wanted democracy. The issue is that although they are building up their economy substantially, they will need to do it much faster than they currently are if they want to become a democratic country. Their democratic political desires will have to have a better economy to actually be able to be put in place.

 

Blog Entry 4

The articles I posted for this week were definitely big statements. The first one was about Obama funding the youth of Tunisia. This is a pretty big step for them. Specifically the entrepreneurs of the youth are being funded. Obama is giving them $1 Billion to get started. This is life changing for both the youth and the entire country’s economy. My next article was about how the Jasmine Revolution actually worked. Tunisia in the last four years has completely transformed and is finally seeing progress. The third one was about Tunisia and how their original main export of traditional hats is starting to die. My fourth was about a youth rave on the Star Wars set, and how different the culture of the youth is becoming.

In our readings we talked about The Media Revolution. I think that the media revolution is very well connected to all of my articles. The rave on the Star Wars set I think is partially influenced by the media. I think that the youth is trying to have more of an American culture in a sense that there are more parties with large masses of people and they get kind of crazy. We read a lot about the Jasmine Revolution too, and when my next article discussed the success withing that revolution I think it tied in with all of our readings discussing the struggles. My last two articles tie together. Tunisia is needing a new main export (at least, that is what I took from that article). There is change within Tunisia. I think it is perfect timing for the youthful entrepreneurs to be funded to find those new money-makers for this new uprising country. In the Battle for the Arab Spring, they talked a lot about using the social media sites to fight their battles. They even discuss creating an army to fight the online battles toward the end of the chapter. I think that they could use all of those sites for advertising and finding new ideas, rather than continuing the war. They need social media to win the war, but I do not think that they are using it to its full potential.

Blog Post 3

For my third blog post, I picked two articles discussing the economy and where the youth fits with the new economy. I picked these articles because they are showing a lot of changes being made in favor of the youth, unlike our readings. The first one discussed Tunisia trying to convert to reusable resources. With this new transition, there will be the addition of 7,000 to 20,000 new jobs added for the Tunisian youth to be hired into. This is really great because now the youth is being added into the work force and being a major source of progress in the economy. Our readings often discussed how the youth had just given up and had no hope that there would be a change, and now there obviously is being progress made. The second article I selected discussed Libya reopening their trading with Tunisia. They are opening their borders back up to trade with one another. This will help strengthen Tunisia’s economy because it can help them with both importing and exporting. What is interesting though is that Libya is not fully opening their borders up to people. They are mainly just opening them up for trade. This reminded me of our readings because it contradicts the readings now. Tunisia is starting to have more progress with all aspects of their economy and their people being involved in the economy.