Rehabilitating the Cooperative Image Among Tunisian Youth

In Tunisia, the image of cooperatives has been heavily burdened by negative experiences from the 1960s and 1970s. The GESTE project therefore focuses on educational work and raising awareness among young people to promote the cooperative idea as an opportunity for economic participation. Given high youth unemployment, this form of enterprise offers potential for new income opportunities while simultaneously strengthening the cooperative sector with fresh ideas and skills.

Students at ESSEC (École Supérieure des Sciences Économique et du Commerce) gain access to supplementary activities beyond the curriculum to learn about the cooperative idea in a practical way. These include awareness workshops, excursions to partner cooperatives, and matching for internships and thesis projects. Participants create short experience reports (video, audio, text) that are used to improve the image of cooperatives. Upon completion, students are expected to understand cooperative values and be able to apply them in their own lives. The process is accompanied by experienced professors, and the results feed into a final report with recommendations for a follow-up project. The project runs for one year and began in September 2025.