USAID Visit Tunisia Activity Engages 300 Children in Kairouan’s Schools to Raise Awareness About Sustainable Tourism

Articles / 24-02-2023

USAID Visit Tunisia Activity successfully engaged 300 children in Kairouan to raise awareness about the importance and potential of sustainable tourism in Tunisia both at a national level and locally. This unique educational initiative was the first time ever schoolchildren have engaged in the intersection between tourism and the local environment. The feedback from the event was positive, with Tunisian youth learning firsthand that protecting the planet can also be fun.

These sessions ran from January 23 to January 26 and involved 300 children from ages 10-12 from eight different schools in tree planting activities. The initiative generated positive radio coverage on Al Hayet FM, Sabra FM and Facebook, and Monastir FM.


USAID Visit Tunisia Public Awareness Campaigns - Starting with Kairouan


As one of USAID Visit Tunisia’s six target regions, the project selected Kairouan as the pilot region to launch the first series of public awareness campaigns. The region has a high level of cultural and historically significant sites that are currently under-visited and unknown on both a global and a domestic level. However, the tourism potential is vast, and USAID Visit Tunisia is committed to supporting sustainable destination development to ensure the well-being of Kairouan’s sites and communities for future generations.

These school sessions continue an ongoing public awareness campaign in Kairouan, following the great success of the clean-up and cultural treasure hunt activities held in the city medina, which brought together over 450 children and persons with disabilities.

The Importance of Engaging the Public

To build a successful collective future for sustainable tourism efforts that have buy-in from host communities, local people have to be engaged from the onset. By choosing to engage children and youth through community-based activities, the project is investing in the future generation’s passion for preserving their communities.

USAID Visit Tunisia Activity wants to raise public awareness about the importance of adopting an environmentally conscious approach to tourism. Tree planting is also a vital ecological activity in the fight against climate change, as trees help to protect against heat waves and floods in urban areas.

This decision to focus on tree planting as the core activity of this campaign ensures the sustainability of this intervention.


USAID Visit Tunisia’s Future Activities in Kairouan


In late April, Earth Day, USAID Visit Tunisia Activity will take tree planting initiatives to the next level. Involving significant local stakeholders, a larger-scale tree-planting activity will be implemented to beautify Kairouan’s significant tourism sites and create more environmentally friendly spaces in the city. Stay tuned for our update!

USAID Visit Tunisia Activity will engage the community - in the public, private, and civil sectors of society - in order to undertake this tree planting program, beautifying significant tourism sites and making them more livable and enjoyable for centuries to come.

USAID Visit Tunisia Activity will engage the community - in the public, private, and civil sectors of society - in order to undertake this tree planting program, beautifying significant tourism sites and making them more livable and enjoyable for centuries to come.

Thanks to the support of our partners for making this educational initiative possible: Jeunes Chambres International (JCI) Kairouan, Commissariat Régional au Tourisme de Kairouan, The Scouts Kairouan, Association for the Protection of Nature and Environment of Kairouan (APNEK), the Commissariat Regional du l’éducation de Kairouan (Regional Education Office), and Office National du Tourisme Tunisien (ONTT) .

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