MAD Path

MAD path is a Tunisian NGO working on youth empowerment in Tunisia, with an aim to expand its activities across the MENA region. Its main focus is to enable learning environment for youth through non-formal educational and training tools and stimulating them on employability and life skills. MAD path works mainly on enhancing the social entrepreneurship culture among young people, understanding social entrepreneurship not only as a profession, but also identity and way of life. Through our activities, we are also filling in the gap between Europe and MENA countries by trying to build a cultural bridge through entrepreneurship and to minimize the stereotypes between the two side of the Mediterranean Sea. The organizational vision is to create a new generation of responsible young people that by advancing themselves, personally and professionally, contribute to the advancement of their communities. MAD path main experience is in providing know-how and building capacities of youngsters and of youth organizations in the country in the field of community development and social responsibility, in particular in the sensitive period after the Arab spring. In MAD path we believe that a mission is achieved only with a joint action and a quality of work and therefore, we pay special attention to two elements: developing quality and innovative activities with interactive, engaging and methodology encouraging learning and reflection, as well as building sustainable partnerships with stakeholders sharing the same goals as our organization. For only few months of active work, MAD path managed to develop quality youth programs and start valuable partnerships with stakeholders. The organization collaborates with the American Center of U.S. Embassy Tunis, where the team is organizing employability and youth empowerment workshops as part of its program STEP UP: Skills, Tools, Exercises and Projects for Unleashing youth Potential [more can be seen here: [https://www.facebook.com/pg/makeadifferencepath/events]. Up to 300 participants took part at the workshops organized by MAD path and focused on: idea-generation, project writing, social-business modelling, branding and storytelling for nonprofits and social startups as well as pitching skills for young entrepreneurs. The evaluation results show that more than 95 % of the participants are satisfied to very satisfied with the content and performance of the facilitatiors and more than 2/3 of them emphasized that the workshops inspired them to take an action and implement the gained knowledge. The objectives of the organization are the following: - To empower young people in maximizing their talents and potentials; - To support youth development by equipping youth with the necessary skills and tools for their personal, professional and community development; - To improve the quality of youth information and to advocate for mobility-related activities for youth; - To actively engage in improving the youth policy-making processes in the country and abroad with an aim of boosting the quality of life of youngsters everywhere; - To enhance and support the capacity-building processes of the non-profit organizations and other relevant stakeholders in order to enhance the quality of the youth sector in Tunisia and abroad and boost the quality of life of youth, in general; - To engage into sustainable partnerships and knowledge-exchange with alike-minded individuals, groups, organizations and institutions with an aim to strengthen the youth sector on local, national, regional and international level; - To strengthen the democratic life, solidarity and youth participation in Tunisia and abroad; - To promote a culture of understanding, dialogue and acceptance, in particular welcoming towards youth with fewer opportunities and from disadvantaged background.