Ahlem Nasraoui is an accomplished leader, serial awardee, and influencer for inclusive youth engagement with marginalized groups. After finishing her master’s degree in Business Communication, she worked to support the Tunisian Democratic Transition.
Ms. Nasraoui is the founder of the Young Leaders Entrepreneurs Association, which has managed hackathons, boot-camps, and startups supporting the democratic transition through youth leadership coaching. In 2016, she was selected by the State Department as a top 10 young emerging leader. She has earned her second master’s degree in Security, Peacebuilding, and Diplomacy at Loughborough University, London as part of the 20/21 Chevening UK, Scholarship cohort Ms. Nasraoui is the founder of the Young Leaders Entrepreneurs Association, which has managed many hackathons, boot-camps, and startups for supporting the democratic transition through coaching youth on how to become leaders in a healthy environment. She is the recipient of several awards nationally and internationally, such as the Golden award in the United States for the best project on women’s empowerment. Ms. Ahlem was selected among the 100 most influential African leaders by Brightest Young Minds in South Africa and the top 10 emerging African leaders shaping the continent in 2019. The year of 2016 was a turning point in her path as she was selected by the State Department among the top 10 young emerging leaders in the world.
Ms. Nasraoui initiated the concept of women’s economic empowerment through startups and has received grants from US funders such as USAID, OTI and MEPI to implement events like the She Can conference that features women leaders’ and entrepreneurs’ success stories. She also launched the She Startup that gathered women from all regions to compete during a period of 13 hours and 8 minutes, symbolizing the women National Day in Tunisia (August 13th). The participants pitch the best social enterprise idea that will tackle women related issues. Ms. Nasraoui launched the Peace Lab in vulnerable communities to confront terrorism and extremism through an academic and professional program that coaches youngsters on leadership, arts and peace mediation. Additionally, Ms. Nasraoui has designed the awarded program, named Build Tunisia in 24 Hours, referring to the number of governorates in Tunisia. The program has been replicated by many well-known organizations and mentors to benefit 200 youth on how to start local initiatives to motivate their peers to vote.
Ms. Nasraoui also designed the winning and shortlisted Unleash Tunisia Venture Bus project by BMW group and United Nations. This project is a mobile bus that tours the mountains of Tunisia and delivers entrepreneurship training and engages hundreds of youths in online MOOCs, incubation, job fairs and peer-to-peer training. Currently, Ms Nasraoui is serving as the MENA Program Manager for the Program ‘Middle East Partnership Initiative – MEPI Alumni Connection, an initiative funded by the US State Department (MEPI DC) and implemented by World Learning across 13 MENA countries to support thousands of scholars and leaders in giving back to their communities.
Ms. Nasraoui is also a member of the Women Alliance Network for Security Leadership where she manages events and campaigns in Tunisia related to expanding women spaces when tackling and advocating for Women, Peace and Security. Ms. Nasraoui is an avid speaker in high-level events such as One Young World, UN events, World Bank panels, etc. where she is advocating for localized peace approaches and decolonization of humanitarian aid.
RELATED LINKS:
→ Ahlem Nasraoui is Among the Ten Emerging Young Leaders Awards Winners
→ Ep. 46: Ahlem Nasraoui Talks Democracy in Tunisia
→ Peacebuilding Insights and lessons from a global consultation (page 55)