A Sidi Under Stress: Sidi Bouzid City Council, 2011

Once just a typical Tunisian city, Sidi Bouzid was suddenly catapulted to international prominence with the onset of the Tunisian Revolution in 2010. Long-standing issues—including unemployment, government corruption, and limits on political freedoms and speech—combined with the death of local vendor Mohmed Bouazizi to create the perfect storm for a tense clash between the police, government, and Tunisian protesters. Thousands of young Tunisians went to the streets to protest what they perceived as decades of inequitable governance and inadequate standards of living. But the increasing influence of social media platforms like Facebook allowed protests in this once-quiet city to reach an unprecedented international audience, and ultimately spur dozens of other similar movements throughout cities in the Middle East and North Africa. Collectively, this chain reaction came to be known as the Arab Spring.

A year later, in the aftermath of the initial Arab Spring Tunisian protests, Sidi Bouzid must decide how to proceed and change its governance to respond to citizen needs. Officials like President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali as well as multiple city council members have been ousted from power, leading to political transition and restructuring this committee must address. The significant international attention now on Sidi Bouzid poses an additional challenge, as the city must decide how to respond, reframe its identity, collaborate internationally, and ensure public safety as well as guarantee political rights often denied like free speech. Rebuilding also entails combating economic inequality, unemployment for young Tunisians, and the urban-rural economic divide within the city. Political polarization, bribery, and local level corruption also confront Sidi Bouzid as it works to redefine itself in a post-Arab-Spring world. Will Sidi Bouzid emerge a stronger city than ever before, or will it further fragment itself? The answer is up to you, delegates!