Selim Fredj (29) is from Nadhour, a traditional city in Tunisia with a population of nearly 43,000. In December of 2019, Selim founded the cultural café “Coin D'élite” (Elite corner), a café that welcomes both women and men - a rare occurrence in the historical part of the city - and offers a variety of cultural and civic engagement activities for the neighborhood's youth.

Selim's project is ambitious, since he intends to engage the youth in an area that usually lacks clubs and cultural activities. In order to do this, he organizes cultural and musical activities, and sometimes he organizes board game activities, such as the game called Loup Garou, "which helps build the capacity of young people and creates a sense of social cohesion among members of the community", Selim says. He also develops initiatives that focus on skill building, such as improving personal skills and soft skills.

To date, Coin D'élite has 20 active members. For its members, particularly the women and girls of Nadhour, for whom it is sometimes frowned upon to gather and go to coffee shops, it is an opportunity to engage with others in a public and safe space. Selim explains that "while some regions of Tunisia are very progressive with regard to the status of women, in Nadhour, although women are now forced to work because of the rising cost of living, the mentality remains the same, and they are not always allowed to go out to see friends at the cafés, as it is essentially considered to be a hobby ‘for men.’ That is why I am leading this initiative: I have to try to change things, and I do this through cultural events, such as by hosting film screenings or book clubs, which are more readily accepted as a hobby.”

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Coin D'élite is located right next to a high school, which allows Selim to attract students. When the school was in session (before the pandemic), students would go to the café, exchange ideas and study there. Debates sometimes took place, which is one of the reasons why Selim opened the café. "In Nadhour, the curriculum strictly focuses on academic materials. There are no clubs, cultural activities, events or trainings. There is only academic coursework, which does not teach young people to engage in civil society or to develop their critical skills. The only way I could attract young people to engage in these kinds of activities was by setting up a café.”

Recently, the members of Coin D'élite participated in a UNESCO activity about the prevention of violent extremism through youth empowerment, where they discussed the role of formal and informal education in the prevention of violent extremism, as well as the key role of youth in the development of more peaceful societies. This idea came to Selim after his participation in international debates organized by iiDebate in the framework of the UNESCO and UNOCT project on the prevention of violent extremism.

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In addition, before the lockdown, he organized an innovative event: the screening of the film "Dachra," a popular film in Tunisia. Along with several other members, Selim also engaged in activities during the quarantine period, such as volunteering in public spaces and distributing food to the most vulnerable families of the community during Ramadan.

Another reason why Selim feels that it is so important to have a space like Coin D'élite is because, since there are no youth activities in Nadhour, terrorist groups often take advantage of this vulnerability to recruit young people. Selim, himself, knows people who have moved to Syria or Libya to join terrorist groups. He says, "They are intelligent people, good students, but the problem is that they lack supervision at school and hope for their future.” However, initiatives such as Coin D'élite allow young people to further develop their critical thinking skills, making them less likely to be recruited by terrorist groups.    

"My dream is to build and sustain this space where everyone can discuss and debate peacefully, and where we can also have fun. I'm looking to incorporate social impact into my work, and I don't want to wait for public authorities to change things in my community. One day, I hope to open Coin d’Elite cafés in other regions of Tunisia. My café is not just a place to drink coffee; it is a place where young people come together to build the future.

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For more information:

- Learn more about Coin D'élite: https://www.facebook.com/CE.nadhour  

- Learn more about iiDebate: https://www.facebook.com/iidebate