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Apply For the Fourth Tunis Exchange January 4-18, 2014/Deadline November 20Mideastwire.com and its partners – Université Paris-Dauphine I Tunis and Tunisia Live – are pleased to announce the Fourth Tunis Exchange January 4-January 18, 2014.The two-week course will immerse our participants in the politics of Tunisia, with a particular emphasis on direct engagement with high-level academic, political, intellectual and religious figures active across the spectrum.TO REQUEST AN APPLICATION for this Winter’s Tunis Exchange, email info@mideastwire.com.APPLY BY NOVEMBER 20, 2013 (applicants are accepted on a rolling basis and spaces are limited).Note that tuition discounts are available for those applicants with demonstrated need as well as alumni of our previous Exchanges. For more information, please email info@mideastwire.com*******************Learn Arabic in Tunis!For more information about our new series of Arabic Language classes – including private lessons – offered at several different levels, visit:https://www.facebook.com/ArabicInTunisAll classes take place at our Hotel – Villa 78 – located at 78 Avenue Mohammad V in Downtown Tunis (www.villa78tunis.com).*******************Background on Five Years of the Exchange in the MENA Region:The Exchange is an effort by Mideastwire.com and its partners to promote direct engagement and understanding through a variety of city-focused politics conferences.The First Exchange was launched in June 2008 in Beirut, Lebanon. Now, several years on, over 325 students from 44 different countries have participated in 18 different Exchange programs across the region, with many going on to work as diplomats in their home countries, for NGOs serving the region and as social entrepreneurs.The Exchange welcomes applications from current students as well as professionals and post-professionals interested in better understanding the Middle East and North Africa, and, we hope, their own country’s involvement in the region.To view previous Exchange itineraries in Lebanon, Syria, Turkey, Tunis and the Gulf, as well as media coverage of our efforts, visit http://www.thebeirutexchange.com*******************THE FOURTH TUNIS EXCHANGEJanuary 4-18, 2014/Application deadline November 20, 2013Limited spaces available/Rolling acceptanceAs with our other Exchanges, the two-week program January 4-18 will engage students from around the world in a multifaceted discussion of some of the key issues facing Tunisia and the wider region. The Tunis Exchange program specifically rests on two tracks:Academic – Participants will attend a series of lectures led by leading professors and public intellectuals in Tunisia. Topics will include, among others: Economic challenges facing Tunisia and North Africa; Political Islam and electoral politics; The status of women in Tunisia and the MENA region; Media coverage of the Arab revolts; Trade union politics in the post Ben Ali era; Emerging security challenges in the MENA region, as well as a range of other topics.Dialogue with Leaders – Participants will have the opportunity to meet, listen and engage leading social, political, religious and economic leaders from across the spectrum in Tunisia.*********Program Format – The Tunis Exchange will be held over fourteen days total at the conference room of the Le Pacha hotel in downtown Tunis. Students are expected to stay at our hotel, Villa 78 (located across the street from the Pacha) or at the Pacha hotel itself, unless permission for offsite stay at alternative hotels or accommodations is requested, since most meetings will take place in the conference room at Le Pacha.Off-site meetings will entail bus travel as a group in and around Tunis. At least three days of the program will entail travel to other cities and regions in Tunisia for meetings with local activists, intellectuals, academics and political/religious leaders, including in Sidi Bouzid, Sfax and Gafsa.Previous Institutional Participants in the Tunis Exchange (Partial list only):Ennahda PartyCongress for the Republic PartyEttakatol PartyConstitutional Democratic Rally PartyThe Democratic Modernist Pole PartyWorker’s Communist PartyProgressive Democratic PartyTunisian General Trade UnionUnion of Tunisian JournalistsThe Central Bank of TunisiaMinistry of Women’s AffairsMinistry of Human RightsManouba UniversityTunis UniversityAssociation of Democratic WomenTunisian Network for Social EconomyTunisian Observatory for a Democratic TransitionTunisian League of Human RightsTunisian-American Chamber of CommerceTunisian Association of Young EntrepreneursCommittee to Protect JournalistsAttounsia NewspaperTo view a schedule for a previous Tunis Exchange, visit:http://www.thebeirutexchange.com/images/stories/1_-_Tunis_Exchange_Schedule_Final_Tunis.pdfCosts:Tuition – $2000; Partial financial aid is available for those students and individuals that can demonstrate need as well as alumni of our previous programs.Accommodation – Eleven nights of the program will be spent at our facilities in downtown Tunis, while at least three nights will be spent at hotels outside of Tunis. Room rates vary depending on arrangements, but generally fall within the range of $600-$700 total for a shared double room during the duration of the program (breakfast is included). Alternative accommodation, including in a single room, is available upon request.Airfare – $450, approximate from the European Union.REQUEST AN APPLICATION via info@mideastwire.comFor more about Université Paris-Dauphine I Tunis, visit http://www.tunisdauphine.tn/For more about Tunisia Live, visit http://www.tunisia-live.netFor more about Le Pacha Hotel, visit http://www.lepacha.com.tn/