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Leila Ben-Gacem

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Leila Ben-Gacem
Arabic: ليلى بن قاسم
Born1969
NationalityTunisia
Alma materSocial Entrepreneur and municipal councillor
Known forEntrepreneurship

Leila Ben-Gacem (Arabic: ليلى بن قاسم) is a Tunisian social entrepreneur. She is the founder of Blue Fish company[1] and the initiator and founder of several initiatives in the Tunisian ecosystem and cultural scenes through Tunisian Civil Society.[2] Ben-Gacem is also an elected member of the municipal council of Beni Khalled since Tunisia's first decentralized municipal elections were held in 2018.[3]

Biography

Ben-Gacem studied biomedical engineering at Boston University. She worked in many companies such as IMM in Tunisia, Hewlett-Packard in Germany, Assada Medical in Libya.

In 2006, she started the social enterprise Blue Fish to help Tunisian artisans, particularly women, to export their works and develop their businesses.[4] In 2009, she initiated Sougha Est in the khalifa fund for enterprise development in Abu Dhabi in the UAE.[5] She occupied the position of Senior Manager at the Khalifa Fund for Enterprise Development, helping Emirati women artisans in developing their local enterprises,[6][7] until 2013 when she decided to go back to Tunisia.

In 2013, Leila founded Dar Ben-Gacem, a boutique hotel and a social enterprise.[8][9][10] The guest house's main objective is to contribute to the development of the Medina of Tunis.[11] Ben-Gacem was elected, in the period of 2014-2016, as a board member of Edhiafa Association that deals with the network of boutique hotels in Tunisia. Before that, she was a board member in CJD (Centre des Jeunes Dirigeants) - Young CEO Centre until 2009.

Civic engagement and social change

Ben-Gacem is known as a socio-cultural catalyst.[12] She has been involved in many cultural initiatives to revive the Medina of Tunis and ensure its sustainable development.[13] In 2015, Leila and other civil society actors played a major role in reviving the Rachidia association in its 80th anniversary, then she joined other cultural initiatives such as Journal de la Médina, the national Wikipedia project MedinaPedia[12] and the first Light Festival in Africa Interference.[14]

In 2015 as well, she has led a national campaign to revive the industry and usage of the Chachia.[15] Leila occupied the position of President of the Association of Preservation of Beni Khalled from 2015 until 2018.[2] She is also a founding member of the Ultramarathon Association in Tunisia[16] since 2017, where they organised the first Ultramarathon, UltraMirage[17] in Nefta in the south of Tunisia.[2]

In 2017, Ben-Gacem founded the first co-working space in the Medina of Tunis, entitled Dar El Harka,[18] intended as a hub for creative industries.[15] Ben-Gacem joined Emna Mizouni in founding Digital Citizenship organization to advance the knowledge and skills of women entrepreneurs.

Ben-Gacem ran for civic office in the 2018 Tunisian municipal elections, as part of a list of independent candidates with the slogan "Ghodwa Khir - Tomorrow is better".[19] She was elected to the Beni Khalled municipality. Later, she was appointed the head of the finance committee.[3] She also joined the network of women municipal counsellors in the Maghreb region[20] along with Souad Abderrahim and other women municipal councillors.[21][3]

Recognition

Ben-Gacem received Fatma El Fehria Award in 2017.[22] In the same year, she received the Women Entrepreneur in Cultural Sector Award as well. Prior to that, in October 2016, she became an Ashoka Fellow.[23]

References

  1. ^ Fondation BIAT pour la jeunesse (23 May 2016). "Spark Days - 2016 - Leyla Ben Gacem nous parle de son projet Dar Ben Gacem" – via YouTube.
  2. ^ a b c "Leïla Ben Gacem : " Concilier business et impact social "". 11 September 2018.
  3. ^ a b c "PressReader.com - Your favorite newspapers and magazines". www.pressreader.com.
  4. ^ 'Leila Ben Gacem: Ashoka Fellow'.
  5. ^ The National (20 June 2010). "Western Region Weaving" – via YouTube.
  6. ^ GE Middle East, North Africa & Turkey (13 January 2013). "Leila Ben-Gacem on Unlocking Untapped Talents" – via YouTube.
  7. ^ "31 أسرة منتجة تشارك في ورشة تعريفية بخدمات صندوق خليفة للمشاريع". Al Ittihad. 20 September 2012. Retrieved 30 December 2019.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  8. ^ "Accueil".
  9. ^ Monika Maier-Albang, 'Das getroffene Land; Seit den Terroranschlägen meiden Touristen das klassische Urlaubsziel Tunesien', Süddeutsche Zeitung (11 February 2016), p. 21.
  10. ^ بولر, أليشا (11 June 2019). "النهوض بالموروث الثقافي التونسي". Al Bayan. Retrieved 30 December 2019.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  11. ^ "Portrait: Leila ben Gacem: Une femme d'exception".
  12. ^ a b "How a new generation is reviving the old heart of Tunis". PBS NewsHour. 22 May 2017.
  13. ^ "Meet the woman who fights extremism by creating job opportunities". 2 May 2016.
  14. ^ "INTERFERENCE".
  15. ^ a b webmasterwajjahni (19 January 2017). "Leila Ben Gacem : Entreprendre pour valoriser la Médina et le patrimoine". Wajjahni.
  16. ^ "Organisation - Tozeur - Ultra Mirage El Djerid". Ultra Mirage El Djerid - Tozeur, Tunisia.
  17. ^ "Ultra Mirage el Djerid 100KM".
  18. ^ "Dar el Harka".
  19. ^ "Elections municipales Tunisie 2018: Résultats préliminaires dans la circonscription de Nabeul II".
  20. ^ http://www.aimf.asso.fr/IMG/pdf/leadership.pdf
  21. ^ "Tunisie : Femme en politique, un combat de tous les jours".
  22. ^ "Les lauréats des prix "Fatima Fihriya" dévoilés". Al HuffPost Maghreb. 30 April 2017.
  23. ^ "Leila Ben Gacem". Ashoka - Tous acteurs de changement.
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