Olfa Hamdi, candidate for the presidency of Tunisia, gives a session at the St. Thomas More workshop of the Degree in Philosophy, Politics and Economics (PPE)
In his speech, he stressed the importance of democracy and cooperation between the different Mediterranean countries.
The students of the Degree in Philosophy, Politics and Economics (PPE) of the School of Philosophy and Letters have celebrated the workshop St. Thomas More, patron saint of politicians and rulers. In an event chaired by the dean of the School, Julia Pavón, who was accompanied by Professor Julia Urabayen, director of the department of Political Science and Sociology, the Tunisian political leader Olfa Hamdi offered a session on democracy, human rights and political stability in the Mediterranean region.
During his speech, Hamdi stressed the need to build solid democratic institutions in North African countries, rejecting the idea that "security and democracy are a zero-sum game". In this sense, he assured that "no authoritarian regime in Africa or in the Arab world has lasted more than a few decades", while consolidated democracies have shown greater stability over time.
The speaker also stressed the importance of strengthening relations between Europe and Tunisia, pointing out that economic cooperation must go beyond migration control: "The Mediterranean should be a space of shared prosperity, not a dividing line," she said, while criticizing the restrictions on mobility that hinder the development of business and training opportunities for young Tunisians. Hamdi also defended the need to reformulate trade agreements between the regions to encourage investment and economic development in these countries. "Instead of fearing the reconfiguration of global trade, young Europeans should see this as an opportunity to establish new alliances between Mediterranean nations".
During her session, the politician and businesswoman also called on the young people present to get actively involved in the transformation of their countries from their future positions as advisors, governors, politicians and relevant figures in civil society and public opinion: "The future is in your hands. I already have gray hair from politics," he joked, "but it is you who must build the bridges between our societies and not let fear dictate our relations.
In the afternoon, a roundtable took place with the degree scroll "Bursting the bubble: a new generation with a vocation of service", a topic that was approached from politics, Economics and Philosophy. The workshop concluded with a discussion on penitentiary systems in which the students, in teams, had to defend punishment or reinsertion.
