On 02 February 2020 a new working group representing stakeholders working in the fields of Culture, Sciences (teaching and research) and Associations was set up in Tunis, namely CURA (Culture-University-Research-Associations). It is a civil collective of a provisionally informal nature morally committed to work for the achievement of specific objectives aiming at combining efforts and coordinating actions so as to better distribute resources and gain efficiency in carrying out specific action programmes which will be elaborated in a consensual way in the collective interest and in the respect of the legal functioning and the inalienable human values.
The working group has been created by the following organisations:
¤ The Brachylogia association of Tunisia, represented by its president Mr. Badreddine Ben Henda (ISSHT - Tunis El Manar University).
¤ The Research Unit in Brachylogic Studies (UREB), represented by its director Ms. Zouhour Ben Aziza (ISSHT - Tunis El Manar University).
¤ The association Questions et Concepts d’Avenir (QCA), represented by its president Mr. Mansour M’henni. Teacher. em. Tunis El Manar.
¤ The Association for the Mediterranean Culture and Arts (ACAM), represented by Mr. Samir Hamza, member of the committee responsible for studies and research purposes. Director of ENSAT.
¤ The association Cultural Action of ISLA-Moknine, represented by Mr. Mohamed Saad Borghol, president of the association and director of ISLA-Moknine.
They signed an agreement, but left the participation to the working group open to any organisations, associations or research centres interested in such an action strategy and receptive to civil, cultural and scientific training, as well as to independent intellectuals wishing to join.
It has already paved the way towards an informal cooperation with the International Coordination of Brachylogical Research and Studies (CIREB-Paris), as well as with La Renaissance Française (Paris), and the Association Promotion Touristique et Action Culturelle (of Guelma – Algeria). Other similar agreements are currently under consideration.
Against this backdrop, a first project was created by the working group, namely "Forum Science, Culture and Citizenship" (Forum SCC). Sponsored by the University Tunis El Manar, on 08 December 2021 the Forum hosted a study day on "Science, Culture and Citizenship: thinking about their convergence for the development of society" at the Higher Institute of Human Sciences of Tunis (University Tunis El Manar) within the framework of the activities of the CURA working group.
A second study day has been carried out on 18 June 2022 at the Hotel Monastir-Center in Monastir with the aim to develop a sustainability plan to be implemented by the working group, as well as to organise the next events, such as "Marc Gontard: researcher and novelist" (11 October 2022), the "9th Symposium of Cultural and Artistic Expressions of the Mediterranean" (SECAM 9) (Kairouan, 28-29 November 2022), and the third edition of the conference "Democracy and culture" (TBD).