Territorial facilitation, a profession to be developed and defended: feedback on a large-scale approach in Tunisia

Abstract

This article analyzes the relevance of a new profession, that of territorial facilitator. Territorial facilitators are generally in charge of facilitating the dialogue between different types of actors (like farmers, elected officials and the administration) for the development of a defined area. This article describes a pilot scheme that trained and accompanied Tunisian agricultural administration agents, in charge of supporting rural development, in the learning and implementation of their new profession with a view to concerted territorial planning in 6 Tunisian rural areas. The job of territorial facilitator is based on the acquisition of three types of skills: theoretical knowledge (accessible knowledge), know-how (experience and practice) and life skills (attitude and values). This implies going beyond the standard and conventional technical knowledge of these agents to build a composite expertise. The article describes the skills acquired by Tunisian facilitators based on their testimony. They report on the evolution of their attitude, more benevolent towards rural populations, and capacity for understanding, analysis and adaptability to different intervention situations that takes into account the different points of view of the participants. This experiment, carried out within the context of the PACTE program, shows the interest of this profession for territorial development in Tunisia. Territorial facilitators have thus led a series of workshops and meetings with a total of more than 4000 participants (i.e. one sixth of the population of the six intervention zones). The article concludes on the challenges to be met for the extension of the experiment to other regions in Tunisia and elsewhere.