Emna Mizouni

{{short description|Tunisian activist and 2019 Wikimedian of the Year}}

{{Infobox person

| name = Emna Mizouni

| image = Wikimedia Summit 2019 - Portrait Emna Mizouni (2).jpg

| caption = Mizouni in 2019

| alt = Portrait of Emna Mizouni at the Wikimedia Summit 2019. She is a dark-skinned woman with curly hair wearing a hoodie.

| birth_name =

| birth_date = {{Birth year and age|1987}}

| birth_place =

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| nationality = Tunisian

| other_names =

| occupation = {{hlist

| Internet activist

| human rights activist

| journalist

| communications expert

| business executive

| Wikimedian

}}

| years_active =

| known_for =

| notable_works =

| awards = Wikimedian of the Year (2019)

}}

Emna Mizouni ({{langx|ar|آمنة الميزوني|ʼĀmina Al-Mizūnī}}, {{IPA|ar|ʔaːmina almizuni|pron}}; born 1987) is a Tunisian internet and human rights activist, free-lance journalist, communications expert and business executive. In July 2019, After successfully helping to prepare RightsCon Tunis, Access Now, the international non-profit human rights group intent on an open Internet, announced her appointment to serve in their global board of directors.{{cite web|url=https://rightscon2019.sched.com/speaker/emnamizouni|title=Emna Mizouni|publisher=RightsCon 2019|date=June 2019|access-date= 26 August 2019}}{{cite web|url=https://www.accessnow.org/tunisian-activist-emna-mizouni-joins-access-now-board/|title=Tunisian activist Emna Mizouni joins Access Now board|publisher=Access Now|date=26 July 2019|access-date=26 August 2019 }} In March 2013, Mizouni founded Carthagina, an initiative designed to create interest in Tunisia's cultural heritage at home and abroad.{{cite web|url=http://www.webdo.tn/2015/02/20/des-cartes-postales-pour-faire-partager-lamour-de-la-tunisie-a-travers-le-monde/|title=Des cartes postales pour partager l'amour de la Tunisie à travers le monde|author=Sghaier, Mohamed Ali|date=20 February 2015|publisher=Tunis Webdo|access-date=20 February 2015 |language=fr}}{{cite web|url=https://eastwest.eu/it/opinioni/open-doors/rinascita-medina-tunisi-reportage|title=I nuovi sogni della medina di Tunisi|author=Pierandrei, Elisa|publisher=eastwest.eu|access-date=2 April 2018 |language=it}} In August 2019, she was honoured as Wikimedian of the Year at Wikimania, as a result of the leading role she has played in the development of Arab and African communities as well as her success in promoting the history and culture of Tunisia.{{cite web|url=https://wikimediafoundation.org/news/2019/08/18/meet-emna-mizouni-the-newly-minted-2019-wikimedian-of-the-year/|title=Meet Emna Mizouni, the newly minted 2019 Wikimedian of the Year|author=Erhart, Ed|publisher=Wikimedia Foundation|date=18 August 2019|access-date=26 August 2019 }}

Early life

Raised in Tunisia's capital Tunis, Mizouni matriculated from the Lycée Khaznadar in the Le Bardo district of the city in 2006. She then attended the École supérieure de commerce (ESCT) in Tunis where she first graduated in management (2009) and then went on to earn a master's degree in marketing, business negotiations, and communications (2011). After her studies, she worked in marketing and as a journalist and radio presenter. In June 2012, she was appointed Marketing and Communications Officer for the British Council.{{cite web|url=https://www.doyoubuzz.com/emna-mizouni|title=Emna Mizouni: Marketing, Communication, Relations publiques, Community Management|publisher=doyoubuzz.com|access-date=27 August 2019|language=fr|archive-date=27 August 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190827092355/https://www.doyoubuzz.com/emna-mizouni|url-status=dead}}{{cite web|url=https://allafrica.com/stories/201403110506.html|title=Tunisia: British Council Launches Projects, Urges Youth to Take Part in Sociopolitical Debates|publisher=allAfinca|date=10 March 2014|access-date=27 August 2019 }}

Career

In the aftermath of the Arab Spring, Mizouni was struck by the paucity of knowledge regarding Tunisian history and culture. As a result, together with other collaborators, she founded Carthagina (based on Carthage, the ancient name of Tunis) which was designed to promote Tunisia's cultural heritage. Professor Safwan Masri mentioned in his book Tunisia: An Arab Anomaly that while meeting Mizouni, she told him about the "significance after the Jasmine Revolution of Tunisians' consciousness of their varied and Mediterranean history as they chart their futures".{{cite book|author=Safwan M. Masri|title=Tunisia: An Arab Anomaly|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=sBgwDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT553|date=5 September 2017|publisher=Columbia University Press|isbn=978-0-231-54502-0|pages=553–}} In 2017, as head of the project, she explained: "After the revolution, lots of people wondered about the country's identity. Differing presentations of our history and culture showed how little we really knew about our rich cultural heritage." Together with Wikipedia and Wikimedia Commons, she organized photo contests focused on Tunisian heritage sites, succeeding in having participants submit hundreds of photographs in collaboration with Wikimedia's GLAM project. This led to Carthagina's project "MedinaPedia", allowing information about the Tunis Medina sites to be accessed on mobile phones via QR codes.{{cite web|url=https://www.middleeasteye.net/fr/reportages/quatre-projets-associatifs-qui-font-bouger-la-tunisie|title=Quatre projets associatifs qui font bouger la Tunisie|author=Blaise, Lilia|publisher=Middle East Eye|date=18 October 2017|access-date=29 August 2019 |language=fr}}{{cite web|url=http://jamaity.org/2015/08/medinapedia-tous-sur-les-tresors-de-la-medina-de-tunis/|title=MedinaPedia: Tous sur les trésors de la Médina de Tunis|publisher=Jamaity|date=6 August 2015|access-date=29 August 2019 |language=fr}} Another GLAM project was set up by Mizouni's leadership; the Wikimedian in Residence in the Diocesan Library of Tunis, in partnership with the Library and the Archdiocese of Tunis signed by Tunisia's Archbishop Ilario Antoniazzi. Mizouni also saw Carthagina as an incentive for young people to show an interest in their country in a dynamic way, rather than by just following boring history lessons at school.{{cite web|url=https://www.slideshare.net/Carthagina/interview-carthagina-ralit|title="Carthagina": À la recherche du patrimoine perdu|author=Bahri, Farouk|publisher=Réalité|date=30 March 2016|access-date=29 August 2019 |language=fr}}

Emna Mizouni is also the representative of the Karama women's rights network for Tunisia{{cite web|url=http://tunisgenderforum.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/sideevent_DigitalCitizenshipOrganization.pdf|title=Concept Note - TFGE side event by Digital Citizenship Org|date=April 2019|publisher=Tunis Gender Forum|access-date=29 August 2019 }} and, along with Leila Ben-Gacem is the founder of the non-profit [https://dco-tn.org/ Digital Citizenship] which facilitates access to information on digital literacy for marginalized groups. She served as a curator of Global Shapers, Tunis, which focuses on social business, citizenship and culture.{{cite web|url=https://www.globalshapers.org/hubs/tunis-hub|title=Tunis Hub|publisher=Global Shapers Community|access-date=30 August 2019 }} In June 2020, Mizouni joined the Global Shapers Community's Racial Equity sub-committee.{{Cite web|url=https://emnamizouni.com/updates|title = 'Asslema - Hello}}

After successfully helping to prepare RightsCon Tunis, a public announcement was made in July 2019 that she was appointed to serve on the global board of directors of Access Now, the international non-profit human rights group intent on an open Internet. In August 2019, at the Wikimedia Conference in Stockholm, she was honoured as Wikimedian of the Year 2019 as a result of the leading role she has played in the development of Arab and African communities as well as her success in promoting the history and culture of Tunisia.

Katherine Maher, Executive Director of the Wikimedia Foundation, complimented Mizouni on her efforts: "Emna is a tireless advocate and champion for free knowledge. Her work, collaboration, and passion to preserve Tunisia's cultural heritage has opened Tunisia’s culture, people, and history to the rest of the world."{{cite web|url=https://onezero.medium.com/meet-%C3%A9mna-mizouni-the-wikimedian-of-the-year-2c3908740a69|title=Meet Émna Mizouni, the Wikimedian of the Year|author=Harrison, Stephen|date=29 August 2019|publisher=OneZero|access-date=31 August 2019 }}

Selected publications

{{cite book|last=Mizouni |first=Emna |date=2018 |title=Evaluation de la stratégie de communication d'un nouveau media |publisher=Editions universitaires européennes |url=https://www.morebooks.de/store/gb/book/evaluation-de-la-strat%C3%A9gie-de-communication-d-un-nouveau-m%C3%A9dia/isbn/978-3-639-50786-7 |isbn=978-3-639-50786-7 |language=fr}}

Membership and fellowship

Global Shapers Community Alumni Network{{Cite web|url=https://www.globalshapers.org/alumni?f%5B0%5D=group_audience%3A107&page=82|title = Global Shapers Alumni Network}}
International Visitors Leadership Program (NGO Management) – US Department of State.{{Cite web|url=https://fr.weforum.org/people/emna-mizouni|title=Emna Mizouni}}
Board of Directors – AccessNow.{{Cite web|url=https://www.accessnow.org/tunisian-activist-emna-mizouni-joins-access-now-board//|title=Tunisian activist Emna Mizouni joins Access Now board|date=26 July 2019}}
Aspen Ideas Festival Fellow - Aspen Institute.{{Cite web|url=https://fr.weforum.org/people/emna-mizouni|title=Emna Mizouni}}
Global Future Council (Human Rights) 2021 – World Economic Forum{{Cite web|url=https://fr.weforum.org/communities/gfc-on-human-rights|title=Human Rights}}

=Recognition=

Shuttleworth Foundation 2018 Grantee.{{Cite web|url=https://www.shuttleworthfoundation.org/fellows/flash-grants/|title=Flash Grants}}
Awarded by Jimmy Wales as Wikimedian of the Year 2019.Wikimedian of the Year{{Circular reference|date=July 2021}}
UNWomen Yvonne-Hebert Awardee 2020.{{Cite web|url=https://emnamizouni.com/about|title = 'Asslema - Hello}}