In 2025, the first decentralized EFEST CAMP inaugurated the Agora, a space for collective citizen expression to address the issues facing the Tataouine region. Organized by Echos Electrik in partnership with ASPG, this program offers unprecedented opportunities for dialogue, stimulating the debate of ideas and the exchange of knowledge and viewpoints between local people, researchers, civil society and institutions.

Continuing on from this first experience, the 2026 edition offers an Agora session outside the festival, designed as a scientific and participatory colloquium bringing together national experts and local players, with a view to collectively analyzing the effects of climate change on arid territories and co-constructing appropriate responses, combining traditional knowledge, scientific knowledge and social and cultural innovations.

The aim of these exchanges will be to develop a priority action, built collectively, which can be implemented concretely after the meeting and serve as a lever to initiate other projects with a direct impact on the field. The aim is to combine tradition, science and social and cultural innovation to strengthen the region’s resilience in the face of climate change and its repercussions on society and the economy.

Two themes are addressed:

• Axis 1 – Knowledge, intangible heritage and innovation :

This theme focuses on the intangible heritage of arid regions, made up of empirical knowledge, adaptive practices and forms of social organization developed over the long term, particularly by women and elders. It aims to analyze the ways in which this knowledge is transmitted, valorized and hybridized in a context of rapid climatic and social change.

The axis explores the potential of the dialogue between traditional knowledge, scientific knowledge and technological tools (participatory mapping, digital devices, living labs) as a lever for territorial innovation, with a focus on the involvement of young people, the role of women and the cultural dimension of ecological transition, in order to foster the emergence of inclusive, replicable and socially appropriate devices that strengthen the resilience of local communities.

• Axis 2 – Water and soil: restoring ecological resilience in arid regions :

Water and soil quality, particularly in arid regions, are key factors in all ecological dynamics. For this reason, this area of research aims to analyze the mechanisms of degradation and adaptation of water-soil systems in arid regions, particularly in Tataouine, where water scarcity, soil degradation and the weakening of collective management methods accentuate territorial vulnerabilities. The project aims to study the conditions for restoring and optimizing traditional agro-hydraulic systems (jessour, tabias, collection works) and agro-ecological practices adapted to arid environments, considering them as functional ecological infrastructures.

The aim is to identify technical, institutional and collective levers for improving water and soil management, boosting the resilience of production systems and supporting the ability of territories to cope with climate variability.

Moderator: Mr. Adel Azoueni: Doctoral student in geology at the Tunis Faculty of Science, consultant in environment and climate change with the PSSETAT project and author of the book « Sud en mouvement ».

Public debates: 50 targeted, inter-generational and inter-professional participants

List of panelists:

• Mr Samir Khorchani : Doctor in history and archaeology of ancient civilizations; research teacher at the Institut des Arts et des Métiers in Tataouine, president of the « Association de Sauvegarde du Patrimoine de Ghomrassen ».
• Ms Samia Gharbi : Scientist, expert in environmental management and president of the Association de l’Éducation Environnementale pour Les Futures Générations (AEEFG).
• Mr Ali Abaab: Professor of agronomy, specialist in climate change and natural resources
• Mr Bechir Chibeni : Development expert and socio-economic analyst
• Ms Rawdha Ammari : Gender and climate change specialist
• Mr Tarek Ben Fraj : Geographer and expert in arid zone landscape analysis.
• Mr Noureddine Nasr : International expert in agricultural and rural development
• Mr Amine Abdallah: Agroecology and climate change
• Mr Radhouen Tiss: History-geography inspector and owner of the Oued Elkhil estate.