Super Girl of The Month - Soumaya Zaddem

Soumaya Zaddem is an interestingly versatile young African woman. Born in Tunisia on April 28, 1987, she grew up with her 3 brothers in a small village that constantly inspires her to make a land mark difference in the world. 

Ms Zaddem earned her Bachelors degree in Experimental Science from the High School of Jemmel, Tunisia in 2006. In 2009, she moved on to bag a Diploma in Applied Licenses in Food Industry and Processes from the Higher Institute of the Applied Sciences and Technology (ISSAT) of Mahdia, Tunisia. With an unwavering desire for excellence, she graduated as an Engineer of Biology from Tunisia Private University, Tunis (U.L.T) in 2012. Despite her focused academic pursuits, Soumaya was an active member of the Junior Chamber International (JCI) chapter in her university. As a proud Jaycee she actively steered and participated in several impactful activities, including a media event organised to raise donations for Somalia in 2011. 

Our Super Girl has a commendable wealth of work/volunteer experience. She started her career with a six month stint at a pharmacy in Tunisia - enjoying a highly engaging preparatory training in Herbal Medicine. Subsequently, she joined the Association of Mediterranean Youth for Cultural exchange (AJMEC) of Sousse and served for 2 months as a volunteer in Turkey, for an European Voluntary Service (EVS) project. Through this international experience, she was opportune to engage in an environmental project for the protection of the Sea Turtle in addition to other activities geared towards advancing the safety and well-being of children.

Soumaya is very concerned about youth issues in Tunisia, and she never passes up an opportunity to amplify her voice across appropriate platforms. In 2013, she participated in numerous youth training programmes - including the "Simulation Policy: Lab Democracy"organized by the Friedrich Ebert Foundation in Tunisia and the "Local Workshop on Participation in Decision-Making" convened by Foundation for the Future – Tunisia. Most significantly, she represented Tunis youths at the National Dialogue for Youth, where she presented key recommendations to the government.

Ms Zaddem has equally spread her strong representative spirit over and beyond Tunisia's borders. In September 2013, she participated in  the North Africa International Model United Nations (NAIMUN) where she represented Mauritania in the progressive debates. Again, she represented Mauritania as a delegate in the first simulation of the African Union (MUA), which took place in Tunisia in 2014.

Soumaya sustained her long found interest in issues bordering on environmental protection. Currently, she serves as the Ecology and Tourism Advisor of Geo-Tour, an association which works hard to promote tourism and protect the environment in marginalized regions inside Tunisia called “Haidra”. Recently, she became the Executive Director of Young Volunteers of the Environment Association in Tunisia -  a national chapter of an international organization located in Togo, which cares about the environment and sustainable development.

Soumaya Zaddem is also a strong Pan-African youth voice in her sub-region; she is the North African representative for Ignite the Youth Africa. She is committed to contributing to the transformation of the African continent, particularly via environmental projects, tackling poverty, protection women’s rights and promoting quality education. In the near future, she hopes to be recognized as an exceptional African female leader.

We are very proud of Soumaya Zaddem and we wish her the best in her future endeavors.