ATUGE launches third Diaspora Month and Tunisia Global Forum under the banner of AI, with a tribute to a founding generation

The Association of Tunisians from Grandes Écoles (ATUGE) has announced the third edition of its Diaspora Month and the Tunisia Global Forum (TGF 2026), to be held on Tuesday 21 July at the Radisson Blu hotel in Tunis, under the theme "Building the Future in the AI Era".

ATUGE will launch the new Diaspora Month programme from 15 July to 15 August 2026 in partnership with the World Alliance of Tunisian Talents (WATT) and several associated organisations. The annual initiative aims to connect Tunisian professionals based abroad with national development priorities, turning the summer period into a moment of professional encounters, strategic reflection and joint projects.

Forum

The Tunisia Global Forum expects more than 2,500 participants, 150 exhibiting companies and startups, and more than 80 speakers of national and international standing. In a context of global transformation accelerated by artificial intelligence, the forum will bring together decision-makers, researchers, entrepreneurs, investors, institutions and members of the diaspora.

Placed under the theme "Building the Future in the AI Era", the forum is expected to gather public officials, researchers, entrepreneurs, investors, institutional representatives and diaspora members to analyse ongoing economic and technological change, define strategic priorities for Tunisia, and mobilise Tunisian talent networks internationally.

The event is organised by a strategic committee of international experts and leaders drawn from the technology, industrial and academic sectors. Discussions will cover digital sovereignty, infrastructure, talent development, research, innovation and entrepreneurship.

Awards and satellite events

The day will include the presentation of four distinctions: the TGF Award AI Research, the TGF Award AI Startups, the TGF Award AI Business Initiatives and the TGF Award AI Hackathon.

In the run-up to the forum, an AI Hack4Change hackathon will take place from 17 to 19 July in Tunis, bringing together local students and members of the diaspora around challenges set by partner companies. A Diaspora Summer Night networking evening is scheduled for 29 July.

Territorial inclusion will be ensured throughout the period through a series of regional networking events — Diaspora Regional Networking — in several regions of Tunisia, including Sfax, Sousse, Hammamet, Djerba, Béja and Bizerte.

A centenary tribute

The 2026 edition carries a strong symbolic and historical dimension, marking the centenary of Mokhtar Latiri. In paying tribute to this emblematic figure of the builders' generation, ATUGE aims to highlight a spirit of commitment, transmission and innovation that it regards as an enduring source of inspiration for current generations.

Mokhtar Latiri was born on 18 March 1926 in Hammam Sousse and died on 20 April 2007 in La Goulette. He was, after Mohamed Ali El Annabi, the second Tunisian to graduate as an engineer from the École Polytechnique, in 1947. He founded the École nationale d'ingénieurs de Tunis (ENIT) on 31 December 1968 and served as its director until 1975. He also created the "filière A" pathway, reserving places in France's leading classes préparatoires for Tunisia's top science graduates, at a time when the young state was acutely short of technical cadres.

Context

ATUGE is a non-profit, apolitical and non-partisan association founded in 1990 at the initiative of Elyès Jouini to bring together Tunisian students and graduates of the French grandes écoles of engineering and commerce. It now counts around 8,000 members across the world, with branches in Tunisia, France, the United Kingdom and Asia-Pacific.

The announcement comes as diaspora remittances continue to rise. According to data from the Central Bank of Tunisia, remittances from Tunisians living abroad reached 3.669 billion dinars — around $1.27 billion — between January and May 2026, compared with 3.510 billion dinars during the same period the previous year. The increase comes as the summer season approaches, a period traditionally marked by an uptick in both financial transfers and returns home.

Registration for the Tunisia Global Forum, including for exhibitors, is open via tgf.atuge.org. The Awards application deadline is 30 June 2026.