Nizar Fares has a PhD in Psychology and is a professor and researcher at the Faculty of Human and Social Sciences in Tunis, where he headed the Psychology Department for several years. He was also the General Coordinator of the Réseau Amen Enfance Tunisie (RAET) for eight years.

In addition to his faculty and RAET responsibilities, Nizar is a member of the National Coordination Group for Child Protection in Tunisia. He contributed to the drafting of the national multisectoral strategy for early childhood development and was a member of the technical committee for the national strategy for an effective system for strengthening the family and alternative care for children.

He has also carried out a number of consultancy assignments for institutions and ministries, including the Ministry of Social Affairs and the Ministry of Family, Women and Children. He has also worked with various local associations such as La Voix de l’Enfant, Health & Psychology and Beder, as well as international organisations such as UNICEF, UNDP and IOM.

Nizar also has extensive experience in the field of mental health and has been working with vulnerable populations for a number of years. He has provided solidarity consultations, psychotherapy and counselling to people with little or no income.

Research and technical documents produced (production, co-production or supervision):

– Study on the cost of violence against children in Tunisia (Ministry for the Family, Women and Children, Children’s Rights Observatory, UNICEF & Genesis Analytics – 2024).

– Strengthening the integration of child protection and social protection services in the Middle East and North Africa region (Ministry of Social Affairs, UNICEF & Oxford Policy Management – 2024).

– Référentiel Qualité relatif à la protection de remplacement pour la prime enfance (RAET, Comité Général de Promotion Sociale – 2018)

– Study on the characteristics of childcare assistants and their sensitivity to mothers in relation to the socio-emotional development of young children in associative housing units in Tunisia (RAET – 2019)

– Study of the causes of parental neglect among single mothers and isolated pregnant women in Tunisia (RAET – 2020)

– Analysis of the representation of workers in the nurseries and the institutional resources for the care of children without family support and with disabilities (RAET – 2021).

– Study on the impact of institutional care on the psychomotor development of children without family support (RAET, Santé Sud, Institut National de Protection de l’Enfance – 2017)- Evaluation of national experience in foster care (RAET, Santé Sud, CGPS – 2022)

– Tool for the assessment of situations of risk for children in vulnerable situations, intended for child protection officers in Tunisia (RAET, Santé Sud, DGPE – 2022)

– Cahier des Charges des Familles d’accueil” in the framework of the project “Appui à la désinstitutionalisation des enfants privés de milieu familial” (UNICEF & Italian Cooperation, Ministry of Social Affairs – 2018). 

– Evaluation of the psychomotor development of children without family support placed in the Essanad socio-educational centre (Santé Sud, EU and AFD – 2017).

– National Multisectoral Strategy for Early Childhood Development 2017-2025 (Ministry of Women, Family and Children, Unicef & World Bank – 2017).