Civic engagement and social change

Ben-Gacem is known as a socio-cultural catalyst.^[12] She has been involved in many cultural initiatives to revive the Medina of Tunis and ensure its sustainable development.^[13] In 2015, Leila and other civil society actors played a major role in reviving the Rachidia association in its 80th anniversary, then she joined other cultural initiatives such as Journal de la Médina, the national Wikipedia project MedinaPedia^[12] and the first Light Festival in Africa Interference.^[14]

In 2015 as well, she has led a national campaign to revive the industry and usage of the Chachia.^[15] Leila occupied the position of President of the Association of Preservation of Beni Khalled from 2015 until 2018.^[2] She is also a founding member of the Ultramarathon Association in Tunisia^[16] since 2017, where they organised the first Ultramarathon, UltraMirage^[17] in Nefta in the south of Tunisia.^[2]

In 2017, Ben-Gacem founded the first co-working space in the Medina of Tunis, entitled Dar El Harka,^[18] intended as a hub for creative industries.^[15] Ben-Gacem joined Emna Mizouni in founding Digital Citizenship organization to advance the knowledge and skills of women entrepreneurs.

Ben-Gacem ran for civic office in the 2018 Tunisian municipal elections, as part of a list of independent candidates with the slogan "Ghodwa Khir - Tomorrow is better".^[19] She was elected to the Beni Khalled municipality. Later, she was appointed the head of the finance committee.^[3] She also joined the network of women municipal counsellors in the Maghreb region^[20] along with Souad Abderrahim and other women municipal councillors.^[21][3]

Recognition

Ben-Gacem received Fatma El Fehria Award in 2017.^[22] In the same year, she received the Women Entrepreneur in Cultural Sector Award as well. Prior to that, in October 2016, she became an Ashoka Fellow.^[23]