With Tunisia’s new constitution ratified and election preparations underway, citizens are optimistic about political progress and the gradually improving security situation, but they are concerned with high unemployment, rising prices and poor service delivery, according to a new round of NDI focus group research.

The recent, rapid rise in the use of digital technology is changing relationships between citizens, organizations and public institutions, and expanding political participation. But while technology has the potential to amplify citizens’ voices, it must be accompanied by clear political goals and other factors to increase their clout.

“We must do better than this,” said Christine Lagarde, managing director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF). “Too many women are unaccounted for, underutilized, and over-exploited. It is a moral imperative, but it is also an economic imperative. The evidence is plain—when women contribute more, the economy does better.”

Lagarde delivered the keynote address at NDI’s May 19 Madeleine K. Albright Grant luncheon, encouraging people to “dare the difference” through the three “L’s” of women’s empowerment — learning, labor and leadership.

Kosovo’s first woman mayor, Mimoza Kusari-Lila of Gjakova, thinks that politics is a bit like riding a bicycle. You shouldn’t look down, but concentrate on the road ahead. “When you run for office, you shouldn’t focus on bumps and obstacles in the road,” she said, “but bear in mind the reason you entered politics.”

She knows the value of perseverance, having run for office twice in four years, finally succeeding last November. Her success, she said, “was the success of all women that helped me in this process.”