Dearborn Heights City Councilman Bill Bazzi (front row, third from left) meets with his U.S. and Tunisia peers as part of the U.S. State Department’s Middle East Partnership Initiative during a trip to Tunisia in March. Bazzi was selected to be part of the year-long hands-on learning exchange designed to support newly elected and appointed public officials in Tunisia as they work to create a more transparent and responsive society, according to his Facebook post. Bazzi wrote that 10 peers from the United States were matched with respective counterparts to share best practices, seek guidance and discuss their experiences creating community-based solutions for local constituencies. The program, “supports governments and their citizens to achieve shared political, economic and stability objectives” according to the MEPI website.