Social and Employment
Location:
Paris (France)
Sponsor:
Jean-Marie Lambert
Grant:
€60,000 at the 13/2/17 Board
Project Owner
Energie Jeunes has public interest organisation status and is approved by the French Ministry of Education, and has been working since 2009 to ensure that secondary school students from disadvantaged areas make a success of their education. The organisation works closely with teachers and trains tens of thousands of young people to stay in education. Energie Jeunes has developed a three-year educational programme to foster commitment and self-discipline at an age when dropping out of education has a devastating effect.
The interventions are tailored to each year group and follow a specific three-phase process designed to enable each student to set and then keep a personal commitment to stay in education. The sessions are run by trained volunteers, some of whom are members of the organisation, or often work for the organisation’s corporate partners, or are civic service volunteers.
Academic research has confirmed the initiative’s impact
A study of 24,000 secondary school students under the supervision of the French Ministry of Education demonstrated the positive impact of the training delivered by Energie Jeunes on the outcomes of secondary school students from disadvantaged areas. The results are tangible right from year one of the programme: marks improved significantly in French and maths. Finally, the researchers said that teachers also observed “excellent class participation and receptiveness during the sessions” and subsequently felt that their students were more self-disciplined.
La France s’engage programme spearheaded by the country’s president most definitely got it right: Energie Jeunes was one of the 2015 winners of its call for projects.
The Veolia Foundation’s support will enable over 3,000 young people from several educational priority secondary schools in Aubervilliers to be trained in the first instance, and from other Plaine Commune districts in phase two. Staff from Veolia’s new corporate headquarters (the V) will have the chance to get involved and receive training so that they can volunteer in these secondary schools.
Responsibility, solidarity, respect and innovation embody the work of Energie Jeunes. By fighting for equal opportunities, the organisation makes a practical contribution to urban cohesion and to ensuring a regional balance by providing these students with a key resource: self-esteem, which is built through perseverance, taking responsibility and keeping their commitment.