COP1 Etudiante is an eco-citizen festival open to all those who are ready to step up their commitment and do their part to improve the rapidly evolving world.
In line with the student strikes for climate, the Affaire du Siècle campaign, the Manifeste Étudiant pour un Réveil Écologique (Student Manifesto for an Ecological Awakening) campaign, and the Mobilisation for the European elections, students wanted to join forces once again to co-organise the eco-citizen event COP1 Etudiante, supported by SKEMA.
COP1 Etudiante is a movement founded by the students and teachers of SKEMA Business School’s Programme ID (sustainable innovation). It brings together volunteers from various sectors and several ambassador associations that are some of the biggest student federations in France.
These include Le Refedd (RÉseau Français Etudiant pour le Développement Durable - French Student Network for Sustainable Development), the Forum Français de la Jeunesse – FFJ (French youth forum), Enactus France, Youth for Climate France, Genius Global, the Manifeste étudiant pour un réveil écologique, Animafac, the NOISE, and the CNJE – Confédération Nationale des Junior-Entreprises (National Confederation of Junior Enterprises), among several others.
A unique aspect of the event this year is that it will be a two-day event based on the theme “Know each other better in order to act better.”
Find out more about the project initiators.
“Launching projects in coherence with ourselves gives us the strength that can move mountains! Not only are we happier every day because we are deeply aligned, but our motivation for the project and impact on our environment is increased tenfold!” said Léna Felderhoff, the project manager of COP1 Étudiante.
The two-day programme:
- October 5 involves asking in-depth questions to society through multiple debates by researchers, speakers, writers or volunteers.
- October 6 aims to create synergies of action between participants. This will be done through team challenges to create or accelerate positive and sustainable solutions for the planet, society, others and ourselves (the four levels of commitment driven by COP1). These challenges, started at COP1, will be launched after the event to capitalise on the energy generated over the weekend and have an impact on more people!
Besides the debates and challenges, various activities will be held:
- DIY Workshops: learn how to do it yourself through zero waste
- Creative writing sessions
- Improvisational theatre on world development scenarios
- Workshops on self-awareness, identification of one’s social contribution and personal development
- A solutions bar to discover sustainable and meaningful projects
- A human library to share life
- Commitment walls at the end of each activity, etc.
Support
Several VIPs, associations and NGOs support the event. Jean Jouzel, ex vice president of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) scientific panel is sponsoring the event. François Taddei (director of the Centre for Interdisciplinary Research), Jean-Pierre Goux (Siècle Bleu writer and president of the Institut des Futurs Souhaitables), Stéphane Riot (president of NoveTerra), Jacques Preiner (scientific committee member of the think tank for the Sauvons le climat association & Shift project), Santiago Lefebvre (co-founder of Change Now), Edouard Bouin (general manager of the Finance-Climate Pact), Bruno Marion (writer and speaker), Cédric Ringenbach (co-founder of the Fresque du Climat), and Hélène de Vestele (committed YouTuber) will also be involved, along with around thirty other participants.
“All schools and universities must now come together to support young people in the transformation of our society. Less polluting, more restrained, more joyful: our society needs to be reinvented. COP1 Etudiante is one of those rare events that unites a thousand young people from various student associations. It also brings together scientists, influencers, initiators of change, and citizens to co-create and accelerate this transformation together for several days.
“Students are driving and co-organising this COP1 with an incredible energy that transcends belonging to a particular school or university. Their common raison d’être: to find their place and the tools for action for a more sustainable society,” stated Mélanie Ciussi, co-founder of COP1 Étudiante and a professor of knowledge management and sustainable innovation at SKEMA Business School.
Find information related to the activities and participants on the COP1 Etudiante website.
For more details, read or reread the Mélanie Ciussi interview published this summer.
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