Equal opportunities: with Prométhée Éducation, young people learn to dream, dare and succeed

Founded in 2016, Prométhée Éducation supports and encourages young people from disadvantaged backgrounds to take action for their future. Backed since its launch by the Groupe ADP Foundation, this association also benefits from micro-donations from Group employees, via the salary round-up scheme.




Prométhée Éducation was created from the observation that in France, we are still a long way from achieving equal opportunities. Drawing on their personal experiences of supporting young people, the co-founders of the Prométhée Éducation association, then students at Sciences Po in Paris, decided to remedy the lack of formal institutional arrangements.



We asked ourselves what the key benchmark actions were to enable every young person to calmly work towards their academic and professional goals. This shared thinking led us to one strong conviction: the association must provide young people with the keys to success, whilst allowing them to take control of their future.
Mohamed Slim
President and co-founder of Prométhée Éducation


This goal can sometimes be a difficult challenge for teenagers who cannot imagine any real prospects.



Fighting all forms of self-censorship

 

To help middle and high-school students learn to take action, dare to be ambitious and to realise their life goals, Prométhée Éducation relies on three pillars of action:

 

Guidance and assistance

Each young person is in charge of their own path, however that does not mean that they must walk the path alone. By providing students with information, by arranging visits to companies and other schools, and through themed workshops, Prométhée Éducation ensures that they have a wider range of choices, encompassing both short and longer-term learning.

 

 

Reinforcement

Assemblies are held every Saturday to discuss current affairs, with debates in which everyone can actively participate. These are an opportunity for young people to apply concepts learned in school to a real-life setting and to play more than a spectator role in the world around them. Public speaking is also good practice for the competitive entrance examinations for the French Grandes Ecoles, where a strong emphasis is based on oral presentations.

 

 

Boosting self-confidence through oral expression

Young people from disadvantaged neighbourhoods sometimes struggle to sell themselves, even though they have very unique and often inspiring backgrounds. To help them increase their self-confidence, Prométhée Éducation organises public speaking competitions in middle and high schools and, recently, in a dozen football club training centres





Prométhée Éducation’s other fields of action


Although working on themselves, and their goals in particular, is very important, young people must also have the chance to broaden their horizons and their network in order to aspire to lives other than those with which they are already familiar. Prométhée Éducation thus organises two other types of action which seek to increase the number of opportunities available for exchanges and inspiring encounters.

 

Firstly, the ambition talks. The association invites personalities from the political, economic, cultural and sporting worlds to talk about their careers and/or engagements. Middle and high school students, for example, recently had the chance to interact with actor Omar Sy, journalist David Pujadas, former Prime Minister Edith Cresson, rapper Youssoupha, Michelin-starred chef Thierry Marx, and Jean-Paul Agon, Chairman and CEO of the L’Oréal Group.



We give them access to a free and diverse cultural offering, such as visits to exhibitions at the Louvre, tickets to the ballet at the Paris Opera or plays at the Comédie-Française.
Mohamed Slim
President and co-founder of Prométhée Éducation


Prométhée Éducation is expanding nationally


Today, Prométhée Éducation supports nearly one thousand young people, but the association hopes to extend its work throughout France, in order to be as close as possible to the reality of local situations. To achieve this, several branches have already been opened in various schools and universities in Paris and Reims. The plan is then to roll out this model across the country and potentially even internationally.

 

Prométhée Éducation is only in a position to continue this expansion thanks to the commitment of its volunteers (both regular and ad hoc), as well the support received from institutional partners.

 

 



Since 2016, Groupe ADP has played a key role in the success of the association”, says Mohamed Slim. “In addition to financial support, the Groupe ADP Foundation has provided us with valuable advice in terms of our operations, our structure and our strategy. And the salary round-up scheme, set up by the Citizen Commitment Department, enables us to develop important and inspiring opportunities for young people, such as attending the Rencontres Economiques d’Aix-en-Provence economic forum.
Mohamed Slim
President and co-founder of Prométhée Éducation


All of this hard work is paying off. Middle and high school students supported by Prométhée Éducation say that they have been able to “discover lots of things [they] never knew about”. Most young people feel more confident in themselves, more confident at school and about the future. And the results speak for themselves: they have more courage than before in applying for internships with companies that inspire them, or speaking to the people best placed to answer their questions.

 



Projects supported
Focus on all projects on education through the fight against illiteracy and the prevention of school dropout.
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Contact
To contact the Prométhée Éducation association, please visit website
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