The project Story Builders, designed by the Learning Planet Institute, enabled young people from Grigny, in 3ème at Collège Jean Vilar, to tell their own stories, and to meet and interview Olympic and Paralympic champions. «Whether you're a top-level athlete or a teenager, every journey can be inspiring. That's what we wanted to tell with this project,» explains Omar Kamara, educational engineer at the Learning Planet Institute. A challenge met with flying colors. Here's a look back at an extraordinary educational experience.
It's a cold winter's Wednesday morning outside the Sidney Bechet cultural center in Grigny (Essonne). It's November 20, 2024, and as the sun gradually clears the clouds, young people and adults crowd into the hall to find a seat. An entire class goes round to greet those who have already arrived, before taking their seats. It's November 20, 2024, and today, in Grigny, a rather special event is taking place: children, young people, teachers and association representatives are gathered to celebrate Universal Children's Day, and the centenary year of the Declaration of the Rights of the Child. It's November 20, 2024, and young speakers are taking to the stage in front of a packed and attentive audience. «Grigny isn't always portrayed as a beautiful town, but we've done something incredible. I'm so proud of you, lance Sala, 3rd graderème 3 at Collège Jean Vilar.
Grigny, a world city facing many challenges
Grigny is a town of over 27,000 inhabitants located 30km south of Paris. A «world city», as its mayor Philippe Rio likes to call it, it is home to some 86 different nationalities. It is also the youngest city in the Île-de-France region, and the poorest in mainland France. 44% of its inhabitants live below the poverty line, and the unemployment rate stands at 21%, compared with 8% at national level (Observatoire des inégalités, 2023). Half of the Grignois population is under 30 years of age. 47 to 77% of students come from disadvantaged social backgrounds, while the baccalaureate pass rate (general, technological, vocational) is 68.6% (compared to 91.4% nationally).
In this city, where many pupils leave school without a diploma, a great deal of effort goes into providing the best possible support for children and young people. «If today Grigny is considered a land of innovation and a national laboratory for public policy, it's certainly because we have succeeded in integrating, with very little financial means because Grigny is a poor town, the ’social and environmental" approach.’empowerment and respect for human rights at the heart of our policies.», explains Philippe Rio. And with good reason. «I would like to express my gratitude to the gentle dreamers (...) who, a few years ago, considered that education was a common concern and who gave birth to the first Cité éducative».», he recalls.
Visit Educational cities are alliances that bring together local educational players in priority urban neighborhoods (parents, government services, local authorities, associations and residents) to combat school dropout and youth unemployment by creating a territory with «high educational value». Grigny launched the very first Cité éducative in France in 2020, under the impetus of the Grand Projet Éducatif, and the country now boasts over 200.
A land of hope
From now on, the Cité éducative de Grigny offers an integrated approach to education, valuing the collaboration between community, school and family to enable young people to develop and flourish in a serene environment. Combating social determinism, promoting equal opportunity and fighting poverty are essential components of its mission.
« Grigny, a laboratory for educational success » is thus the fruit of over a year's reflection between various partners, including the town of Grigny and the Learning Planet Institute. The flagship idea is to design and experiment with innovative educational solutions, and to train and lead the communitý of young people and education & youth players in Grigny. Drawing on the pedagogical engineering and learning methodology development experience of the Youth department Learning Planet Institute, various programs have been set up with the city. These include the Builders of Possibilities gave 8-11 year-olds the opportunity to work on bullying at school, an issue that is close to their hearts and which they continue to address thanks to a methodology that has borne fruit in various communities around the world. «If I had all the means in the world, I'd use magic to make harassment disappear».», said one child at the November 20 feedback session. Projects and programs for young people aged 12 to 16 have also been launched, as well as an appearance by the internationally-renowned artist Uğur Gallenkuş came to exhibit his work in Grigny on November 20, and discuss his creative involvement with young people.
Bâtisseurs de Récits, an extraordinary project
But what was Sala talking about when, minutes before Uğur took the floor, she said she was proud of her classmates and herself? Sala is a 3ème 3 from collège Jean Vilar in Grigny, and with some twenty other young people, she took part in a new project: Bâtisseurs de Récits, supported by the Fondation Engagement Médias pour les Jeunes, the Fondation pour l'Écriture, and in collaboration with British Council.
Bâtisseurs de Récits was born of a rather crazy idea: to bring together this class of young Grignois and top sportsmen and women around a storytelling project in this year of Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games (JOP Paris 2024), and thus contribute to their cultural heritage.
The ambition is high, and the objectives numerous. The aim is to document the stories of young people, highlighting their experiences, their challenges and their dreams, but also to support them in a journalistic approach, giving them the power to influence their own stories. At the same time, they are working on collecting the stories of Olympic and Paralympic athletes - some of them refugees - by highlighting their backgrounds and aspirations, and then cross-referencing their own stories with those of the athletes to create a shared story of resilience and cultural diversity.
An initiatory journey to build stories
Bâtisseurs de Récits was imagined around the concept of the «hero's journey» or «monomyth» theorized by Joseph Campbell in his book The hero with a thousand and one faces (The Hero with a Thousand Faces, 1949). This universal narrative structure, found in many mythological, literary and cinematographic stories across cultures, is divided into several key stages and traces the initiatory journey of a central character, the hero. It is on this basis that the 3ème 3 from collège Jean Vilar have taken part in various workshops over the past few months, between the Learning Planet Institute premises in the heart of Paris and their college. «The first time they came to the Learning Planet Institute, The students didn't necessarily have the codes and we wondered if they would adapt to the place. They did it very well. Their behavior and posture were almost professional. They can be very proud of themselves, confides one of their teachers.
Between spring and winter 2024, the youngsters will also take part in a series of workshops and work sessions. They learn the basics of storytelling to tell their own story or that of a loved one, as part of a podcast dedicated to memory and remembrance. «I wrote a personal memory and it felt really good to share it with others.» , explains one student. Working alongside professional journalists, the youngsters are trained in the operation and use of the recording studio, as well as receiving advice on how to conduct interviews. They even explore sports vocabulary in English with the help of British Council ! In addition to telling their own story, the 3ème 3 meet top athletes, and they're not to be outdone! They ask Ryadh Salem (member of the French wheelchair basketball team at the JOP Paris 2024, Paralympic athlete in Rio and Atlanta), Jeanne Boutbien (swimmer, flag-bearer for Senegal, JOP Tokyo 2021) and Shirine Boukli (judokate in the French lightweight team, double Olympic medallist, JOP Paris 2024) about their careers, their fears, their aspirations, and ask them for advice.
Meet the champions
On their first meeting, Ryadh Salem invites them to believe in their dreams. To the question « What advice would you give to young people starting out in swimming? ? »Jeanne Boutbien replies « Have fun, because (...) it's a demanding sport. You'll never be able to perform if you don't have fun. That's the most important thing. »As for Shirine Boukli, she tells them about her experience of failure and her perseverance: «I said to myself: «Shirine, you failed once at the Olympics, you're going to build on that.» And today I'm a double Olympic medallist and I'm really proud of it. If I could give you one piece of advice, it would be: fight every day, believe in your dreams, give yourself the means to succeed (...)».».
These inspiring, privileged exchanges within the walls of a classroom or the Learning Planet Institute are punctuated by key moments, in public, when the apprentice journalists speak in front of 300 people, September 4, 2024, The event was dedicated to Olympic, Paralympic and refugee athletes.
During the evening, Seydou and Sala, two students from the 3ème 3, supported by their classmates and teachers in the room, each put a question to Ryadh Salem, and to Manizha Talash, an Afghan refugee athlete whose the gesture, during the breakdance competition at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, has been making the rounds on social networks and in the international media.
When Seydou asks Ryadh: «As someone who has taken part in different Games, what is it about Paris that is different from the others?», The champion explains that for him, these are the most beautiful Games, which will bring the best medal of all after the competition: a different vision of disability in society.
Sala takes the microphone to ask Manizha: «What drove you to continue dancing when in your country it's forbidden, and what do you feel when you dance?» The athlete appreciates the question, points out that she's never been asked, and replies: «I had a coach who told me: «If you don't like a right or a law, you have to fight to abolish it, and that will allow you to dream and realize your dreams. When I joined the breakdance club, there were no girls, and I dreamed of going to the Olympics (...) Breaking, for me, is like medicine. It soothes you, makes you forget your pains and problems. When I'm training, I'm in a completely different world. The budding interviewers were as warmly applauded as the interviewees, and Ryadh Salem thanked them for their courage and attitude on stage, which conveyed a beautiful message. An emotional moment shared by the children and the large audience.
Building trust
Nilou Soyeux, General Delegate of the Fondation Engagement Médias pour les Jeunes (France Télévisions, France Télévisions Publicité, France Médias Monde and TV5Monde), is equally enthusiastic: « We support oral and written expression projects for young people aged 14 to 30. And I have to say I'm impressed by the knowledge, mutual aid and citizenship that emerge from Bâtisseurs de Récits. For me, the most important thing is that young people can have confidence. Confidence in things, confidence in others, confidence in the world (...) So if it's through sport, that's great. We've been won over by the confidence you're instilling with this project...».»
And the young people have developed confidence. They say so themselves on numerous occasions along the way: «Have confidence in yourself, do sport and (...) with a little perseverance, anything is possible to those who believe!» say Adele, Swann and Chreston.
A project to be renewed
«Bâtisseurs de Récits wanted young people to develop several skills: critical thinking, curiosity, creativity and speaking up.» explains Omar Kamara. On this November 20, 2024, on stage, he is the one who hands the microphone to the young people of the class of 3.ème 3 to gather their impressions and reactions to the program. And the feedback was overwhelmingly positive: «We were able to have sports memories, write, and try to memorize the questions.», says one student. «What I enjoyed most was meeting the athletes and telling my story».», continues Jean. To the question «What made you proud?» a student from 3ème 3 answers : «I'm proud to have shared a moment with my class, to have met top athletes and to have told my story. I'm proud of us, (...) I'm proud of you!»
Their teachers are also proud of their pupils. One of them explains: «Their self-esteem was very low, but they understood that you could come from Grigny and do great things, like the athletes they met.». No wonder one of the students remembers a tip from his exchanges with the champions: «If I had to remember one thing, it would be: don't give up, leave failures behind and look forward to continuing».
«This project has enabled them to see further ahead, to open up to the world, whereas they thought their future would be here in Grigny. They persevered, they worked, they spoke in public. It gives our students hope.», says a delighted teacher. «I've been following these students since the 6th grade.ème », continues their PE teacher, Thanks to the project, they have become mini-adults, future citizens.«
A round of applause and stamping of feet in the direction of the young people on stage. And Ninou Soyeux concludes: « I would like to congratulate the young people, and bravo to the teachers too, the teachers are heroes. Teachers don't just teach, they're very committed; the classroom is a big part of their lives. So bravo. You dare to do things when you have confidence, and you do now. Storytelling is important, and we hope to be with you for a long time to come.»
Well done to all 3ème 3 Abdoul, Adèle , Bidia , Chreston, Jean, Kandia, Melissa, Makan, Mélissa, Pedrick, Sala, Seydou, Slohan, Swann, Reda, Widded and their teachers, Mme Marie-Caroline GALOPIN, Mr. Julien LEMAIRE HU and Mme Zoé SUTEAU. And a big thank you to Laurent Zanutta, Principal of Collège Jean Vilar and Sandrine ESPINASSE, Director of the Segpa, who made it all possible.
