For Alice Barbe, the creation of this academy is a response to the urgency of current climate and social challenges. In 2021, she wanted to focus on those engaged and engaging individuals who “don’t even realize they are already doing politics.”
This academy offers, with the help of over 100 trainers, 350 hours of courses spread over three days a week for five months. A training program open to everyone, with recruitment done by nomination.
Participants are selected each year by a jury based on 4 criteria: demonstrated ability to mobilize on a large scale, commitment to social, environmental, and democratic justice, willingness to grow their political engagement, and ability to embody ethics, integrity, and empathy.
The idea behind this innovative school is to reconcile citizens with politics and democracy, which “are not supposed to be bad words but the foundation of the social contract (...) because what worries me most today in the work we do is that we only hear narratives that position themselves 'against' and not 'for',” the founder emphasizes.
Since its inception nearly four years ago, the results are already evident: “One third of participants immediately engage in grassroots politics” but also express their ideas through writing a book, or by “advocating, creating associations, or think tanks, for example.”
If you wish to deepen your knowledge on this topic: https://www.airzen.fr/politique-quelles-differences-entre-les-generations/
