The «National Cohesion and Citizenship» seminar in Nantes, made possible thanks to sponsorship from LAFARGE and EDF, opened on Wednesday 3 April 2013 at the Novotel Centre Cité des Congrès hotel. The opening address by Prefect Joël Bouchité, Secretary-General and Deputy Director of the IHEDN, preceded by a welcome speech from the Mayor of Nantes, Patrick Rimbert, marked the start of this seminar, which focuses on the theme of « Youth engagement ». The day of 3 April continued with a visit to the Saint-Nazaire shipyards, a major centre for both civil and military shipbuilding.
The participants in the CNC seminar in Nantes include elected representatives and senior officials from local authorities, police officers, gendarmes and magistrates, as well as senior officials from the French Ministry of Education and the voluntary sector in Nantes.
Over a period of five days, spread across April and June, the 22 trainees will engage in a collective discussion on the concept of citizenship among young people, in light of the citizenship programme as it is currently structured.
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10 April marked the start of the committee’s work. Divided into two groups, the trainees on the CNC seminar in Nantes began their discussions on the following topic:
In his speech on national defence, delivered on 11 March 2012 whilst he was a candidate, François Hollande stated: «Defence and Citizenship Day, which has been reduced to a few hours, must be refocused on the spirit of defence. And why not extend it a little, or even split it into two parts?».
More than 15 years after the end of compulsory military service, taking into account the citizenship pathway (census, defence education and the Defence and Citizenship Day) and the schemes already in place (civic service, volunteering), suggest concrete measures to strengthen young people’s sense of citizenship and foster their commitment to the nation.
Throughout the seminar, this topic will be the subject of collective discussion, and the conclusions drawn from the committee’s work will be presented at the closing ceremony, which will take place at Nantes City Hall on 7 June 2013, starting at 2.30 pm.
The seminar’s series of lectures began on the afternoon of 10 April with presentations by Johanna Rolland, First Deputy Mayor of Nantes, and Jean-Pierre Bois, Professor Emeritus of Modern History. Johanna Rolland presented the city’s various policies designed to encourage engagement among young people, who alone account for one-third of Nantes’ population. Jean-Pierre Bois, for his part, provided historical insight into the concept of citizenship by explaining the French approach to patriotism.
On 17 April, Philippe Cussac, Comptroller-General of the National Police and Director of the Department of Public Security, will speak on the topic of « Support for those temporarily excluded by the Public Safety Youth Centre: Citizenship and Leisure » and François-Xavier Bellamy, a qualified philosophy teacher and Deputy Mayor of Versailles, on « The challenges young people face in taking on responsibility today ».
These lectures will provide input for the trainees’ work throughout the seminar.
