The La Guillotière alternative school, organised by Les Cites d’Or in conjunction with the Gattefossé Foundation and began on 18 January 2016 for 13 participants between the ages of 18 and 22. As part of this civic project, whose goal is to help disadvantaged young adults struggling at school learn ‘fundamental human and civic skills’, members of the La Guillotière group meet twice a week to interact and work together.

The first session focused on group learning – using games, discussions, debates – to address life paths and acquire a skill called ‘persuading without manipulating’. The participants shared their initial impressions with us:

‘We learned how to get to know each other and listen to each other; we shared our feelings and laughter. Based on our experiences, we worked on empathy, judgement and how to get someone’s attention and be heard. There was total silence during the 10-minute video of Martin Luther King’s “I have a dream” speech.’
The Gattefossé Foundation is very proud to partner with Les Cités d’Or, which has already helped nearly 600 people. To be continued in our next communiqué.