Training students from disadvantaged neighborhoods to speak out

Dear difteur-ses,

On June 12, the 8 high school finalists presented themselves in a highly symbolic venue: the Galerie des Batailles, at the Château de Versailles.

In front of their families, their classes, our teams and an attentive jury, they read their speeches on the theme: "A letter for my ancestors", the conclusion of long work carried out throughout the year with their teachers and our volunteer trainers.

Two of them came from the Montpellier academy, the others from all over the Île-de-France region. They all brought strong, personal and moving stories to the stage. The whole event was marked by great solemnity and a great deal of joy - but also by the sweltering heat outside!

The French Minister of Education, Élisabeth Borne, was on hand to open the event. She was keen to salute the commitment of the students and the association, and took the time to meet each finalist.

Congratulations to the 8 finalists, Alae, Beauclair, Eléanor, Hope, Iris, Lila, Mahamadou and Rihanna.

Especially to Rihanna, this year's big winner, and to Hope, the jury's "coup de coeur" award.

Thank you to all the students, teaching teams, volunteers, and to you, who make this possible.

Thank you for your support!

Dear Difteur-ses,

A few days ago, students who have followed our program throughout the year took the floor in symbolic places to share their stories, their ideas, their convictions.

Since January, 100 classes from REP/REP+ middle schools and priority public high schools in the Île-de-France region and Montpellier have been accompanied by our volunteer trainers and coaches as part of our 10-session speech training program.

And today, that's it: the restitutions are done!

Since the end of April, the representatives chosen in the classes came to represent them at the school finals. These chosen students then went on to defend their speeches, and their schools, at the academic finals (Paris, Versailles, Créteil, Occitanie), and finally at the Grand Finale on June 12 in the Galerie des Batailles in Versailles.

For their part, the middle-school students also had their restitution event! They were all welcomed at the Institut du Monde Arabe on June 3. They were all very enthusiastic about presenting their skits on themes close to their hearts.

We were thus lucky enough to discover more than 35 performances, and each one impressed and marked us greatly, with strong themes such as the relationship to the body, school pressure or war (among many others).

A big THANK YOU for your support!

Dear difteurs,

Since mid-January, over 3500 students have embarked on the Trouve Ta Voix! adventure.

More than110 classes from 50 REP/REP+ middle schools and priority public high schools have in fact started the TTV program. 10 sessions will be run in each class until May by our volunteer trainers. This will represent over 2000 hours of training.

As a team, this is one of our favorite moments of the school year. What a pleasure to discover the students who, session after session, reveal themselves, gain self-confidence, grow thanks to the oral work... What an opportunity to work so closely with the teachers who support the project and welcome our volunteers into their classrooms with great generosity and a deep investment in the youngsters.

In 4th grade, as part of our collège program, students collectively choose a theme, a subject of citizenship that touches them in order to build multi-voice narratives that they will restitute in June as part of the Festival Les Collégiens ont la parole.

In 2nd grade, high school students write individual speeches on introspective topics such as:

What about you? What would you do if you weren't afraid?

See you soon!

The TTV team

Dear difteurs,

In 2024-2025, we at Trouve Ta Voix are preparing to support more than 110 classes in the Ile-de-France region and 15 in the Montpellier academy! This will represent over 2,000 hours of training in speaking delivered to classes in our partner collèges and lycées thanks to the commitment of our super trainers!

Until the end of November, as part of our trainer recruitment campaign, we're looking for volunteers to join our collective adventure!

Active young people or students aged 18 to 30, if you'd like to get involved alongside us

All the info on our website: https://trouvetavoix.org/sengager/

With the 2024-2025 school year off to a flying start and us getting ready to intervene in over 100 4th and 2nd grade classes in Île-de-France and Occitanie, let's take a look back at our restitution events last June:

After 5 months of in-class training, it's time for the second-year students taking part in the Trouve Ta Voix program to express themselves to the general public!
Since the end of April, the representatives chosen in the classes have been representing their schools at the school finals. The students chosen at these finals will go on to defend their speeches and their schools at the academic finals (Paris, Versailles, Créteil, Occitanie), culminating in the Grand Finale in mid-June.
These finals are an opportunity for young people to take their place, in symbolic and prestigious venues, and give them access to a world that sometimes remains unknown to them.
For their part, the schoolchildren are also preparing for their restitution event! 
The representatives of the various classes will restitute their speeches on June 4, at the Théâtre de la Concorde, and all the classes will take part in an experiment in participative democracy.

This is it! The volunteer trainers were indeed trained last December by Trouve Ta Voix, and since mid-January they've been visiting classrooms to train students in public speaking. 
And the first results are present: "It's crazy to see how an extremely shy student at the start of the session, who didn't even want to give her first name, ended up being the most dynamic student in the group by the end."
That's over 2,500 students from priority public middle and high schools in the Paris region, as well as in Occitania and the Grand-Est, who are being trained until May, in their classrooms over 10 sessions.
See you in May for the finals and restitutions, as well as the Festival Les collégiens ont la parole!

Remember...You're facing the whole class and you have to speak.

Remember...You're facing recruiters for the first time in your life and you hear: "tell us about your career".

Remember...You've prepared for this first event at your company and you have to host it...

Remember that fateful conversation with your loved ones and you have to express your emotions...

What feeling did you have? Did you have the codes? Did you hold on to a speaking course you'd had at school to help you through this pivotal moment?

If you haven't experienced this discomfort, this disabling shyness, you surely know someone around you to whom it has happened or is still happening.

The Trouve Ta Voix team wishes you all a very happy festive season! And we're counting on you!

Discover the video of the final Trouve Ta Voix 

After the Academic semi-finals in Paris, Versailles and Créteil, where high school students took the floor in places with strong symbolic value...

...it's with great joy that the Trouve Ta Voix team announces that on June 14 took place, the grande finale of the Trouve Ta Voix 2023 contest! 

A big THANK YOU for helping to make this event happen, highlighting the voices of our young people! 

🌟 "ℚ𝕦𝕖 𝕧𝕠𝕦𝕕𝕣𝕚𝕖𝕫-𝕧𝕠𝕦𝕤 𝕕𝕚𝕣𝕖 𝕒𝕦 𝕞𝕠𝕟𝕕𝕖 ?" 🌟

It was on this topic that the 6 finalist beneficiaries of the Trouve Ta Voix program made their voices heard in the salle du congrès du Château de Versailles. 

"You're in trouble", these words of distress are addressed to the planet, but Liyah asserts that TODAY "we can change the world with words". 

Discover Trouve ta Voix's video greetings.