Prince’s Government raises awareness of human rights among students at Sciences Po Campus in Menton
©Direction de la Communication - Michael Alesi
The Winter School made its big comeback at the Sciences Po Middle East-Mediterranean Campus in Menton from 17 to 21 January 2022. With the initiative now in its eighth consecutive year, the Department of International Cooperation offered students a week-long series of conferences and events designed to raise their awareness of international solidarity.
Since 2015, Monaco’s Department of International Cooperation has been mobilising its partners – all experts in their fields – every January to work with 140 first-year students at the Campus, who represent some 50 different nationalities.
The students had the opportunity to attend an introduction to international humanitarian law by Frédéric Joli and Lucile Marbeau from the International Committee of the Red Cross, and to meet former International Volunteers of Monaco. They were also able to discuss children’s rights with Jean Dzene, who leads work on street children at the Apprentis d’Auteuil Foundation; the rights of people with disabilities with Dr Jean-Baptiste Richardier, founder of Handicap International; and refugee rights with François Reybet-Degat, the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) Representative in Morocco.
A creative solidarity challenge ran throughout the awareness week, which drew to a close with a prize ceremony. Split into teams, the students created visuals to promote the different rights covered (children’s rights, the right to food, refugee rights, women’s/girls’ rights and the rights of people with disabilities), competing on behalf of partner associations of Monaco’s Official Development Assistance, to whom the prizes awarded will be donated
The Winter School offers a unique opportunity to instil vocations in these future leaders, and to promote Monaco as a responsible and supportive partner.
Finally, Isabelle Berro-Amadeï, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, closed the 8th Winter School by recalling that “official development assistance helps to build freer, more inclusive societies of citizens who are able to take their destinies into their own hands,” and encouraging the students to “get involved, as the leaders of tomorrow.”
