A Humanitarian Week at Grand Paris Sud to make a difference

Grand Paris Sud
21 Oct 2024

Human’Icam, the humanitarian association office of the Icam Grand Paris Sud site, organized its first Humanitarian Week with the support of the school, from September 30 to October 4. We spoke to Axel Fromonot, president of the office, and Harrylas Derrouaz and Julia Matias, in charge of communications, about this initiative, which aimed to pass on humanitarian values and promote students’ social commitment.

How did Humanitarian Week come about ?
What has always stimulated us at the Human’Icam office is to do something bigger, to have a bigger impact on the Grand Paris Sud site, and so be able to raise awareness and reach even more people. After last year’s Humanitarian Day, we organized the Humanitarian Weekend in April. It was one of the actions that students wanted to see set up, which reinforced our approach.
Humanitarian Week is in keeping with the very spirit of Human’icam: to demystify clichés about humanitarian work and give students the opportunity to give of themselves, while at the same time fulfilling their potential.

How did the Week go ?
Each day had a different theme:
– Solidary Day, on Monday, with two actions: blood donation with the EFS and training on precariousness (adopting the right postures, paying attention to those around us…);
– Prevention and rescue, on Tuesday, with an introduction to life-saving techniques offered by the Red Cross;
– Wellness Day, on Wednesday, with two sessions: an awareness-raising session with France Addictions (screens, alcohol, tobacco, group effect…) and an interactive conference to free up your thoughts, proposed by the Bien-Être group;
– Commitment Day, with a humanitarian forum, as last year. As part of the second year of the International Bachelor program, students are required to carry out a solidarity action for an association. To help them in their efforts, we invited 13 associations to submit project proposals.

The highlight of the four days was a funfair ?
Yes, to round off Humanitarian Week, we wanted to offer a time of festivity and solidarity. We came up with the idea of organizing the Human’Icam funfair, open to everyone – students, employees and their families. The aim was to raise funds for an association, while having a good time. The games and entertainment on the stands were free, and the food stalls offered low prices so that everyone could enjoy themselves while doing a good deed. We raised over 1000 euros, which will be donated to an association chosen by the donors themselves in a survey.

What kind of feedback did you get from the Week ?
We’ve had an enormous amount of positive feedback ! We’d like to share a few highlights with you:
– More than 50 liters of blood were collected by the EFS;
– 26 people were trained in life-saving techniques;
– 105 people learned about addictions (France Addiction stand);
– 34 people learned about precariousness;
– 43 students took part in the Bien-Être group’s interactive conference.
And over 1,000 euros raised through the Human’Icam funfair!
But beyond the figures, what we want to emphasize is the momentum generated and the commitment of each and every person during this Humanitarian Week. Every day, people spontaneously came to help us. Students, employees to talk about it. They want Humanitarian Week to be a recurring event, and want to get even more involved. We are always open to feedback and advice, which we find invaluable.

How would you sum up this action ?
For this first Humanitarian Week, we were more motivated than ever. All eight members of the Human’Icam office worked for several months, including during the vacations. We’re proud of ourselves, proud of what the team produced and of its investment, proud of the Icam people who took part, and proud to be part of this family. We often talk about making a difference, and this week we did just that !
For the past 2 years, every event has been carefully thought through, and what counts in humanitarianism are the messages and the transmission of values. We’re coming to the end of our mandate in December, and we’ve succeeded in initiating a dynamic on the Grand Paris Sud site. Our hope is that it will be extended to the national level. It would be a great way for us to end our term of office if other sites could also take up Humanitarian Week.