NEOMA Business School is a committed, engaged campus. On Tuesday, January 16, 2018, the students from Prépa’Rémois, an association that works to help offer equal opportunities, was given the Campus Responsable Award in the Disabilities and Skills category.

The Campus Responsable Awards have been awarded for many years where they honour the best initiatives relating to sustainable development on French-Speaking University campuses.

Encouraging disabled young people to pursue higher education

Awarded for its PHARES programme, the association was recognised for its efforts to help disabled youth.

“In the same way that the “Cordées de la Réussite” programme, which Prépa'Rémois is a part of, wants to instil in young people from underprivileged neighbourhoods the desire and drive to pursue higher education, the PHARES programme focuses on helping disabled people,” said Claire Clain, CSR coordinator at NEOMA BS, who worked on finalising the dossier with the students.

Through different initiatives and workshops organised throughout the year, the association strives to show young disabled people the possibilities of different educational paths. It also looks to expose them to culture through evenings at the theatre or the opera in Reims. The association has just one objective in focus: encourage disabled young people to pursue higher education, no matter what school they choose to attend.

“Major involvement from the students”

Given to the association by the Réseau Français des Etudiants pour le Développement Durable (French Student Network for Sustainable Development), the Campus Responsable Award rewards them for the years of work that they’ve done at NEOMA BS. It is a great honour that demonstrates the commitment and involvement of the students in providing equal opportunities.

“Twelve students from the Prépa’Rémois association joined the PHARES programme and work non-stop to organise the high-quality workshops and offer genuine support to the young people that take them. Without their involvement, we could not successfully carry out this project (…) We want to show through our actions that anyone, no matter what their disability is, can succeed if given the chance,” the students said in front of the jury.

Representative for the disabled at NEOMA BS, Céline Articlaut, said, “Created in 2008, the PHARES programme has expanded through France thanks to the FEDEEH (Movement of dynamic disabled young people). Then NEOMA BS was looking to bring the programme to the Reims region. In 2013, that effort started with four young people. Today, there are 23 young people focused and working hard along with the help of 12 volunteer tutors.”

Céline went on, “The richness of the human connections, the quality of the cultural works and the support from professionals makes the PHARES programme an incredible experience for all those who have participated in it: tutored youth and their families, student tutors, as well as supervisors and various contributing participants.”

The PHARES programme was already awarded

At the end of November 2017, the students from the PHARES programme in the Prépa’Rémois association received the Coup de Cœur Solidaire Award from the SNCF Foundation, which is supported by a sponsor company.

Awarded for their investment in disabled students from secondary schools to university-level programmes, the members of the association were given a check for €1,000 to help finance a company visit with the youth from the Cordées de la Réussite programme.