At the invitation of the Prefect of Tarn, representatives of young people from the municipalities of Lasgraisse, Lacrouzette and Lisle-sur-Tarn came to Albi to defend the leisure space projects in their village. A rewarding speaking exercise, with which they were able to obtain financing.
These young people from the towns of Lasgraisse, Lacrouzette and Lisle-sur-Tarn, coming from primary school or university, had reason to be impressed by the casting in which their arguments were examined. This included the prefect Michel Vilbois, the former senator Jean-Marc Pastor, as well as the head of the coordination and territorial animation office Marion Vernhes and the president of the association “Du Tarn aux Great schools” Milena Ipavec. Despite the pressure, the students managed to present the submitted requests to their interlocutors in a clear and concise manner.
Taking turns and with the support of their teachers, the three groups took the floor to develop their projects in detail, using slide shows or drawings. A multi-generational recreational area in Lasgraisse, a ‘city stadium’ dedicated to sports in Lacrouzette, a loop cycle path called ‘pump track’ in Lisle-sur-Tarn: they have thought carefully about the facilities they wanted, as well as their argument.
The students’ arguments were purposeful
“Communities far from big cities should not be forgotten,” argues a CM2 student from Lasgraisse. To convince decision-makers, social and environmental considerations were taken into account in each presentation: intergenerational coexistence in the leisure sector, safety, the inclusivity of activities between girls and boys, ecology through the planting of ‘trees…
The students’ arguments were purposeful: after brief deliberation, the jury announced that the three projects would receive the requested funding, a maximum of 50% of the total required resources per project. The state subsidy share has even been increased for the case of Lisle-sur-Tarn, which was originally planned at 20%: “we are very happy. Now we will be able to study other projects, such as an insect hotel or an associative garage sale with the municipal youth council,” says Nidjad, one of the defenders of the municipal project, enthusiastically. “It is now up to you to ensure proper maintenance of this equipment,” concluded the prefect, addressing the young people.