A round of applause for Sanya, Minister for the Status of Women, who comes down from the stage. This show, the Apollo Theater, in the 11th arrondissement of Paris, is not used to it. This Wednesday, the School of the New Worlds organized the Haka Games, an eloquence contest reproducing a topical theme: the presentation of the ministers and their program. Each student had to choose a portfolio, his program, and present it on stage. A course like no other, which has become the hallmark of this apprenticeship preparation located in Montreuil (Seine-Saint-Denis).
Created in 2021, the Ecole des Nouveau Mondes is receiving its first promotion this year. “We are the crash test”, laughs one of the registrants. The prepa welcomes young people who have failed at school, who have left the education system, who have a disability or who are simply out of work. “Our goal is clear, it’s employment,” says the president of the school, Olivier Boisson de Chazournes. To achieve this goal, the preparation is based on certain pillars: support for a professional project, employability through work on interpersonal skills or spelling, but above all building self-confidence. “There is not one that is not dented,” says the president.
A story of trust
Stéphane Labelle is a director and trainer in soft-skills (complementary skills such as interpersonal skills or communication). “You think you’re not ready, I know you are,” he says to a student reluctant to step onto the stage. The director does not spare his actors: he pushes them, corrects them, encourages them to give the best of themselves. Far from being blocked by his authority, these young people from Seine-Saint-Denis, some leaving prison, “trust him, because they understood what he wanted to do”, assures Olivier Boisson de Chazournes.
The trainer assumes the role of “big brother”, to give his students the two qualities that he considers essential in the professional world: self-esteem and self-confidence. “If a great surgeon doubts himself in the middle of an operation, he hands over,” he says, showing that regardless of his qualities, a professional must trust himself. And it works ! Stéphane Labelle listens to feedback from recruiters who quite unanimously no longer recognize the person in front of them. “Theatre is an extraordinary lever,” he admits.
Olivier Boisson de Chazournes also wants to give back to his students the ability to trust others. For that, it’s simple: you have to honor your commitments. “Their journey is riddled with broken promises,” adds the president.
“Trainers adapt to students, not the other way around”
Anna, who has agreed to step down from her role as Minister of Wealth Distribution, says she loves this Haka Game. She, who has not yet found her way, is even considering the idea of enrolling in a theater course. For the student, “the less you know what you want to do with your life, the more you have a place in the Haka Games”. Proof that all profiles are welcomed at the New Worlds School, Sanya knows “very well” what she wants to “do with her life”, and says she wants to develop a social network.
The two young women certify that they could not dream of a better school. According to Sanya, this is because “the trainers adapt to the students, not the other way around. To do this, they must know their students. Through activities such as theatre, but also slam or the organization of a Squid Game, the apprentices reveal their personality. This “uncovering”, in the words of Stéphane Labelle, allows trainers to orient them effectively, and to find the best possible end-of-year internship for them.