Conférence Olivaint
Encyclopedia
| Founded | 1874 | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Home Page | www.jeunesolivaint.org | ||
| Sister society | La Conférence Olivaint de Belgique | ||
The Conférence Olivaint is the oldest, and one of the most private French student societies, established in 1875. Its aim is to educate its members for public life. As its name would indicate, its main activity is organizing weekly conferences with notable characters of French public life. It is made up of young people under 30 (branche Jeunes) and an alumni branch (branche Anciens).
History
Named after Father Pierre OlivaintPierre Olivaint
-Life:His parents were not religious. At twenty Olivaint left home, and the College of Charlemagne, where he had studied, imbued him with the doctrines of Voltaire. He wrote at this time: "I desire, if by any possibility I should become a priest, to be a missionary, and if I am a missionary to be a...
, a French priest martyred during the Paris Commune
Paris Commune
The Paris Commune was a government that briefly ruled Paris from March 18 to May 28, 1871. It existed before the split between anarchists and Marxists had taken place, and it is hailed by both groups as the first assumption of power by the working class during the Industrial Revolution...
, the Conference was founded by the Jesuits
Society of Jesus
The Society of Jesus is a Catholic male religious order that follows the teachings of the Catholic Church. The members are called Jesuits, and are also known colloquially as "God's Army" and as "The Company," these being references to founder Ignatius of Loyola's military background and a...
. At first, the goal was for members to infiltrate the political world of the nascent French Third Republic
French Third Republic
The French Third Republic was the republican government of France from 1870, when the Second French Empire collapsed due to the French defeat in the Franco-Prussian War, to 1940, when France was overrun by Nazi Germany during World War II, resulting in the German and Italian occupations of France...
.
After World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, the Conference opened up and became a forum for men of all stripes such as Georges Bidault
Georges Bidault
Georges-Augustin Bidault was a French politician. During World War II, he was active in the French Resistance. After the war, he served as foreign minister and prime minister on several occasions before he joined the Organisation armée secrète.-Early life:...
, Pierre Mendès-France
Pierre Mendès-France
Pierre Mendès France was a French politician. He descended from a Portuguese Jewish family that moved to France in the sixteenth century.-Third Republic and World War II:...
or Robert Schuman
Robert Schuman
Robert Schuman was a noted Luxembourgish-born French statesman. Schuman was a Christian Democrat and an independent political thinker and activist...
. During World War II, all members joined the fight, half on the side of the Resistance, and half as collaborators.
After the war, the majority of members leaned toward Christian democracy
Christian Democracy
Christian democracy is a political ideology that seeks to apply Christian principles to public policy. It emerged in nineteenth-century Europe under the influence of conservatism and Catholic social teaching...
and were strongly pro-European. In 1968, the Conference was secularized under the presidency of Laurent Fabius
Laurent Fabius
Laurent Fabius is a French Socialist politician. He served as Prime Minister from 17 July 1984 to 20 March 1986. He was 37 years old when he was appointed and is, so far, the youngest Prime Minister of the Fifth Republic.-Early life:...
(youth branch) and Hervé de Charette
Hervé de Charette
Hervé de Charette is a French centre-right politician.He is a descendant of the royalist military leader François de Charette. Member of the Union for French Democracy , he was elected deputy for the first time in 1986 as representative of the Maine-et-Loire département...
(alumni branch). During the 1980s, many young people were recruited into François Mitterrand
François Mitterrand
François Maurice Adrien Marie Mitterrand was the 21st President of the French Republic and ex officio Co-Prince of Andorra, serving from 1981 until 1995. He is the longest-serving President of France and, as leader of the Socialist Party, the only figure from the left so far elected President...
's staff by alumni such as Jacques Attali
Jacques Attali
Jacques Attali is a French economist, writer and senior civil servant.Former adviser to President François Mitterrand and first president of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, he founded the non-profit organization PlaNet Finance and was nominated President of the Commission for...
and Hubert Védrine
Hubert Védrine
Hubert Védrine is a French Socialist politician.Diplomatic adviser of President Mitterrand, he served as secretary-general of the presidency from 1991 to 1995, then as Foreign Minister in the government of Lionel Jospin from 1997 to 2002.After the reelection of Jacques Chirac in May 2002, Védrine...
. In the past years, the Conference has begun to emerge from its traditional secrecy and has allowed more light to be shed on its activities.
Members
The Conference's rules limit its membership to 150. Members are co-opted. They must submit a written application and undergo an interview by the Conference's board. Membership of the youth branch is limited to three years, after which members must apply again to be admitted to the alumni network.Membership of professionals must not exceed a third of the total youth membership. Among the students, many are drawn from the Paris Institute of Political Studies, and the others from the grandes écoles
Grandes écoles
The grandes écoles of France are higher education establishments outside the main framework of the French university system. The grandes écoles select students for admission based chiefly on national ranking in competitive written and oral exams...
and law faculties.
Activities
The Conference's main activity is organizing weekly conferences with important personalities from the French political world and, since 2003, civil society. The Conference's rules require confidentiality on everything said during the conferences. This allows guests to speak off the record, and therefore more freely than they would in most other contexts.A big part of the Conference's traditions is its identity as a debating society, with the age-old practice of "jousting" (joute oratoire), informal public debates between two members, which takes place before each conference. The Conference provides extensive training for public speaking
Public speaking
Public speaking is the process of speaking to a group of people in a structured, deliberate manner intended to inform, influence, or entertain the listeners...
with monthly practice sessions, often with renowned public speakers as teachers, and a yearly public speaking contest. Each member must joust at least once; therefore, all members have that experience in common and it is part of the Conference's spirit.
Each year, the Conference also holds a symposium, which is open to the public. In 2007 it was held at the French National Assembly
French National Assembly
The French National Assembly is the lower house of the bicameral Parliament of France under the Fifth Republic. The upper house is the Senate ....
, on higher education reform. The year before it was on integrating immigrants, at the Paris Arab World Institute
Arab World Institute
The Institut du Monde Arabe or Arab World Institute , in English, was established in 1980 in Paris, when 18 Arab countries concluded an agreement with France to establish the Institute to disseminate information about the Arab world and set in motion detailed research to cover Arabic and the Arab...
.
Other activities include study trips abroad, where members meet politicians and officials of the country they visit. The Conference was the first French organization to visit newly independent Algeria
Algeria
Algeria , officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria , also formally referred to as the Democratic and Popular Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of Northwest Africa with Algiers as its capital.In terms of land area, it is the largest country in Africa and the Arab...
. The Conference is also a member of the Politeïa Community.
The Conference also organizes cultural events, regional trips, debates, think tanks, etc.
Alumni
Even though it has an elected board, the alumni association of the Conference Olivaint has few activities, and mostly consists of an informal network.Notable alumni include politicians...
- Laurent FabiusLaurent FabiusLaurent Fabius is a French Socialist politician. He served as Prime Minister from 17 July 1984 to 20 March 1986. He was 37 years old when he was appointed and is, so far, the youngest Prime Minister of the Fifth Republic.-Early life:...
, former prime ministerPrime Minister of FranceThe Prime Minister of France in the Fifth Republic is the head of government and of the Council of Ministers of France. The head of state is the President of the French Republic...
and president of the National AssemblyFrench National AssemblyThe French National Assembly is the lower house of the bicameral Parliament of France under the Fifth Republic. The upper house is the Senate ....
. - Jean-Louis BourlangesJean-Louis BourlangesJean-Louis Bourlanges was a French Member of the European Parliament from 1989 to 2007. He was elected on the Union for French Democracy ticket and sat with the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe group....
, member of the European ParliamentEuropean ParliamentThe European Parliament is the directly elected parliamentary institution of the European Union . Together with the Council of the European Union and the Commission, it exercises the legislative function of the EU and it has been described as one of the most powerful legislatures in the world...
, vice president of the UDFUnion for French DemocracyThe Union for French Democracy was a French centrist political party. It was founded in 1978 as an electoral alliance to support President Valéry Giscard d'Estaing in order to counterbalance the Gaullist preponderance over the right. This name was chosen due to the title of Giscard d'Estaing's...
party. - Jean-Pierre ChevènementJean-Pierre ChevènementJean-Pierre Chevènement is a French politician. He was Minister of Defense from 1988 to 1991 and Minister of the Interior from 1997 to 2000. He was a presidential candidate in 2002 and since 2008 has been a member of the Senate....
, former interior minister and presidential candidate. - Dominique PerbenDominique PerbenDominique Perben is a French politician. Born in Lyon, he was French Minister of Transportation from 2005 to 2007. He was previously Minister of Justice , Minister of Civil Service and Administration and Minister of Overseas France .Perben has been a Deputy in the National Assembly for the fifth...
, former justice minister and current transportation minister. - Jean-François DeniauJean-François DeniauJean-François Deniau was a French statesman, diplomat, essayist and novelist. He was until 1998 a member of the UDF .-Minister and diplomat:...
, war hero, diplomat, former minister, human rights activist and member of the Académie françaiseAcadémie françaiseL'Académie française , also called the French Academy, is the pre-eminent French learned body on matters pertaining to the French language. The Académie was officially established in 1635 by Cardinal Richelieu, the chief minister to King Louis XIII. Suppressed in 1793 during the French Revolution,...
. - Jacques AttaliJacques AttaliJacques Attali is a French economist, writer and senior civil servant.Former adviser to President François Mitterrand and first president of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, he founded the non-profit organization PlaNet Finance and was nominated President of the Commission for...
, former special adviser to François MitterrandFrançois MitterrandFrançois Maurice Adrien Marie Mitterrand was the 21st President of the French Republic and ex officio Co-Prince of Andorra, serving from 1981 until 1995. He is the longest-serving President of France and, as leader of the Socialist Party, the only figure from the left so far elected President...
and president of the EBRDEuropean Bank for Reconstruction and DevelopmentFounded in 1991, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development uses the tools of investment to help build market economies and democracies in 30 countries from central Europe to central Asia. Its mission was to support the formerly communist countries in the process of establishing their...
. - Hubert VédrineHubert VédrineHubert Védrine is a French Socialist politician.Diplomatic adviser of President Mitterrand, he served as secretary-general of the presidency from 1991 to 1995, then as Foreign Minister in the government of Lionel Jospin from 1997 to 2002.After the reelection of Jacques Chirac in May 2002, Védrine...
, former chief of staff to François MitterrandFrançois MitterrandFrançois Maurice Adrien Marie Mitterrand was the 21st President of the French Republic and ex officio Co-Prince of Andorra, serving from 1981 until 1995. He is the longest-serving President of France and, as leader of the Socialist Party, the only figure from the left so far elected President...
and foreign affairs minister. - Hervé de CharetteHervé de CharetteHervé de Charette is a French centre-right politician.He is a descendant of the royalist military leader François de Charette. Member of the Union for French Democracy , he was elected deputy for the first time in 1986 as representative of the Maine-et-Loire département...
, former foreign affairs minister. - Michel BarnierMichel BarnierMichel Barnier is a French politician of the Union for a Popular Movement and Vice President of the European People's Party . He is the current European Commissioner for Internal Market and Services...
, former foreign affairs minister and member of the European CommissionEuropean CommissionThe European Commission is the executive body of the European Union. The body is responsible for proposing legislation, implementing decisions, upholding the Union's treaties and the general day-to-day running of the Union....
.
...and members of civil society.
- Isabelle HuppertIsabelle HuppertIsabelle Anne Madeleine Huppert is a French actress who has appeared in over 90 film and television productions since 1971. She has had 14 films in official competition at the Cannes Film Festival, and won the Best Actress Award twice, for Violette Nozière and La pianiste . She is also the most...
, movie actress. - Erik OrsennaÉrik OrsennaÉrik Orsenna is the pen-name of Érik Arnoult , a French politician and novelist. After studying philosophy and political science at the Institut d'Études Politiques de Paris , Orsenna specialized in economics at the London School of Economics...
, writer, member of the Académie françaiseAcadémie françaiseL'Académie française , also called the French Academy, is the pre-eminent French learned body on matters pertaining to the French language. The Académie was officially established in 1635 by Cardinal Richelieu, the chief minister to King Louis XIII. Suppressed in 1793 during the French Revolution,...
. - Michel BonMichel BonMichel Bon is a French businessman and politician born in 1943. He is a graduate of the ESSEC, of the Paris Institute of Political Studies, of the École nationale d'administration and of Stanford Business School....
, businessman, former CEO of France TélécomFrance TélécomFrance Telecom S.A. is the main telecommunications company in France, the third-largest in Europe and one of the largest in the world. It currently employs about 180,000 people and has 192.7 million customers worldwide . In 2010 the group had revenue of €45.5 billion...
. - Philippe-Joseph SalazarPhilippe-Joseph SalazarPhilippe-Joseph Salazar is a French rhetorician and philosopher born 1955, Casablanca, Morocco. Educated at Lycée Louis-le-Grand in Paris. Alumnus of École Normale Supérieure, Paris and past director at Collège international de philosophie, Paris, founded by Jacques Derrida. Currently...
, philosopher and rhetorician. - Christine OckrentChristine OckrentChristine Ockrent is a Belgian journalist whose career has principally centered on French television.Daughter of Belgian diplomat Charles Ockrent, she was born in Brussels, Belgium. She graduated from Institut d'Études Politiques de Paris in 1965. She worked for American television and...
, news anchor. - Frédéric MitterrandFrédéric MitterrandFrédéric Mitterrand , a Franco-Tunisian citizen, is the French Minister of Culture and Communication. Throughout his career, he has been an actor, screenwriter, television presenter, writer, producer and director.-Biography:...
, journalist, writer, French Minister of Culture & Communication and nephew of François MitterrandFrançois MitterrandFrançois Maurice Adrien Marie Mitterrand was the 21st President of the French Republic and ex officio Co-Prince of Andorra, serving from 1981 until 1995. He is the longest-serving President of France and, as leader of the Socialist Party, the only figure from the left so far elected President...
.