The Birth of WAP at EMLYON
Intro
I knew Diane LENNE from WAP (WE ARE THE PROJECTS). She is the founder of this innovative course, which aims at guiding people to take actions on their future paths. After 2 sessions of WAP, I couldn’t help recommending her to everyone I know. I posted a status:
I’ve participated in a great course, I’ve meet fascinating people. I wake up differently. I live differently.
It’s absolutely crazy to have a course designed and lead by a student in a school. Yet ever since I’m in WAP, wonders never cease. It’s like a living body, and it is growing, unexpectedly. I found such impulse in me: To introduce Diane, and WAP, to the world!
Here’s part of the interview I did with Diane on March 26th, after the 5th session of WAP. I delayed my schedule of publishing it, not only because it’s a huge amount of work transferring the interview, but also because I’ve been doing something else lately: Try WAP in China!
I hope this first script will give you, my reader, an idea of how WAP happened at EMLYON.
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Diane:
WAP started as week-end forums between friends for sharing inspirative ideas, projects and talents. It ended it up in creative projects.
Each time i was participating in these forum, it gave me extraordinary amount of energy. Participants felt the same : “Now I’m willing to come back and to make a change in my life, I’m going to change the world”… You know these kind of things that makes you feel exhilarated (laugh).
At one time, I became fully committed because i was feeling transformed from the inside.
Last summer, i started a world tour, while keeping impulsing event-like forums in France, Switzerland, San Francisco, Romania, and always this atmosphere ! People were sharing something that makes them feel alive. Always amazing.
We were convinced that these events had an educational value applied to career exploration and innovation in your life. Because “It is not difficult to make things, what is difficult is to reach the state from which we can make them. “ Brancusi
When I came back at EMLYON, I had the choice to hold a conference and blahblahblah … or to make students EXPERIENCE it.
That’s why I designed a full course, inspired from a the forums and process i had experienced in my trips. I offered Thierry Picq, the new great EMLYON academic dean to design and lead this course for the first time.
He told me OK, let’s do it … in 2 weeks !
The launching course conference was in November, under the title “How to prepare YOU to the current world transformations ?” I was very very anxious about my legitimacy to lead a course, as a student.
I was even not sure anyone would come.
A hundred came, and 160 applied.
I was feeling very unconfident at the beginning. Later, I heard from the students, that it finally made them feel confident .. :)
Still, I didn’t know what will be next with WAP … My students answered. At the end of the course, some came to meet Thierry Picq with me and asked for the course to be replicated at the next semester for more students.
Tian, international students said this course should supplement the career service (department at EMLYON).
“Because it truly helped us and opened windows. Attending a WAP course during your first year will help you make better choices as for their academic orientation.”
People asked Adrien, a former WAP participant: “How do you know everything happening in this sector?” He said: “Because of We Are the Projects course. I became kind of a referent in social entrepreneurship. I’ve realized it is easy to get in touch with relevant people, go interact, take action.”
And also, one told me last time:
During the connexion session, i spoke with one inspiring student. He told me about how he created three companies. He challenged my excuses. I got so inspired that the night I came back home, I published the website I had always wanted to publish. Since then, whenever i have an idea, i just implement and try it.
She told me the interactions, especially with one of the students, who was very inspiring, truly changed her life. Without secrets, this person is called Emile, you can check his project called Thiird(http://www.thiird.com/). It’s a project aimed to have emotional,natural pictures of you instead of cheeeese, frozen, “soulless” pictures of you and your souvenirs.
At WAP, we are absolutely convinced that something special lies in each individual, each student. We just need to wake it up.
You just need a space, a “third-place” where people can feel liberated enough to explore what makes them different and so unique.
More on Diane’s blog blog.dlenne.eu
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