Grenoble’s Compassionate Changemakers : Savoir Oser la Solidarité
Did you know that at Grenoble École de Management you can encounter humanitarian work as well as education? Savoir Oser la Solidarité is a group of caring student activists who, through their projects, raise awareness and support people in situations of vulnerability, from disadvantaged children to struggling students, those with dietary issues, and individuals with respiratory illnesses. Their projects are both local and international.
Emeline Bisiaux, a member of the association spoke to us about their current projects as well as their next steps to keep these transformational project going into the future.
Savoir Oser La Solidarité (SOS) was established in 1989, at Grenoble École de Management, as a student solidarity association. Since 2010, the organization has been recognized as being of general interest. Every year, SOS mobilizes almost 140 students across 10 projects in France and beyond, to implement their mission — that “even the smallest and one-off solidarity action can greatly and sustainably improve the condition of others and the world in which we live.” Until now, they have already impacted more than 70 thousands people.
With five local projects, Savoir Oser la Solidarité is changing the reality of many citizens in Grenoble. The project Les P’tits Tutorés is one example of fighting school drop-outs. This year, SOS teamed up with the institution Le Rocher Oasis des Cités to help children from the Collège Charles Münch, in Grenoble, with their homework. A group of 12 students from SOS was responsible for advising students on their educational orientation and implementing cultural and leisure activities. Every Thursday, the mentors devote their time to mentoring children.
“In this way, they build up a relationship of trust, which contributes greatly to their personal development.” — Savoir Oser La Solidarité
In the end, the project succeeded in helping dozens of schoolchildren in the region of Grenoble, directly impacting local communities with education and cultural matters. Besides that, mentors keep the contact with their tutees to follow the child’s progress through school and their academic life. The association works with five international projects as well, one of them in Brazil, at a community in Piauí state. The project started in 2015, to build leisure and awareness center for the neighborhood, helping them decrease child violence and femicide.
With a budget of €4.000, from fundraising exercises, nine members of SOS involved in the project go to the country once a year and spend from four to six weeks working with the Projecto Social Kaleo association as a partner to achieve their goal. They split their time between helping with building construction and organizing recreational and sporting activities for the children. As a result, they got a place ready to be used by the community, which is really proud of their new environment.
Another international project was in Togo, a country in West Africa, in the communities Wonougba and Adzakpa. Finished in 2021, the main objectives were an awareness campaign about diseases present there, like malaria and Aids, to help with prevention. In addition, eleven people involved in the project were also responsible for renewing a school and giving French classes to people with reading and writing difficulties. Emeline Bisiaux, 23 years old, was part of this group and said this was a “sharing and kindness, mutual aid experience”.
All this work is only possible thanks to the generosity of Savoir Oser la Solidarité’s partners. They provide a range of help from financial assistance to food aid . Partners include large companies such as Carrefour City, Rotary International, Grenoble School of Management, Veolia Water, and Wooskill. Significant help also comes from individuals, that can make a donation of any amount directly on the association’s website.
Are you curious about Savoir Oser La Solidarité? Get involved on Instagram @savoir.oser.la.solidarite or by visiting their website. Get in on the action today!
About this article
This article has been written by a group of students at the Grenoble Ecole de Management’s Advanced Masters in Digital Strategy Management. As part of a content creation assignment, students are given the task of writing articles based on their digital interests and disseminating the articles online. Articles are marked but we make minimal changes to the content. Thanks for reading! James Barisic, Programme Director, MS DSM.
