Nobel Peace Prize Winner Muhammad Yunus and Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo today joined 100 of France’s leading social economy entrepreneurs and organisations at Paris’ City Hall to explore innovative ways to make the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games the most inclusive ever.
The event, which was also attended by Paris 2024 CEO Etienne Thobois, saw 100 French flagship start-ups from the new economy come together to share ideas on innovation, solidarity and social issues, and discuss how collectively they can enhance the organisation of the 2024 Games.
The world-leading social and solidarity economy (SSE) sector in Paris ensures social innovation, ethical practice and the environment are at the heart of projects across the city. These organisations already represent 10% of jobs and 12,230 projects in Paris. The City of Paris and Paris 2024 hope to mobilise their collective expertise to play a key role in helping to plan an inclusive and socially responsible Games that demonstrates a strong social purpose and delivers real community legacies.
The meeting provided a forum for ideas to be exchanged that will now be developed over the coming months at Les Canaux, the hub for social and innovation economy start-ups in Paris.
Muhammad Yunus, Bangladeshi economist and entrepreneur who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2006, said:
"I was impressed by the level of enthusiasm displayed by the entrepreneurs and start-ups involved in today’s gathering of minds. There was a real sense of purpose and a clear desire from those involved to support the Paris 2024 bid and make the Games as socially responsible and inclusive as possible."
Paris Mayor, Anne Hidalgo, said:
"By mobilising our leading network of socially-conscious business entrepreneurs, Paris 2024 can deliverreal community legacies that focus on inclusion, innovation and responsible social development. We are committed to sharing the social benefits and impact of the Olympic and Paralympic Games across our city, country and internationally. On March 16th Paris will welcome more than 1,000 startups, experts and investors from France and abroad, to create the partnerships of tomorrow for major international events."
Paris 2024 Chief Executive, Etienne Thobois, said:
"I addition to delivering an unforgettable celebration of sport, we want Paris 2024 to be a model of inclusion, sustainable development and social innovation -- building on the city’s global leadership in social business, the sharing economy and smart city thinking. These qualities are naturally in line with the values of sport and Olympism, a guarantee that we will have purposeful Games with a lasting legacy on communities. We believe this innovative way of thinking and living is embraced by the new generation in France and our aim is to harness the power of the Games to spread the message of sustainability and positive social impact internationally.
"We are fortunate to have the full support of Professor Yunus and of Paris’ influential network of leading thinkers in this area, and we look forward to further developing some of the exciting ideas that came from today’s meeting in the months ahead."
For more information, please contact:
Raphaël Leclerc
Paris 2024 Bid Committee
Email: rleclerc@paris2024.org
Phone: +33 6 73 16 88 06
Sujit Jasani
VERO Communications
Email: sjasani@verocom.co.uk
Phone: +44 (0)207 812 6589 / +44 (0)7940 375 282
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