Olivaint conference

The Conférence Olivaint is oldest Association coed of France, founded in 1875. Wanting to be a political think tank independent of very party , its “Jeunes branch” provides to its members an education with the public life, before most promising of them do not reach the “Anciens branch”, which includes/understands ministers, heads of undertakings, journalists and other recognized personalities.

As its name indicates it, the principal activity of the Olivaint Conference holds in the realization of weekly conferences with politicians and, since 2003, of the personalities of the civil life.

History

Named in the honor of the Olivaint father, normalien and major of the Aggregation of History, working priest and martyr of the Common , the Conference was founded at the beginning by the Jésuites in order to make infiltration with Sciences Po and in the French political community after the birth of the IIIème République.

After the First World War the Olivaint Conference opens and becomes a meeting place for men of any political edge, such as Georges Bidault, Pierre Mendès France or Robert Schuman. During the Second war, all the members of the Conference engage in the conflict, for half in the Résistance, half in the Collaboration.

Post-war period, the Olivaint Conference is of sensitivity rather Christian-Democrat and especially pro-European. In 1968, it becomes laic, under the presidency of Laurent Fabius (connects Jeunes) and of Hervé de Charrette (connects Anciens). In the years 1980, many collaborator young people of François Mitterrand will be recruited within the Olivaint Conference by the Old ones like Jacques Attali or Hubert Védrine. For a few years, the Olivaint Conference has left its traditional confidentiality gradually, agreeing more and more to communicate around its activities.

Members

The rules of procedure of the Conference prohibit to him to have more than 150 young members. Recruitment is done by Cooptation, and the candidates must present a dossier and undergo a maintenance. No one cannot be member of the Jeunes branch for more than three consecutive years, after which the members must postulate to return in the Anciens branch.

The Jeunes branch includes/understands a strong majority of students and a minority of credits. Among the students, approximately a third is students of Sciences Po, the remainder dividing mainly between the others universities and the Faculty of Law.

Activities

The principal activity of the Olivaint Conference is the organization of weekly conferences with outstanding personalities of the political world and civil society. Although these conferences are opened with the public, the tradition wants that the confidentiality is maintained on the remarks made at the time of these conferences.

Its other secular tradition is the formation with the art of public speaking. This formation includes verbal sparring matches, which precede each conference, of the sessions of formation to the art of public speaking, either between members or with recognized lawyers, as well as a contest of art of public speaking. Any member owes " jouter" at least once, and the verbal sparring match belongs to one of the great traditions of the Olivaint Conference, an experiment that all the members divide. In 2007, the Olivaint Conference Co-organized the contest of Science-Po eloquence, in partnership with the office of the pupils.

The Olivaint Conference also organizes each year a conference, opened with the public, in 2007 with the National Assembly on the topic of higher education, the previous year with the Institut of the Arab World on integration.

Among its other activities, voyages abroad (Turkey in 2007), where the members of the Conference meet political personalities of the visited country. These voyages cause often personal enrichment for the members. Thus, under the presidency of Jean-Louis Bourlanges, the Olivaint Conference was the first French association to go in the lately independent Algérie.

The Olivaint Conference also organizes cultural exits, displacements in area, debates, commissions of reflection and action on subjects of general interest…

Old

Although the Old ones have them also an elected office, contrary to the Jeunes branch they do not have regular activities, but constitute more one abstract network.

Among the Old ones of the Olivaint Conference, one counts in particular Isabelle Huppert, Jacques Attali, Michel Bon, Christine Ockrent, Erik Orsenna, François d' Aubert, Michel Barnier, Jean-Michel Belorgey, Jean-Louis Bourlanges, Michel Charasse, Hervé de Charrette, Jean-Pierre Chevènement, Jean-François Deniau, Laurent Fabius, François Heisbourg, Jean-Christmas Jeanneney, Frederic Mitterrand, Dominique Perben, Michel Vauzelle, Raphaël Adas-Lebel, Etienne Pflimlin, Antoine Jeancourt-Galignani, Jerome Jaffré, Didier Maus, Alexandre Galdin, Robert Schuman, Pierre Mendès France, Georges Bidault…

Last offices of the " Connect Jeune"

2003/2004: office " Antoine of Saint Exupéry " chaired by Clement Jeanjean.

2004/2005: office " Marguerite Yourcenar " chaired by Georges Gaède.

2005/2006: office " Stefan Zweig " chaired by Laurent Baudino.

2006/2007: office " German Tillion " chaired by Gregoire Charpe Civatte.

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