Children and young people

The charter “Nantes Ville amie des enfants” (the City of Nantes is the children’s friend) involved the City in numerous events and activities in 2008. The municipality encourages and defines a diversified range of activities for 6- to 11-year olds, and supports the cause of children. The fortnight around the rights of the child organised between 17 and 28 November proved to be a point for information and for increasing the awareness of players in education, around a diversified programme: discussions, exhibitions of the works of the children of Nantes, fun activities, etc.

Particular attention is paid to those organisations which focus on the very young, so as to offer them activities in their spare time. In parallel the City also organises some major fun activities, as illustrated by the 4th edition of Nant’arctique, with the creation of an ice rink and a sledge track in the centre of Nantes during the Christmas holidays. In 2008 residents of Nantes were able to hire equipment on the spot.

As part of managing leisure activities out of school hours and during the holidays, the City makes every effort to provide an offering which complements school and family time. In this context the renewal of the public services delegation for these activities has been launched, orientated around the age bands of the children and young people. For the under-11s this means:

• improving enrolment and reservation arrangements;
• boosting the attractiveness and openness of the facilities;
• organising the opening times of a leisure centre at a wider district level to take account of the timetables of out-of-school clubs.

A specific offering needs to be thought out for adolescents in order to modify the places where activities are held and the times offered. With one objective: to make leisure centres areas of emancipation, openness and education for all ages.

Activities aimed at teenagers in 2008 take the form of an “teenagers' plan” rolled out in three areas of the city: Doulon, Bottière-Bellevue and Saint-Joseph-de-Porterie. The city supports the socio-educational players involved with adolescents by developing several axes, which are defined in partnership with the organisations and the reception and leisure structures. It is important to understand and analyse what makes adolescents tick, offer them an appropriate range of leisure activities, and to encourage the interface between secondary schools and the socio-cultural and sporting activities, as well as access to the Maison Départementale des Adolescents (Département Young People’s Centre), of which the city is a partner. These premises offer both adolescents and their parents' access to resources and exchanges so they can share their experiences.

The city of Nantes is at young people’s side to help and support them in their projects, facilitate their access to citizenship and their social and professional integration. To do this the Conseil Nantais de la Jeunesse (Nantes Youth Council) has established itself as a place for discussions and exchanges, oriented in 2008 towards the development of a “parcours citoyen” (citizenship trail) in close collaboration with the city. The exhibition Ram Dam à l’ouest is the flagship event which brings together all the initiatives by and for young people, who come along to meet the organisational and institutional players in a friendly setting and find out about such subjects as health, sport, training or international mobility. The CLAP (comité local d’aide aux projets des jeunes – local supporting committee for young people’s projects) and “Chantiers Petits Boulots” (Little jobs site) schemes have enjoyed real success this year, supporting young people in their projects or in their search for summer jobs.

With a dynamic university, Nantes listens to its students and in 2008 together with the Metropolis of Nantes was involved in the final year of the “concerted progress pact”. Once again in 2008 this was translated into structural activities aimed at welcoming and integrating students within the city:

• Support for organisations, student projects and cultural events;
• Collaboration with the CROUS (the regional support centre for the works of universities and schools), the youth hostel and two networks of the Foyer de Jeunes Travailleurs (Young Workers Centre) to provide housing and grants and encourage international mobility.

Children and young people who get about!

50 young people, 10 organisations and 8 institutions within Conseil Nantais de la Jeunesse
21,000 young people attended the event Ram Dam à l’ouest
€1,800,000 in 3 years for the Pacte de progrès concerté
26,964 people at Nant’arctique over two weeks
60,000 copies of the young people’s guide “Copilote” distributed