Florence fights for equality of opportunity and diversity by supporting brilliant students from France's 15 top Grandes Écoles, all from disadvantaged backgrounds.
MISSION
Florence aims to help talented young people from underprivileged backgrounds overcome these social barriers and gain easier access to the careers they want.
At Florence, the students we support are called “Talents”. They aspire to all kinds of careers and professions without restriction : finance, politics, marketing, journalism, communications, culture...
All our talents are CROUS 4-5-6-7 scholarship holders or foreign equivalent.
ACTIONS
Florence finances scholarship programs through school foundations, and offers tailor-made mentoring, cultural and artistic programs and year-round support. Finally, thanks to its corporate partners, Florence creates privileged application channels to facilitate access to internships.
Financial support is provided through donations to school foundations. Florence supports scholarship programs and programs related to inclusion and diversity.
Florence provides students with a large number of mentors in different fields to support them throughout their studies and in their career choices. Mentors are experts in their field. The mentoring process is tailor-made. It follows a series of interviews to ensure that the match is as close as possible to the talent's professional project, as well as the talent's motivation and compatibility with the mentor. In addition to providing advice, the mentor prepares the student, helping them to orient themselves and build their career path.
Join usOrganized by a dedicated team under the direction of Déborah Waintraub, PhD in art history and professor at the École du Louvre. Our program is divided into three parts: major events (opera, theater, film premieres, concerts, etc.), conferences and webinars, and clubs. It's an opportunity to learn and progress in a friendly atmosphere.
With the help of its partner companies, Florence has created privileged channels for sending applications for internships. Places for these internships are reserved, but not guaranteed. Students then apply for reserved internships with the help of their mentor. These internships enable talented young people to gain valuable experience and encourage social diversity in the professional world.
Contact us
FLORENCE
Founded in 2023 by Jacques Ittah, Florence is an endowment fund that fights for equal opportunities and the promotion of professional and social integration.
Florence's main objective is to offer support to talented scholarship holders in order to guide and help them on their path to successful university and higher education and professional employment.
Jacques Ittah
Founder - CEO
Deborah Waintraub
Art & Culture Director
Noé Weil
COO
Shems Jioua
Talent Program
Manager
Florence supports students with Crous Echelon 4 to 7 scholarships, or their foreign equivalents, enrolled in grandes écoles at the start of their studies at these institutions. We call them “The Talents” - they are our beneficiaries.
Professionals, whatever their sector, profession or experience, can take part in the Florence adventure and support us in two main ways: through financial support and/or through an investment of time, representing 30 to 60 minutes per month, by becoming a mentor, trainer or supra.
They are our volunteers.
Companies can also join the Florence adventure by supporting us in several ways: through financial support and/or by declaring their recruitment needs to the foundation's teams, by offering reserved (but not guaranteed) internship positions for Florence's young talent, thus creating a privileged channel for sending and receiving these applications. They are our partners.
VALUES
Florence lives by its commitment to the republican pact, and our values are equal opportunity,
meritocracy, commitment, impact and trust.
Together, let's give these talented young people the freedom to take their destiny into their own hands.
Our Code of Ethics
METHOD
1. SCHOLARSHIPS
Florence finances scholarship and inclusion programs through school foundations.
On behalf of its private and corporate partners, Florence also distributes scholarships directly to beneficiaries.
2. MENTORSHIP
Bespoke
Ce n'est que suite à un ou plusieurs entretiens avec le talent, pour bien en comprendre le projet et la psychologie, qu'un matching sur-mesure a lieu. L'attribution d'un mentor pour un talent doit parfaitement correspondre à ses aspirations actuelles et futures.
High quality
The mentor assigned is an expert in his or her professional field, still active and demonstrating experience of 10 years or more.
Fluidity
Both mentor and talent are free to withdraw from the mentoring relationship, whether due to an unforeseen lack of availability or because the talent wishes to change career plans.
Monitored
Florence mentoring is regularly monitored by a dedicated team. Talent and mentor make a mutual commitment to exchange ideas on at least a monthly basis.
Florence mentoring represents a commitment of no more than 30 to 60 minutes per month for everyone involved.
In addition to the mentor, other volunteers accompany the talent's progress and can commit to joining us:
Young retirees with prestigious backgrounds overseeing five mentor/talent relationships.
They provide additional expertise and support to mentors and talents.
Recognized and experienced professionals to provide talent with a platform of knowledge, resources and contacts, establish an internship strategy, encourage personal development and interpersonal skills.
Professionals in business for less than ten years, they are not dedicated to a specific talent, but make themselves available to all, offering slots for mock interviews or case studies for students. They provide practical support and advice to help talents prepare for future career opportunities and challenges.
3. Art, Culture & Support
Organized by a dedicated team under the direction of Déborah Waintraub, Ph.D. in Art History and professor at the École du Louvre, and overseen by prestigious administrators from the world of art and culture, our course is divided into three major subsets:
Privatization of museums, operas, theaters, movie premieres, ballets, concerts... It's a window on the world and an opportunity for us all to get together, share and meet other talents as well as professionals.
Throughout the year, various speakers come to talk about their background, experience, expertise or profession. These conferences remain accessible to talent via a video platform.
Florence is home to a number of clubs, including Grand Écran, the Florence Film Club, the Gastronomic Club sponsored by Pierre Sang, the Pizz'Art Art History Club, a book club, a diplomatic club and many more to come. It's an opportunity to learn and grow in a friendly atmosphere.
4. Internships
Access to internships is the cradle of inequality between students. By negotiating internship places with our partner companies, we offer talents fair opportunities to gain work experience and develop their skills.
Internship places are reserved, but not guaranteed: this means that the partner company reserves internship places for Florence talent, all of whom come from France's top business schools, and tells us their precise requirements in terms of experience and the type of candidates they are looking for.
Talents can apply for these vacancies, but it's the mentors, recognized professionals in the sector, who guarantee the filtering and relevance of the applications, so the company receives the volume of CVs indicated in a specific and dedicated channel, on time.
The company can then proceed with its recruitment without any obligation to hire a candidate. In the event of not finding the right candidate(s), the company has the choice of putting the position back on the market through its usual channels, or asking Florence to send further CVs. To date, this has never happened.
“Impose your luck, hold on to your good fortune and go for your risk. Watching you, they'll get used to you.”
René Char - Rougeur des matinaux - 1950
