Creation of a new branch in France, intended to increase young people’s awareness on handicap issues

The Air Liquide Foundation is supporting a new branch in France, in Rennes, of the association “Rencontres Jeunes et Handicap”.

The association “Rencontres Jeunes et Handicap” has been raising the awareness, for 15 years, of elementary, middle school and high school students on handicap, by putting them in contact with handicapped people.

The aim is to facilitate the integration of the handicapped into the working world, to raise consciousness on the question of access in schools and to allow youngsters to understand differences. Since 1993, the association has increased the awareness, in total, of nearly 95,000 young people. It plans to further develop its action and to pass the "bar" of 100,000 teenagers who have a greater understanding on this subject.

Therefore, the Air Liquide Foundation is financing the creation of a new local branch in Rennes (western France), the "Relais local 35". 1,000 new students will be able to know more about handicap within 18 months of the opening of this branch.

The meetings, organized in the form of workshops and run by a two-person team (manager of the local branch/handicap specialist) are created with the school's pedagogic team and favor interactivity: videos and sessions of question and answer.