Together, create change! The example of the C² project in Roubaix

In Roubaix, the Secours Populaire Français encourages the power of action of people in difficulty through solidarity actions. In collaboration with the association Toutes Nos Formes D’Être…, he launched the C² project for and with a group of young people, women and volunteers, users of food aid. Together, they will build an artistic and cultural project (theatre and dance shows, impromptus, films, etc.). The creative workshops will offer a confident setting, conducive to individual and collective creativity, to the expression of emotions, to the sublimation of reality, with a view to revitalizing individuals and the territory they inhabit. The objective: to (re)speak out, to get out of isolation, to regain confidence and (re)take place in the life of the city.

The C² project is the 2022 winner of the “Mediation and Cultural Democracy” call for projects in the Hauts-de-France. Laurence Wailliez, Development Officer at the Secours Populaire Français de Roubaix, explains the origin and challenges of this project.

How did the C² project come about?
The C² project emerged from an observation: the FPS Roubaix acts against poverty and exclusion both through emergency solidarity and through long-term actions of access to rights, autonomy and dignity by involving in particular the people helped as volunteers. In this way, we give a chance to young people who have left school, who have left school, who are unemployed, and women and men in great difficulty. But we felt powerless in the face of their desire to express themselves and surpass themselves: everything that gives meaning to life in society and allows us to find our place in it! The meeting with the association “Toutes Nos Formes d’Être” which offers a humanist and emancipatory artistic practice was decisive. Long-term cooperation seemed to us to be a good response to build a sustained dynamic, by and with the audiences of Roubaix’s neighbourhoods, promoting the creation of a common culture. As our motto says “All that is human is ours”

Can we say more about the setting up of the project with the partners?
At the heart of this project is the Secours Populaire and “Toutes Nos Formes d’Être” duo. The artists will be chosen for their listening and respect, their openness, their curiosity for people, as well as their artistic qualities. They have a lot of know-how that allows them to accompany the participants in their progress and their desires: masked theatre, forum, storytelling, burlesque, silent, dance and movement… C2 will involve many partners, along the way, for communication with their audience, the holding of workshops or performances, visits, shows: bookshop, media library, local mission, civic service agency, college, home for young workers, theater or dance companies, local associations… And I would like to highlight here the place of the participants, young people, women, volunteers-beneficiaries of the FPS, who will be involved in designing, implementing and developing C².

What are the challenges to be met in your territory?
The majority of Roubaix’s neighbourhoods are considered “priority” with a high unemployment rate and precariousness. Turning inwards, encouraged by two years of health crisis, further reinforces the difficulties. The cultural fabric of Roubaix is dense and the link between artistic structures and the disadvantaged population requires multiple approaches. C² aims to contribute to the participation of marginalised audiences in cultural and democratic life. It is a question of building together a network of individual and collective projects focused on artistic and cultural creation. Through the lever of art and participation, our objective is to promote speech, trust and to regain a visible place in the life of the city.