Category: Campus Events

Navigating Solidarity and Strategy: Daniel Peterson’s Lecture on Indonesia’s Support for Palestine

By Carmen Leong

Just over a year ago, nearly two million people gathered in the central Freedom Square of Jakarta, waving enormous flags in a spectacle of red and white, but also green and black. They were rallying to express solidarity with Palestine, in light of the war on Gaza that had devastated the state and slaughtered thousands. It was one of the most significant protests for Palestinian resistance in Southeast Asia, said regional law and politics scholar Daniel Peterson. Our campus had had the privilege of inviting him to give a lecture on Indonesia and the Palestinian cause at lunchtime on 28 January, in which he outlined the principles and narratives driving Indonesia’s support of this vastly distant state.

Indonesian support for Palestine stems from its own history of anti-colonial resistance and humanitarian principles – the latter of which is stated explicitly in its Pancasila state philosophy. But the massive scale of mobilisation for Palestine in the country can perhaps best be attributed to the sentiment of Islamic solidarity resonating among its people for their brothers and sisters across an ocean. The significance of this relationship can be traced back to the 1955 Bandung Conference; it not only secured Indonesia’s political presence on the international stage, but also marked the country’s diplomatic and moral pledge to Palestine. Although some dissent exists – for instance, a 2017 BBC World Service poll recorded that 9% of Indonesian survey respondents view Israel positively – most Indonesians take a pro-Palestinian stance, motivating the Indonesian government to do the same. For instance, Indonesia has refused to entertain Israel during international sporting events, most recently with Indonesia being stripped of its hosting duty for the FIFA Under-20 World Cup due to concerns over whether the Israeli team could compete there without disruption. Even so, some critics have argued that Indonesia can do more to ally itself with the Palestinian struggle; even if geographical distance and limited military power restricts its ability to intervene directly in the conflict, Indonesia can welcome Palestinian refugees. At this point, Peterson paused and directed the question at our audience: do we think Indonesia will welcome Palestinian refugees?

Image Credits: Melbourne Law School, Routledge Contemporary Southeast Asia Series

As LDD’s newspaper correspondent, I was lucky enough to catch him for an interview later that day, during which I asked his opinion on the very same question. His answer: it’s highly unlikely. There is firstly the argument that accepting Palestinian refugees is counterintuitive to the greater struggle; when refuting reports of Trump’s plan to relocate Palestinians in Gaza to Indonesia, the Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs asserted that “any attempts to displace or remove Gaza’s residents is entirely unacceptable”, since “such efforts to depopulate Gaza would only serve to perpetuate the illegal Israeli occupation of Palestinian territory and align with broader strategies aimed at expelling Palestinians from Gaza.” Secondly, Indonesia has not had the best track record for taking in refugees, with Rohingya from Myanmar facing hostile pushback from local communities when arriving on Indonesian shores in recent years, due to fears of competition over scarce resources and an increase in crime and inter-ethnic conflicts. 

Evidently, the Indonesian government must carefully take into account its domestic situation prior to undertaking any intervention in the Israel-Palestinian conflict. This could explain its continued reluctance to use the word “genocide” to describe Israel’s actions against Palestine – a point that Peterson brought up in response to a student’s question during the Q&A segment of his lecture. Given Indonesia’s own violent history, such as the 1965-66 massacres of members of the Indonesian Communist Party (although the anti-Chinese sentiment behind this event has been refuted by some scholars as a myth), it may not be politically expedient to directly accuse Israel of “genocide”, since the definition of the word also varies and genocidal intentions are difficult to establish. That said, the Minister of Foreign Affairs has arguably asserted the same sentiment, by stating that “Israel’s ultimate goal [is] to wipe Palestine from the world map.”

In light of Indonesia’s steadfast, justice-oriented stance against Israel in the ongoing dispute, some may question why it has not adopted a similar position against China, especially considering the allegations against the latter of being complicit in the persecution of ethnic Uyghur minorities in Xinjiang. To this, Peterson points to Indonesia’s significant economic dependence on China. Just recently in November 2024, Indonesia signed $10 billion in deals with China; it is also the highest recipient of Official Development Assistance (ODA) and loans from China among Southeast Asian countries. In contrast to Israel, with whom Indonesia has minimal economic ties, China holds far greater influence over Indonesia’s economy, requiring the country to carefully balance its stance on human rights with the need to cultivate favorable relations for economic and development purposes.

Daniel Peterson’s lecture provided me – and, I’m sure, many other students – with a deeper understanding of how cross-border movements shape international relations. I now have a greater appreciation for how governments must carefully consider their own internal tensions and domestic situation before formulating foreign diplomatic strategies, particularly in the case of Indonesia’s approach to the Israel-Palestinian conflict. Our team at LDD would like to express our gratitude to Dr. Peterson for taking the time to participate in the interview, and we hope that this article offers valuable insights to those students who were unable to attend the lecture.

Something to Put on Your LinkedIn: SciencesPo’s First Intercampus GRC Conference

By Syontoni Hattori-Chatterjee 

All photos credited to The Sundial Press, SciencesPo Reims’ campus newspaper.

SciencesPo Le Havre GRC Branch President, Aaryani Sahay, with conference speaker Álvaro Martín Sánchez, Associate at Boston Consulting Group.

From February 8th to 9th, I had the special opportunity to attend SciencesPo’s first intercampus Global Research and Consulting (GRC) conference. Fellow associates from the Le Havre, Menton, and Reims branches congregated in SciencesPo’s largest regional campus for a weekend of speakers, workshops, cases, exploring Reims, and, of course, networking. While I had some previous experience in education and nonprofit consulting, I was relatively unfamiliar with the wider field of social impact consulting before getting involved with GRC this year. Being immersed in this burgeoning consulting niche over the conference weekend helped me solidify my future career aspirations, a sentiment shared by other attendees from across the three campuses.

Viren Gemini, also a GRC Le Havre associate, commented that “The conference was quite intriguing because the guest speakers were very articulate and provided relevant and interesting insights on consulting and finance. The opportunity to ask the speakers questions and interact with them in person was very cool, and I felt like I gained a deeper understanding of consulting as a field and the lifestyle, skills and thought process of a consultant. I am excited to explore opportunities in this realm in the future!” 

Indeed, Álvaro Martín Sánchez from Boston Consulting Group (BCG), Mariette Munier from McKinsey and EDF, and Bassem Snaije from Cosmos Advisors and SciencesPo each provided distinct, interesting perspectives on their work as consultants. I was surprised not just by the diversity of projects they were each able to take on, but also by their reflections on their responsibilities and purpose which showcased different mindsets and strategic thinking approaches. 

Viren remarked that “Bassem Snaije’s data-centric approach was truly fascinating, as his show-don’t-tell approach revealed the importance of finance in the modern world and introduced a lot of new key terms that I was not familiar with.” I also found Professor Snaije’s technique of leading with the numbers and then explaining their importance quite engaging. 

Mariette Munier had me hooked from the beginning of her talk when she boldly announced that she had just quit McKinsey the day before the conference. I agree with Viren that her emphasis on “honesty, authenticity and being open to feedback and learning as key attributes of all good consultants” and her passion for promoting economic inclusion of consultants from different income backgrounds was refreshing. 

What I appreciated the most, however, was the chance to talk to Ms. Munier in between speaker sessions. As a SciencesPo Nancy campus alumna herself, she had a warm and nostalgic familiarity towards my and my friends’ experiences that made her advice on pathways beyond SciencesPo all the more salient. I was very interested in the HEC-SciencesPo dual Masters program that she pursued after obtaining her Bachelor’s degree. This was in particular because she remarked that HEC had an entirely different university culture to SciencesPo and focused more on professional development. Nevertheless, I also valued her perspective on career opportunities gained through SciencesPo’s greatest strength: our peers and friends, who form not just our emotional but also professional support network. 

Lastly, Viren and I both took away the same key insight from Álvaro Martín Sánchez’ talk: “non-social consulting can also have a social goal.” Mr. Martín illustrated this by discussing his first project as a full time consultant at BCG during which he helped expand legal banking operations and access to credit cards on behalf of a bank in Venezuela, Panama, and the Dominican Republic. While the project’s intended outcomes were profit-focused and aimed principally to extend the reach of the bank’s activities, the project also  had positive externalities on the local and national level. Strategizing effective ways to encourage citizens to keep their money in banks enabled said citizens to develop a credit history that they could use for loans, and also lowered the influence of the mafia and underground economy while promoting tax collection for public services. It was encouraging to hear that more consulting work is slowly but surely moving into this higher degree of interconnection between profit-based and social outcomes. Additionally, Mr. Martín’s fun story about a colleague who had to literally get into a pig sty for a consulting project amusingly showed attendees that consulting provides the unique opportunity to have a career where you get your hands into a bit of everything. 

Viren Gemini (left) and Carmen Leong (right), SciencesPo Le Havre GRC Branch Associates. 

The collected composure of the SciencesPo GRC team throughout the weekend masked how much effort went into making this conference a success. I talked to Aaryani Sahay, the president of our SciencesPo Le Havre GRC branch, about the preparation involved in organizing the first event of this kind between the SciencesPo campuses. She shared that the initiative for this conference began between the three presidents of the Le Havre, Menton, and Reims GRC branches all the way back in September, and the full executive boards of each campus’ branches were working on this from late October onwards. “We all started having calls on Sundays. For like three or four hours, because I had to be on every call, I would be on calls and everyone else on the [Le Havre] executive board so Noelani, Armand, Elise would also join their teams and we’ve all been working on this for three months before the conference happened.”

I was moved by Aaryani’s dedication, passion, and commitment to making the idea of an intercampus consulting conference a reality. Over winter break, in order to secure conference panelists, she “stayed up until two a.m. most nights emailing, just cold emailing, speakers” and navigated scheduling changes, cancellations, and more logistical challenges. She admitted that “at some points it did feel like, you know, I was a bit overwhelmed. But I think I just had faith: I knew that this could be a good event and I just had to keep at it.” Aaryani exhibited some of this faith by putting herself out there and messaging consultants such as Mariette Munier, with whom she had no prior connections, on LinkedIn asking if they were interested in speaking to SciencesPo students. Indeed, during a quick chat before her panel, Ms. Munier herself encouraged me and fellow attendees to boldly make the first professional move and take chances utilizing our extended networks. 

Nevertheless, this GRC conference was also a success because it built on previously forged professional relationships. Álvaro Martín mentored Aaryani and other first-year GRC Le Havre associates last year during their first consulting project at SciencesPo. When Aaryani reached out to him asking if he had any connections in the Paris area that might be available for the conference date, he offered himself to come speak, despite living and working in Madrid. Aaryani and the GRC executive boards had to figure out and fund logistics, but ultimately Mr. Martín was able to fly into Paris from Madrid and go back on the same day just to talk with us. Following the conference, case competition winners earned a private mentoring session with him and another consultant, and Mr. Martín will be back as a GRC mentor this year. 

Georgia Langworthy (center), SciencesPo Le Havre GRC Insights Team Head

Speaking of the case competition, Fifi Zhao, a GRC SciencesPo Reims branch associate and member of the winning team, and our own Viren from the runner-up team generously shared their reflections on trying out this new activity. 

Fifi: “It was my first time doing anything like it, and I really went in with zero expectations and just the desire of getting some firsthand experience on the entire process of analyzing the prompt, conducting research, and presenting findings. I remember agreeing with my teammates that we wouldn’t cry of happiness if we won, but we wouldn’t cry if we lost either. It was a bit daunting because none of us had previous experience, so we tried interpreting the criteria to the best of our abilities. Winning was definitely unexpected but I’m so glad our hard work paid off! It did add some confidence that I can succeed in consulting, and the BCG session was a cherry on top. I’m thinking of using it to ask about skills I can develop to be more competitive in applications, as well as potential career paths and exit opportunities if I decide to change careers.”

Viren: “We started preparing for the case competition around six a.m. (two or three hours before the competition) as we had gone for dinner and then to the bar the previous night to celebrate my birthday. It was quite a productive session as we were able to work together remotely and split the work efficiently (I guess pressure can really make people thrive!). We were the second group to present, and after the first group it was clear to us that our approach was a bit unique and placed special emphasis on assessing the pre-existing conditions of fire-response in California. Fortunately, the judges took a liking to this approach and we came second! The feedback we received was that we fell short because we exceeded the given time and this was due to the last minute preparation, but overall we enjoyed the exposure and we were able to get a good experience out of the competition.”

“But I think I just had faith: I knew that this could be a good event and I just had to keep at it.” 

The GRC summit was also an occasion for some to return to once-beloved activities and gain a renewed sense of purpose. As I watched Aaryani on stage in conversation with Álvaro Martín, asking thoughtful questions and cultivating an effortlessly dynamic discussion, I truly felt like this was where she was meant to be. “I was a public speaker in high school: I spoke at the UN and I spoke at the Graduate School of Education at the University of Pennsylvania. I feel like going to conferences was a huge part of me and I genuinely enjoyed it […] I hadn’t done public speaking for almost three years by this conference so I was really nervous. Two days before the conference, I was telling my parents that maybe I should ask someone else to [moderate the discussion] with Álvaro because what if I lost it, you know? But my parents were like ‘You just take a risk and see how it goes.’ And it just felt like coming home.” Aaryani also mused warmly on the impact of having her personal and professional support network there to help her: “Tamae was there, Armand was super helpful throughout the whole thing, he helped me make the speaker questions. So I think just having everyone there, having my friends there, and being able to do something that I love, I think it’s an experience that I’m really going to cherish.” 

Last but certainly not least, my favorite part of the conference was getting to know my peers from other SciencesPo campuses, something we still have too few opportunities to do. My coloc hosts were so generous and kind, and as Aaryani revealed the GRC Reims executive board worked tirelessly to ensure that us guests had a warm welcome to the city. “Eleni from Reims worked so, so hard to secure the accommodation […] Every day I would text her with two new people and she would be like, ‘Let me try to make it work.’ I would just like to say that she really played a role in accommodation and making sure that people from Le Havre could come.” As a 2A in a dual degree, I also welcomed the opportunity to meet people I would see again in the fall at Berkeley, a sentiment echoed by Fifi. “I was really happy to meet LH and Menton students, especially those also in the Columbia Dual degree! It was like a little preview of what’s to come next year :).”

I would like to end this article with Viren’s comments about celebrating his birthday during the conference weekend (the grind truly never stops): 

“It was a great birthday! I got to discover a new city in France (4th French city I have been to yet) and I got to hang out with a group of friends that I truly value! They surprised me with 2 cakes that were from my family back in India and a cookie cake from them, and we went for dinner to a great Thai restaurant. Afterwards, we went for the bar night and I had some really good conversations. Later, my amazing coloc host Simona cooked pasta for us as a late night supper. Overall, an amazing day!”

A big thank you to everyone involved: the Reims, Menton, and Le Havre GRC presidents and executive boards, all of the conference speakers, the Reims students who hosted us and showed us around the city, and fellow GRC and non-GRC members who attended the summit. Here’s to the next one!

Motion to Introduce Your New MUNSHU

Interview conducted by Tyler Jaewon Kim

Q: Could you please introduce yourselves?

Chiara: Hello my name is Chiara and I’m running for secretary general of MUNSHU.

Clem: Hi. My name is Clem – Clemire. My legal name, but most people call me Clem. And I’m writing for vice secretary general.

Q: Why did you decide to run for your positions?

Chiara: So I guess I’ll start. Being involved in MUNSHU made me realize just how passionate I am about MUN and about bringing it to this campus specifically. Especially since this association is kind of in its infancy. So I really want to help bring it into a new era. Well, maybe we can have more collaborations with other campuses or just in general, make it more fun for everyone.

Clem: Yeah. And for me personally, I was already involved in MUN ever since high school. And, I really liked participating in MUN organization this year, and I was already thinking of, like, being more involved and, about being more knowledgeable with, like, all different types of skills you could get from in an MUN organization. And, when Chiara asked, since we’re making a very good team and I felt like she was the right person to run for, I just decided to go for it.

Q: How did you choose your duo? 

Chiara: I think that we just had very good chemistry when working together. It helps that as we’re not just coworkers, but also friends, so we’re able to carry that dynamic on to the association and help make it, more vibrant and more accessible for everyone.

Clem: Yeah. For me, it’s also about running with someone that, you know, I can work with on, like, serious things and not just having a friendship and getting along. It was really felt like I valued her skills, and I felt like my skills could help hers. And that way we would really, like, complement each other on that part.

Q: What are your top three priorities for next year?

Chiara: For me, it would be definitely collaborating more with the other campuses. Yeah. MUN Poitiers and Reims and Menton. But since we’re so young as an association, we haven’t really established those links. That’s definitely one of my priorities. And also just making MUN more accessible to the others, because I know it’s not as popular here compared to, for example, like Asia. So just really bringing that more into our region.

Clem: Yeah. And I think that one of our key priorities also is to, introduce diplomacy. to others in other form. so we were thinking of developing, like other types of games and clubs that could allow, people to understand what diplomacy and MUN kind of is without necessarily just having to, like, join MUN conferences in, like, more casual, like clubs or activities.

Q: What is one takeaway you want readers to have from this interview?

Chiara: I think just maybe making MUN more accessible.

Clem: Yeah. And that to us, diplomacy is like our love story.

Say Hola to Your New Propa!

Interview conducted by Tyler Jaewon Kim.

Q: Could you please introduce yourselves?

Ekin: So, hello, my name is Ekin.

Achille: And I’m Achille and we’re running for PROPA.

Ekin: And I’m running for the post of president.

Achille: And I want to do treasurer.

Q: Why did you decide to run for your positions?

Ekin: So I decided to run for president of PROPA because I thought that maybe I was able to think about what the already existing PROPA did over the last few months. And I felt that I could create a great team and, being able to make this campus real, I can do it together. To bring people together and to revive the spirits of the Mushus.

Achille: I think I’m running for Treasurer because it’s, I think it’s a job that fits me the most. The balance I think it’s, yeah, I’d like to, you know, have all this in mind. All the partnerships that you have to issue to call and everything. And I think it’s going to be fun training for the future. So yeah, that’s why I was running for treasurer.

Q: How did you choose your duo? 

Ekin: So it was a tough question to choose my duo throughout the last few months. But I decided that Achille could be a really great treasurer because it was like, other than being someone that I’m close to, I knew that he could, like, manage all, of course, money, but also all the partnerships to manage calls, to, excel and stuff. So I thought he was a great partner for the PROPA.

Achille: I know, yeah, I think, when it was proposed to me, it sounded good to me because I wanted to engage in a campaign and, so, yeah, it was the best opportunity for me.

Q: What are your top three priorities for next year?

Achille: Yeah. But that I would say that, I’m really into the integration part because I think, the last years sure did very, very good integration and I’m going to do the same things for the one who will come. So we’ll make sure that everybody is feeling really welcome and has a very good integration in Le Havre.

Ekin: And also maybe making the PROPA more like, a collaborating association, maybe for the Assos that we don’t see often, collaborating so like, PROPA with BDA etc. So I think it’s really the prospective that I have for PROPA in the end. And the last thing there will be maybe to…

Achille: Take on this legacy. 

Ekin: Yeah! Take on this legacy and do already existing events. So Appartathon, doing the talent show that is coming, the birthday of MUSHU and also creating new events, more t-

Achille: Show more flags because we had so many flags that we don’t show. Yeah. So yeah, I think it’s going to be great.

Q: Who will be in the MUSHU suit next year?

Achille: I think it’s going to be me because I love to wear MUSHU it’s so much fun. It’s kind of cozy, actually. It’s it’s a bit dirty right now. By the way, I assure you we’re going to wash it for next year but, yeah, it’s, I like to do this. It’s is kind of a vibe, you know? We got the best one. The red Dragon. Yeah.

Ekin: So, yeah, he’s going to wear it. 

Achille: Let’s gooo 

Q: What is one takeaway you want readers to have from this interview?

Ekin: So it’s not because we don’t have other duos that are presenting against us, that we are not ready to take back the PROPA. We have a lot of ambitions for this association, and we know that we are going to make it.

Achille: PROPAssion

Meet your candidates for AS!

Interview conducted by Maalavika Hareesh. Responses have been slightly modified for clarity.

Charlotte Nasser-Belaud-Rotureau

Q1: ⁠Could you quickly introduce yourself? 

I’m Charlotte, and I’m running for AS. As you may know, I’m passionate about sports, especially judo and horse riding. I’ve been practicing them for 13 years, which is a lot. And that’s why AS is the best association for me.

Q2.⁠ ⁠⁠Why are you running for the position you are running for? What makes you the best candidate for it?

I’d like to run for secretary because I think I’m well organized. I can take notes very well. I don’t know if you saw me at each lecture but I always take notes and when I come home I always rewrite my notes and everything. I’m super organized and on time, every time.

As secretary, you have to be able to communicate information with your other board members. And yeah, I’m totally suited for this role. 

I think I’m the best candidate for AS because I think that sport brings way more than muscles. You always have to be perseverant and strive to be at the top. For example, in judo, it teaches you to always recover and to get back on your feet. If there are unplanned things going on, I will always find solutions.

Q3.⁠ ⁠⁠What are your top three priorities for the next year?

So my top three priorities for next year would be to include more international students in events that are organized by AS and also to have more material available like trampolines for cheer or training gears for rugby.

Also, I’d like to screen matches in the grand amphi so that it could bring cohesion and create cool nights.

Q4.⁠ ⁠⁠If viewers could take away just one thing from this interview what should it be?

I’m really committed to my job and to what I do and I have a radiant personality. I always like to smile and be there to sing all the LH songs. I’m quite welcoming, so you can talk to me if you have any problems. One thing you should remember is that Sciences Po is a school but sport is the school of life!

Romane Lecot

Q1: ⁠Could you quickly introduce yourself? 

Hi, I’m Romane. I’m French, but I lived in Canada, Reunion Island and Portugal. You should go check out my post on Instagram where I say a few fun facts about me and you’ll get to know me more!

Q2.⁠ ⁠⁠Why are you running for the position you are running for? What makes you the best candidate for it?

So in AS, we don’t really run for a position, but the one that would interest me most is the President, of course, or Treasurer, because I always loved numbers and also because I always liked to manage money, or Event Manager, because I love to organise parties, events and everything like that.

Q3.⁠ ⁠⁠What are your top three priorities for the next year?

My top priorities for next year are to unite people through sport, because I think that this is its best quality. I would like to have a lot of fun and make memories, and last but not least, I would like to win the WEIS.

Q4.⁠ ⁠⁠If viewers could take away just one thing from this interview what should it be?

I feel like I could bring some smile and cheerful energy to A.S. as it already has some with our beautiful members and I would really like to take part of this beautiful asso so vote for me!

Sara Cipriani

Q1: ⁠Could you quickly introduce yourself? 

My name is Sara, I’m French and Italian and I’m running for AS.

Q2.⁠ ⁠⁠Why are you running for the position you are running for? What makes you the best candidate for it?

I’ve always had some trouble with sports because I’ve played many sports throughout my whole life but I had quite a bad relationship with sports in general. I noticed that it was really hard for me to feel integrated into sports communities and so AS really made me heal this relationship by making me feel included into the rugby team and so that’s why I want to run for AS. I want to pursue this sense of community that AS gave me.

I think that I’m a good candidate for it because I’m a really passionate person about what I do and I know that I will be really organized and I can deal with deadlines and just ensure that everything goes well and I really want to take AS to the next level by making the association grow and just continue to spread this culture of sports on campus.

Q3.⁠ ⁠⁠What are your top three priorities for the next year?

So my top three priorities would be first of all to organize more events where everyone could feel included. AS organized many events like the Laser Game Day this year and I think that it would be cool to organize more events of this kind to really ensure that everyone on campus can participate in those events. 

I would also like to make more collaborations with other assos, maybe with the cooking club, because AS is also about promoting a healthy lifestyle and I think that working with the cooking club could help students learn to cook healthy and affordable dishes, which can be very important. 

And finally, I’d say that my last priority is really revitalizing clubs that are kind of dormant right now, like the running club, because I know that many people want to join them, but since there isn’t that much structure in those clubs yet, I think it would be important to just rebuild them and make them more present on campus.

Q4.⁠ ⁠⁠If viewers could take away just one thing from this interview what should it be?

I really want to make Sciences Po’s AS really inclusive and just to really create a big community around sports, because sports really unites us. And I think that’s my most important thing. And yeah, just vote for me!

Audrey Lo

Q1: ⁠Could you quickly introduce yourself? 

My name is Audrey, and I’m running for AS.

Q2.⁠ ⁠⁠Why are you running for the position you are running for? What makes you the best candidate for it?

I’m open to any position within the board and I’m running for AS because sport has always been a really big part of my life, giving me a lot of valuable things like confidence and resilience, as well as a really strong bond with my teammates and people I’ve met. So this is the kind of experience that I want to create for other people as well. 

I think what makes me a good candidate for the AS board is I’ve had prior experience in high school where I was part of a council that helped to organise clubs and activities in school, providing support to the captains and presidents leading those clubs. So I hope to be able to use that experience and contribute to the community here at Sciences Po as well.

Q3.⁠ ⁠⁠What are your top three priorities for the next year?

My top three priorities for the next year would be, first of all, integration between the French and international community through sport, because I think it’s a great platform where we can break through language barriers and cultural barriers. 

Second of all, it would be to foster an even stronger team spirit, not only within each individual sports club, but also across the different clubs so that, you know, the team seems even stronger and more cohesive together when we go for WEIS and Minicrit.

And lastly, I would like to focus on increasing the visibility and participation in our clubs because I think there’s a lot of potential for, for example, AS social media platforms to be leveraged and encourage more people to join the clubs together.

Q4.⁠ ⁠⁠If viewers could take away just one thing from this interview what should it be?

If you take away one thing from this interview, it should be that you should vote for me because I’m a reliable and committed individual. 

Tom Marangone 

Q1: ⁠Could you quickly introduce yourself? 

My name is Tom, and I’m running for AS.

Q2.⁠ ⁠⁠Why are you running for the position you are running for? What makes you the best candidate for it?

I would like to be part of the presidency as well as being treasurer or event manager because I think it would allow me to have a concrete impact on the AS and participate actively in the creation of events that could be more inclusive. I don’t feel I would be suitable to be secretary or head of communications because I don’t have the necessary skills.

I want to give back that enthusiasm and inclusivity the AS Board gave us and was able to spread this year. Since I’ve been in close contact with AS through the events they hosted throughout the year, I think I know what we should aim for to create more inclusive events open to everyone, even non-sporty people.

Q3.⁠ ⁠⁠What are your top three priorities for the next year?

So my top three priorities for the next year are having at least two big events per month to foster inclusivity by creating, for example, more open events that won’t require any sport aptitude and in collaboration with other associations such as BDA or SPE. For example, we could do a trip with SPE or a photography contest over a spot with the BDA and other events such as bowling or VR games that won’t require any sport aptitude. 

I also want to enable clubs to develop by giving licenses, for example, to big clubs such as the football masculine club, or to give the opportunity for ideas to develop themselves, for example, by creating an ice skating club or a tennis club.

Q4.⁠ ⁠⁠If viewers could take away just one thing from this interview what should it be?

If you could take away just one thing from this interview, I think it is that I want to foster inclusivity in the AS, even if you’re not an extremely sporty person.

Elikya-Louisa Heyman

Q1: ⁠Could you quickly introduce yourself? 

I’m Elikya and I’m running for AS. I’m a member of the cheer team and the rugby team.

Q2.⁠ ⁠⁠Why are you running for the position you are running for? What makes you the best candidate for it?

I want to be the head of communications because I love social media. I made the logo of the rugby female team and I think that I will be able to do amazing things with the AS instagram account. I think that’s made me like the best candidate for head of communications. 

Q3.⁠ ⁠⁠What are your top three priorities for the next year?

My priorities for next year will be for everyone to feel integrated and welcomed in AS and for it to not be a stressful environment for people. 

I also want to create initiatives for students and to create events and clubs.

And my last priority, I think, is to organize more events and exchange more with other sports teams in Le Havre. I think it’s an important point.

Q4.⁠ ⁠⁠If viewers could take away just one thing from this interview what should it be?

If you could take away just one thing from this interview I think it’s that I have so many ideas. I really want to be a board member because I think that I can change things and I can make things better than they are. Also, my logo for the female rugby team is incredible so if you want me to make any other logo I can do it! And don’t forget: Vote Elikya for AS!

Junsei Sone

Q1: ⁠Could you quickly introduce yourself? 

I’m Junsei and I’m running for AS. I’m Japanese. I’m currently in the football club, the rugby club and the basketball club but I’d like to do more.

Q2.⁠ ⁠⁠Why are you running for the position you are running for? What makes you the best candidate for it?

I’m very passionate about sports. I’ve loved sports since I was little and I’ve really enjoyed taking part in the AS events and participating in the sports clubs since I came to Le Havre. I want to create more bonds and have more fun with everyone on campus through doing sports. 

I think I’m a good candidate because of my passion. I’m kind of famous for always being late to classes and being a bit lazy but for sports I’m extremely passionate. I kind of suck at ball sports and I’m not the most sociable person so I know it can be intimidating to participate in events or be a part of sports clubs. I want to make the sports events or sports clubs easier and more inclusive for beginners to participate and do more events so that people who don’t really do sports that much can also participate and have fun.

Q3.⁠ ⁠⁠What are your top three priorities for the next year?

1. WEIS

2. Minicrit

3. Getting enough grades to graduate!

Q4.⁠ ⁠⁠If viewers could take away just one thing from this interview what should it be?

Vote for Junsei!

Rémi Villain-Hooge

Q1: ⁠Could you quickly introduce yourself? 

I’m Rémi and I’m running for AS. I love sports and I always did a lot of sports. I think the main point when you’re an AS member, it’s not only to do sports, but to promote it and to organize events to do so. I would like to involve as many people as possible in the project of AS by doing more events and being more inclusive. 

Q2.⁠ ⁠⁠Why are you running for the position you are running for? What makes you the best candidate for it?

I’m running for many positions because in AS we don’t exactly campaign for one position. I think I would be glad to be like vice president because it’s a post where you have to do lots of interesting things and be in touch with every field of the board and with lots of people, which is very interesting. It’s something I love, and that’s why I was part of the LHMUN organization team. If I can’t be vice president, I will also be glad to have any other position, but more specifically event manager, because of the same reason.

I think I’m the best candidate for those posts, even if the other candidates are very good. I’m sure if they are elected, they will do very good work. I think I have lots of experience in project management because, for example, I’m trying to set up a humanitarian project in the Philippines where I have to work in a team and to raise money, to find partnerships, organize events to promote it. It’s something I’m used to doing and that’s why I think I could be good and I’m also good at getting along with people. I love to talk with people and to be friends with everyone basically. That’s why I think you should vote for me.

Q3.⁠ ⁠⁠What are your top three priorities for the next year?

I would like to involve more people in AS through new events. I would also like to extend the partnership we have with the other clubs of LH. For example, the football, rugby or volleyball clubs could do a match or a different event with other clubs of other schools in Le Havre. 

I want to do something like a talk with speakers where we can talk about inequalities in sports. 

And lastly, I would like to be more inclusive and I want to promote health on campus. I want everyone to feel that this campus is a sporty campus and everyone be happy to do sports.

Q4.⁠ ⁠⁠If viewers could take away just one thing from this interview what should it be?

I think if I want you to remember something of my candidacy, it’s my determination. I think I have lots of ideas and I really would like to set them up and I’m really determined for that and that’s why I think you should vote for me.