It concerned about ten classes and students from the Nice region and took place in the presence of Adolphe Colrat, Prefect of the Alpes-Maritimes, and Eric Ciotti, MP and President of the department, as well as Ida Hubinois. Decorated with the Legion of Honor in 2010 as a particularly valiant former resistance fighter, she was also “the youngest French resistant” according to the Azuréen MP.
“Cultivating what unites us through civic values”
This is what motivates François Jacquot, the departmental president of the National Order of Merit, when he presides over the award ceremony. The National Education Awards are presented by the National Association of Members of the National Order of Merit and aim to reward students’ actions, their behavior, and civic actions in and out of school. They also aim to congratulate the teaching staff and educational teams involved in these initiatives, who have mentored or even proposed them.
The awards are distinguished in two categories, “individual” and “collective.” To provide a concrete example, let’s take the first prize in “individual.” It was awarded to the charming Miss Coralie Bruno, a student of the Lycée Professionnel Les Coteaux de Cannes. She is involved in numerous volunteer social actions such as helping the homeless, and she is also a class delegate and a model for a Parisian agency. In addition to the gold medal and the diploma awarded to her and her headmaster, she received a tablet computer as well as a check from the National Order of Merit and shopping vouchers for various stores.
“Positively shaping the France of tomorrow and the future citizens that you are”
Claire Lovisi, Rector of the Academy of Nice and Chancellor of the universities, was also awarded but with a different prize, the 50th-anniversary commemorative medal of the National Order of Merit for all her actions promoting education and equality. She detailed some measures taken since the beginning of the year and the Charlie Hebdo attacks to strengthen the work around school values, a fundamental foundation for students’ proper construction as future citizens:
“In the Academy of Nice, our actions are directed towards schools and educational teams to support them. We have thus created a civic pathway that follows the student from primary to high school and offers explanations and moments of reflection around the subject, as well as a civic reserve made up of volunteers ready to help schools carry out various actions.”
Classes from different schools were therefore honored in the category of collective awards thanks to their work related to the theme of citizenship throughout the year. These include the Lycée Professionnel Paul Valéry in Menton, the Collège Jean Cocteau in Beaulieu-sur-Mer, the Lycée Thierry Maulnier in Nice, the École Alphonse Daudet in Menton, the Lycée Professionnel Hutinel in Cannes, and the Collège du Parc Impérial in Nice.
All received their gifts and diplomas, just like young Loan Martin, this 15-year-old from Antibes, decorated with the National Civism Award last December 3rd after saving a 56-year-old woman from drowning during a family vacation.
“It is important to congratulate those who deserve it”
Eric Ciotti, however, took the opportunity to temper the emerging excitement over these proofs of recognition:
“It is important to congratulate those who deserve it. However, recognition is not something to be requested; it is not something to be begged for. It comes from other people recognizing a particular quality in you, and it is not an end in itself but rather a beginning, the beginning of responsibilities.”
