Schools welcome ministers in October

In early October, two French ministers visited schools in our A violin can change the world program.

On October 6, Minister of State for Children Charlotte Caubel visited Valmy elementary school at the invitation of Le Havre Mayor and former Prime Minister Édouard Philippe. Our program has been active in Le Havre since 2021, and Ms. Caubel was already very familiar with it. Getting into the classroom gave her an even greater awareness of the value of intensive, in-school violin lessons for very young children.

At the end of a BFM TV segment (available here) on Ms. Caubel’s visit, Mr. Philippe raised the issue of the program’s sustainability. He noted that we are in talks with the French Education Ministry on transferring the program to the government.

On Tuesday, October 10, Sabrina Agresti-Roubache, Minister of State for Citizenship and Urban Affairs, visited Persan, north of Paris. There she met with a class of first-year elementary students at Paul Eluard 2, and responded enthusiastically to the program and the gains participating children have made.

In 2017, Persan became the first municipality in France to adopt A violin can change the world.

Our warmest thanks to the staff, teachers and children at both schools for giving Ms. Caubel and Ms. Agresti-Roubache the opportunity to learn about the program.