The CCDS invites AUP students to develop public interests projects supervised by the Center’s Fellows that will participate in theĚý, a student competition organized by the Tocqueville Foundation:
“The Challenge's objectives are to harness the desire for engagement and the connected nature of the Millennial generation in order to inspire passion for the field by providing hands-on opportunities to explore and design viable solutions to specific societal challenges. With co-construction at its heart this program focuses on the collective thinking and the added value to craft a project with multiple stakeholders and points of view.
The Tocqueville Challenge brings together 3 key-components of civil society:Ěýstudents, mentors from the business world and associations, with the purpose of giving life to innovative projects. Each team of 3 to 6 students will choose a cause or an NGO and develop a concrete solution (e.g. develop a business plan, a new program, refine a communication strategy) with the help of their mentor.
This experience will allow them to work in contact with several types of actors, develop their professional soft and hard skills, and the winning teams will receive a financial prize to implement their project the year following the Challenge.”
In previous years, the projects that participated in the Challenge were conceived and developed in theĚýD.Lab coursesĚýrun by the Center’s Fellows
CCDS Supervisor:ĚýRoman Zinigrad
Project Title:ĚýEducation United: California Immigrant Student Resource Center
AUP Student Team:ĚýCarolyn Franano, Jessa Josephson, Ashley O’Hara
Project Title:ĚýEducation Justice: Ghana Group
AUP Student Team:ĚýMaryam Hejeij, Vanessa Noye
Project Title:ĚýRessources Familiales sur la Radicalisation
CCDS Supervisors:ĚýStephen W. Sawyer,ĚýRoman Zinigrad
AUP Student Team:ĚýStephanie Bergon, Fatimata-Atty Germaine Djibrine, Emma Richardson
AUP undergraduatesĚýcompetedĚýin the 2022 Tocqueville Challenge with a project that was designed in the fall 2021 session of the CCDS Democracy Lab. TheĚýAUPĚýteam designedĚýa project aimingĚýto assist the families of incarceratedĚýpersonsĚýas a result of radicalization. Using testimonials, educational tools, and reading materials, the purpose of the projectĚýwasĚýto create a network that connects families to different support systems. The project’s aimĚýwasĚýto incorporate family support as an integral role ofĚýreintegrationĚýand evaluate how it could be effectively used as a toolĚýof rehabilitation and support.