This year, the Rencontres de Babyloan (Babyloan Meetings), an annual event which sets out to heighten French people’s awareness of microfinance and to which l’Atelier BNP Paribas was invited, reserved a special place for children.

Explaining solidarity issues to children between the ages of 8 and 12 was a major challenge which Babyloan, an online internet microcredit platform, decided to take up on 8 November, at a “no adults allowed” conference.

Renowned guests Maria Nowak, President of ADIE and the “doyenne” of microcredit in France, and Arnaud Poissonnier, founder of Babyloan, explained the advantage of using microcredit in developing the social economy.

“Since the beginning of the site we considered microfinance to be an excellent educational way to teach kids how to help others… The difficulty is not to scare them [the children], therefore you need to present solidarity and what is going on in the world in an educational manner… finding all the right words.” – Arnaud Poissonnier

To liven up the meeting, clowns from Pile Poil et Compagnie joined the children, encouraging them to take part in the show, answer questions and to interact.

To capture and retain the children’s attention, a “Who am I?” quiz was organised. Each question submitted to the audience, followed by the answer given by Maria Nowak or Arnaud Poissonnier, related to a topic raising awareness of the basic challenges of life: access to water and food, the importance of caring for the environment, sustainable development, and solidarity in general.

Teaching concepts such as sustainable development or the environment to the youngest members of society is a key task, as they will be the ones to relay and develop the message of greater solidarity. It is vital for them to be aware of these issues, as Maria Nowak observed, in order to “lay the ground for a better world”.

“The issue is very simple, we learn everything when we are young, a lot easier than when we are grown up, and the spirit is already established… so I find it wonderful that these children already know about sustainability and protecting the environment…” -Maria Nowak

“Laying the ground for a better world” was a formula much appreciated by the children and adults present. The children, who had not previously been aware of the issues, went away full of enthusiasm and conviction, ready to convince others!

As for the speakers, who never doubted the ability of the youngsters to assimilate these concepts, they were delighted with their audience.