Paris, 9 march 2015

Fondation CNP Assurances and the Civic Service Agency announce their partnership. The goal of this venture is to set up a social innovation project "for young people and by young people", to reduce social inequalities in terms of access to healthcare. Fondation CNP Assurances will contribute €300,000 to this experiment which will involve 50 young volunteers. They will conduct preventive actions and promote health awareness among other youngsters, as from 2015.

The Civic Service Agency and Fondation CNP Assurances aim to develop a social policy innovation that will reduce social inequalities in healthcare access, by calling on a number of young Civic Service volunteers to work in health prevention projects with their peers.
Within the host organizations approved by the Civic Service Agency (youth centres, associations, universities...) and who will be involved in this experiment together with Fondation CNP Assurances, the youngsters will be assigned to public service missions such as information, promotion, awareness and prevention on health issues. For example, addictive and risk behaviours, the health-related rights of young people, increasing awareness of the importance of balanced diets among vulnerable young people. The first missions will begin in the first half of 2015 and will be jointly monitored and assessed by the partners, in conjunction with the host organizations and locally elected representatives concerned.

After having served major public health issues for over twenty years, Fondation CNP Assurances decided in late 2014 to step up its commitment, aiming to make the reduction of social inequalities in health its priority. It supports national projects which reflect its values and involve a youth element. It is within this framework that it offered its services as a partner of the Civic Service Agency to build projects with a high degree of social utility.

"Through its Foundation, CNP Assurances is committed to equal opportunities in health. As such, we are delighted to be contributing to this challenge alongside the Civic Service Agency, whose rigour, professionalism and values are a guarantee that this project will be successful. Furthermore, we are convinced that it is through having young people work with their peers that we can encourage them to increase awareness of issues directly affecting them" explains Frédéric Lavenir, CEO of CNP Assurances and chair of Fondation CNP Assurances.

With 85,000 volunteers since its creation in 2010, the Civic Service provides an opportunity for every young person aged 16 to 25 to perform a community service task lasting between 6 and 12 months, thus contributing to the public interest. The proposed areas of action range from health to solidarity, from culture to education. The Civic Service, much more than a mere policy for young people, aims to work towards togetherness, national cohesion between the generations and social diversity. In his Report entitled Liberty, Equality, Citizenship: A Civic Service for All1, François Chérèque, president of the Civic Service Agency, put forward 29 proposals including opening up the Civic Service to private funds. This is one of the major paths for possible development, consistent with its objectives and spirit, in particular because it allows for a better understanding and recognition of youth commitment.

"The recourse to private funds should be read as a desire to ensure that encouraging the participation of young people in their destiny is a cause everyone can support. That is why all political and economic stakeholders should be playing their part" continued François Chérèque, president of the Civic Service Agency. "This first social innovation partnership with Fondation CNP Assurances is a strong signal for the future of the Civic Service and ensures that as from 1st June, any young person who wishes to undertake Civic Service can do just that. We aim to increase the number of our volunteers to 150,000 as soon as possible, to implement the vision of the President of the Republic."

1 Report submitted in July 2014 by François Chérèque, president of the Civic Service Agency, to Najat Vallaud-Belkacem, former Minister of Women's Rights, Urban Affairs, Youth and Sport