00:02Five players from the Champions League winning Paris Saint-Germain are set to
00:07represent the French national team at the World Cup from the 11th of June.
00:11These athletes are role models for an entire generation of young footballers,
00:16including Zilly Merlot and Arthur Barr.
00:19At just 16 years old, they are training at the PSG Academy.
00:23We're going to talk about geography history.
00:25But their lives aren't just about football.
00:28Like other students their age, they attend mandatory classes
00:31and even push back against certain stereotypes about elite-level athletes.
00:36That's because, along with 20 other young footballers,
00:39they competed in a national speech competition at the Palace of Versailles on the 28th of May.
00:44Every day, children's rights are beautiful.
00:47Before their big moment, they polish their five-minute speech about children's rights one last time.
00:52With these final preparations in mind, time to head to Versailles
00:56to take part in the competition organised by Moëlle Leccevin.
01:00Founder of the Promité Education Organisation,
01:03in 10 years he has trained 1,400 footballers to speak publicly.
01:07Many players in training centres come from a sensitive and defamorised area.
01:11So they don't have all the tools to be integrated,
01:14not only in football, but also in football,
01:19because athletes are figures for young people,
01:22they carry messages, and so to carry them effectively,
01:25you have to be able to speak calmly.
01:27Zéliane Arthur took to the stage in front of a panel of figures
01:31from the worlds of sport and politics.
01:34Is it always a right?
01:35A right, by definition, is always a possibility.
01:40After jury deliberations, no prizes for the duo this time round,
01:45but a strong sense of pride.
02:00A sentiment shared by Ousmane Kébé from the AS Monaco team
02:05who won the first prize.
02:07When I was on the scene, I thought about the place where I came from,
02:10where I came from, because it's very important,
02:12because I came from Africa,
02:15so I represented my country, which is the Gambia,
02:17or even all the Africans,
02:19and even the people of color black,
02:21and especially when I live in a neighborhood.
02:23So for me, there, I have really cast a cliché,
02:25because I am passing people
02:27who have maybe a life easier than me today.
02:32So it was a pleasure to cast this cliché.
02:34There you go.
Comments