New perspectives for young Jersey leaders on Franco-British initiative - Jersey Evening Post
by Emily Moore · Jersey Evening PostPosted inBusiness
New perspectives for young Jersey leaders on Franco-British initiative
by Emily Moore 22 July 202621 July 2026
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YOUNG leaders with connections to Jersey were among the delegates taking part in an initiative designed to strengthen collaboration in areas such as business, policy, science and the arts.
Representing Jersey on this year’s Franco-British Young Leaders Programme were Tautenay associate policy consultant Róisín O’Brien, NCFE chief operating officer Philip Le Feuvre and TPA social and innovation lead Noémie Cohen.
Launched shortly after Brexit at the 2016 Franco-British Summit by former French President François Hollande and then-Prime Minister David Cameron, the programme is designed to “deepen understanding and collaboration between France and the UK and create lasting bilateral dialogue at the highest level”.
Its objective is to “build a generation of 21st-century leaders who will keep Franco-British relations at heart and shape its future across all sectors of our societies and economies”.
“The young leaders’ programme was set up at a time when relations between Europe, and particularly France and Britain, were the worst they had been in living memory,” said Philip. “The programme was therefore established as a way of trying to foster connections between young people from a range of backgrounds – from the arts and the military to politics and business – who are likely to progress into roles where they will have real influence over one or more of these areas.
“Jersey became involved last year, when the first cohort of Islanders joined the programme in a move which reflects Jersey’s recognition that, in a post-Brexit environment, our relationships with both the UK and France, as our closest neighbour, are critical.”
Attracted to apply for the programme because of its broad cross-section of participants, Philip added: “Delegates included a former UK cabinet minister, a French member of parliament, an opera singer and someone who works in counter-terrorism for the London Met, giving a really interesting range of perspectives.”
And that range of perspectives proved, said Noémie, to be one of the highlights of the cohort’s recent visit to Paris, during which they met French Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu, toured the Élysée Palace, took part in round-table discussions on health and innovation and international collaboration and visited leading institutions including the Institut Pasteur.
“What was really interesting for me was the opportunity to meet people in such a wide range of industries and take part in discussions and roundtables which showcased so many different views,” she said. “It was fantastic to see and gave me so much knowledge which I can now apply to my role in marketing and advertising.”
Among the topics covered, said the delegates, were crisis management – ranging from pandemics to terrorist attacks – the impact of heatwaves and the resilience of a country’s systems.
Meanwhile, a series of talks featuring journalists, economists and the chief financial officer of Kering Group, a multinational luxury goods holding company, gave the delegates insights into the “economic and cultural elements of Anglo-French relations, as well as the challenges and opportunities that come with running a world-renowned group”.
“We also had a briefing from the British Council, and a session with leaders from Paris Opera, which focused on leadership and change,” said Philip. “The talks were fascinating, covering topics as varied as how the hospital managed the casualties of the Bataclan terror attacks of 2015 to how an organisation with an annual turnover of over £12bn thinks about group strategy.”
“It was also interesting to hear stories of people’s crisis moments and the tricky moments they have experienced on their journey,” said Noémie. “A lot of the focus during the week was on how you pivot when something unexpected happens and how you can try to prepare for unexpected events.
“This is something that really resonated because, as leaders, we all know that things will happen in our workplaces and, even if we don’t know exactly what or when those events will be, we need to be as prepared as possible.”
On this subject, Philip said that one of the key areas for business leaders to think about was resilience.
“You can invest in having a crisis plan but when a real crisis hits an organisation, the resilience of your personnel is the key factor to your success,” he said, “because, ultimately, you can try to implement a command-and-control structure but having individuals and leaders who can make tactical decisions in the moment will determine how you get through that crisis.
“To illustrate this point, a lot of conversations referenced the Ukraine conflict, and it was said that one of the reasons Ukraine had been more affected than Russia was because of its devolved leadership, something which applies to any organisation in any crisis. Thinking about your organisational resilience and capability in terms of personnel and dedicated decision making, and investing in the training and development to support that, is therefore really important.”
With the three Jersey delegates joining ten French-based and ten UK-based members of the cohort, Noémie said the multicultural nature of the programme “enhanced learning opportunities”.
“It was also a great way to increase awareness of Jersey and the work opportunities in the Island,” she said. “A lot of delegates didn’t really know much about Jersey, so it was great to be able to put the Island on the map a bit more.”
“Jersey’s prominence within the group was noted in a positive way,” added Philip. “With the three delegates from this year’s cohort joined by last year’s two representatives, there were five people from the Island within the group, which really demonstrates that Jersey is punching above its weight.
“There was also a real sense of optimism generally that British-French relationships are much stronger again, and that young people have a role to play in promoting and further strengthening those relationships.”
Following the visit, the government also confirmed that there were plans to hold a young leaders’ seminar in Jersey next year, while several European ambassadors are due to visit the Island. This will start with a visit this month from the Austrian, Czech, Slovenian and Hungarian deputy heads of mission.
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