Wiser.org Blog

I  recently met up with Xavier Grimault, one of WiserEarth’s 33 editors who actively support members of the WiserEarth community. Xavier is 27 years old. He lives in Paris and works for a NGO called CCFD Terre Solidaire which is a leading French international solidarity and development organisation.

He shared his story with me, and specifically what inspired him to become an activist;

“I was already involved in 3 student associations while I was still at college, but none of my friends were. At the time, I thought to myself, how is it that all these people around me are not engaged in student action, but I am?  After some reflection, I realized that my activism stems back to my childhood. When I was growing up, I was a quite a bit taller than a lot of the other children around me and my mum used to ask me if I could take care of the other kids around me.  I think that was really the start of my desire to help others and participate actively in civil society.”

Xavier’s education also acted as an important influence on his life. He went to a school call ‘Diwan’. It was run by a not-for-profit organization that enabled its students to be taught entirely in Breton (the local dialect of Brittany). “Normally French schools only teach in French” he told me, “But my mum was Breton and she found her values were represented very strongly through the nonprofit that had set up the school”. Those values included tolerance and respect for others as well as an appreciation of the importance of culture and diversity.

When I asked why he had joined WiserEarth, Xavier said that it seemed a very natural place for him to be as he knew no other place where he could find like-minded individuals from all over the world involved in the issues that interest him. “The international dimension is what interests me the most”, he says. “This is because the issues we are trying to address in France transcend borders. They don’t just exist here”. “I feel that there is a certain freedom that is offered on WiserEarth. I believe that it is important to have a space where people are truly free to be themselves”.

Xavier can be found here on WiserEarth. Please feel free to drop by and say hello.

Here are just a few of the groups on WiserEarth that Xavier is a member of : InformEthic, WiserFrance, Fundraising 101, Earth Charter

We have incredible opportunities to create change around us when we come together to support and shine a light on people like Xavier and his work as an activist. Join us and share your support as we campaign to help the WiserEarth network continue to grow and flourish.

Tags: community, editor, France, wiserearth