Investing in youth
With a € 200 million loan, the CEB is supporting the Département (county) of Seine-Saint-Denis, France, in tackling the lack of education among its youth.
One of
France's prime heavy industry locations in the past, today this area north of
Paris is known for high unemployment and poverty. 58% of the population is
under 40 years of age but 30% of young people have no qualifications and unemployment
rates are considerably higher than the national average.
Seine-Saint-Denis is addressing these challenges with an ambitious multi-annual programme of investments to renovate and modernise its lower secondary schools (for 11-15 year-olds).
With the help of CEB funds, the county will build 11 such schools by 2020, to cope with population growth and guarantee education and training for young people.
The project will improve the quality of service and access to public facilities for the local population.
The focus of the county council’s investment programme on the
complementary fields of education and families should help create conditions
for alleviating social hardship, combating exclusion and achieving an overall
more sustainable development dynamic.