Home>Victoria Kahn, Class of 2021
08.11.2023
Victoria Kahn, Class of 2021
Can you describe your academic and professional background?
After graduating with a degree in law from Paris I Panthéon-Sorbonne, I went on to study for the Master in public policy, culture policy stream, at the School of Public Affairs. I was then very fortunate to be recruited as a project manager in the Cabinet of the Minister of Culture Roselyne Bachelot-Narquin, reporting to the Adviser in charge of European and international affairs, the French-speaking world and copyright, following my end-of-studies internship. Since 2022, I have been Project Coordinator at FEDORA - Le Cercle Européen des Philanthropes pour l'Opéra et la Danse, a non-profit organisation committed to supporting the future of opera and dance in Europe.
What were the major stages in the development of your career plan?
I'm passionate about a number of areas that sometimes seem difficult to combine, so I built my career plan step by step. Law was the first pillar: studying law enabled me to cultivate my curiosity and interest in the workings of our institutions. The second pillars were very different: singing and acting, both of which were practised within student associations that enabled young people to familiarise themselves with the experience of performing on stage. This artistic development was decisive and set the pace for the rest of my career. Law and public policy, yes, but never without a good dose of culture! That's why the Culture policy stream at the School of Public Affairs was such an obvious choice for me, and the best way to combine all these skills. I was delighted to discover the modules and courses designed to guide future young cultural professionals in their careers. Finally, in parallel with my final year of my Masters at Sciences Po, I began training in opera singing with the pianist and conductor Pierre Muller, which decided me firmly to move closer to the world of opera. Joining FEDORA seemed like the natural next step.
What are the main features of your current position as Administration Coordinator at FEDORA?
I'm in charge of a wide range of tasks for the association, reporting to the Director of FEDORA. Supporting the other departments (Patronage, Communications, Funding Programmes), I carry out and coordinate several aspects of our activity (legal, financial, strategic) as well as the key moments of the Board of Directors and the General Meeting. This role also gives me the opportunity to work in an international context, and above all to give meaning to my work: that of encouraging emerging creation in the fields of opera and dance in Europe.
How has your training at the School of Public Affairs, and more specifically the Culture speciality, contributed to the position you hold today?
To a very large extent, what I learned at the School of Public Affairs helped me to understand how cultural institutions, both public and private, work, and how they are funded. This understanding is now key to my work at FEDORA, which also aims to contribute to the emergence of new economic models for opera and dance. The extremely varied courses at Sciences Po, ranging from political philosophy to accounting, were an opportunity to cultivate my curiosity and thirst for learning, which I find again in my professional life. The diversity of the courses at Sciences Po has prepared me well for managing a wide range of assignments and has given me the adaptability that is essential in day-to-day life.
Would you have any advice for a student or future graduate?
Honour all your passions, even if they seem irreconcilable at first sight. To quote the philosopher of hybridity Gabrielle Halpern: "Hybrids are things that are mixed, heterogeneous and contradictory. In other words, it's the unlikely marriage, it's everything that doesn't fit into our boxes!" I'd like to advise future graduates to cherish and grow this "unlikely marriage" in themselves, which is a real asset. This is also what the Culture programme at the School of Public Affairs is inviting us to do: cultivate all our passions without concessions in order to build a lasting and satisfying career plan.
