Home>Nassim Larfa, Class of 2019
01.02.2023
Nassim Larfa, Class of 2019
Nassim Larfa was selected in the ranking of 35 young positive leaders under 35 years old with the newspaper Les Echos Start and Positive Planet (January 2023).
>CAN YOU DESCRIBE YOUR ACADEMIC AND PROFESSIONAL BACKGROUND?
Before my university education, my educational path took place exclusively in the town of Chelles (77500) where I still live today.
I entered Sciences Po's undergraduate college in 2013 via the Convention d'Éducation Prioritaire (CEP) and then, after a year abroad split between Dubai and New York, I chose the Master in Public Policy where I did my M2 as an apprentice with the Mutuelle Nationale Territoriale (MNT).
After graduation, I joined the Public Affairs Department of the Mutualité Française for two years. In 2020, following the first wave of COVID-19, I joined a consultancy firm specialising in the challenges of an ageing population, where I stayed for only six months. I then had the opportunity to join the Ministry of Solidarity and Health and the General Directorate of Social Cohesion (DGCS) in the midst of a health crisis, where I accompanied the return to normality in the EHPADs and the developments in this field. Finally, in June 2022, I joined the cabinet of the President of the Economic, Social and Environmental Council (CESE) Thierry Beaudet, as an advisor.
WHAT WERE THE MAJOR STAGES IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF YOUR PROFESSIONAL PROJECT?
My career has always been closely linked to two things: my commitment to associations and public policies. I have always been very involved in the priority neighbourhoods of the city (quartiers prioritaires de la ville - QPV), particularly in the Ambition Campus association at Sciences Po, and I have always been keen to work in environments that help advance causes that I consider essential. As a public policy enthusiast, I have naturally held positions aimed at promoting initiatives (Mutualité Française), laws (Ministry of Health) and the vitality of civil society (CESE).
WHAT ARE THE MAIN CHARACTERISTICS OF YOUR POSITION TODAY AS ADVISOR TO THE PRESIDENT OF THE CESE?
The missions allow me to intervene in the whole field of action of the CESE President. The aim is to provide the President, at his request or on his own initiative, with expertise on all the issues on which the CESE has expressed a position. These tasks are part of a more global strategy for communicating and promoting the CESE's activities, defined in close cooperation with the President. My responsibilities include relations with the regions. For example, I am responsible for strengthening the CESE's presence in the regions by working with the regional economic, social and environmental councils (CESER) in drawing up reports and with associations of local elected representatives.
If I were to describe working in a cabinet with a senior executive, I would describe it as demanding and stimulating. Indeed, the global strategy defined and implemented is mixed with the urgencies linked to current events and the President's own wishes. So, for all these reasons, a typical day in the office does not exist.
WHAT WERE THE CONTRIBUTIONS OF YOUR TRAINING AT THE SCHOOL OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS, OF YOUR APPRENTICESHIP, TO THE POSITION YOU HOLD TODAY?
The training I received at the School of Public Affairs has been particularly valuable throughout my (short) professional life. Indeed, its multi-disciplinary and demanding nature allows a perfect understanding of institutional mechanisms. Moreover, it provides the keys to better understand a variety of subjects within often tight deadlines.
The apprenticeship is an opportunity to put into practice the theoretical knowledge acquired during the training. Moreover, my apprenticeship at the Mutuelle Nationale Territoriale (MNT) was an opportunity to integrate an ecosystem. I then joined the Fédération Nationale de la Mutualité Française, thus placing my professional career in the field of social democracy. Today, my functions at the CESE owe a lot to this learning experience.
WOULD YOU HAVE ANY ADVICE FOR A STUDENT OR FUTURE GRADUATE?
My advice would be threefold: first of all, stay focused on your career goals. You should always be one step ahead so that each work experience fits into the final position you want;
Continue to pursue your passion. For example, I continue to play football in what can modestly be described as the best team in the Ile-de-France region, the Senior 3 Project of the US Vaires-sur-Marne (laughs). Keep a balance between professional and personal life.
Finally, it is essential to pursue your associative commitments. Indeed, professional life can tend to "institutionalise" our attitudes. In this respect, involvement in associations brings as much to the person who benefits from the action as to the person who carries it out.
