A KEDGE Alumna named State Secretary for persons with disabilities

She is among the new arrivals since Emmanuel Macron took office and announced his new cabinet on Wednesday, May 17. She will, therefore, replace, Ségolène Neuville, but her secretariat will now be directly attached to the Prime Minister, Edouard Philippe. 

The least we can say is that it is not a coincidence if Sophie Cluzel was named State Secretary for persons with disabilities. At age 56, she has been involved in supported disabled persons for many years - notably by advocating for their schooling and professional integration. A mother of four, including a daughter who has down's syndrome, this KEDGE Business School Alumna has also been the President of the National Federation of associations working with disabled students since 2011. She also founded several other associations, including "SAIS 92" (support and information services for schooling disabled children) and "Grandir à l’école", which deals specifically with down's syndrome.

In 2012, she also organised the first Grenelle Integration Forum for disabled youth in society, which was largely recognised by specialised associations for the progress it contributed to making possible. 

During the latest presidential campaign, Sophie Cluzel often called out candidates regarding the obstacles remaining in the field. Emmanuel Macron and his teams heard this call, and the candidate had promised at the time that the position of State Secretary for disabled persons would be attached to the prime minister. 

It should be noted that the schooling of disabled persons has become more and more important over the past decade, as the number of disabled children in regular schools has doubled. 

In a report published in 2016, the National Council for the evaluation of school system estimated that "School buildings are far from meeting the requirements in terms of accessibility. Disabled students are still often separated from other students in middle school and in high school. Finally, families are often unaware of possible pedagogical accommodations."

For a number of years, KEDGE Business School has been careful to ensure that its campuses are accessible to the disabled and wishes to congratulate and wish Sophie Cluzel great success in her new mission. On its end, the school will accelerate its investment at the start of the next school year by creating a certification to raise awareness among future graduates about managing the needs of disabled persons. This measure will come in addition to support received by our partners Volkswagen France and BPI France to accommodate disabled students on our campuses. 

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