Three months later, from August 10 to 14, she will be head of delegation and delegate for ecological issues at the Y20 in Washington, which will prepare, according to the same principle as the Y7, the G20 summit organized in December in Miami.
Clara Furlan is not there by chance. This “voluntary, citizen and volunteer” commitment is the logical continuation of “a natural curiosity to understand the subjects that concern us all”, which has always carried her.
Curiosité naturelle
After a preparatory class at the Lycée Montaigne in Bordeaux, this desire was particularly realized at the EmLyon Business School, where she chose the “international negotiation” option. “I wanted to tackle national and international issues and have the tools to discuss them with people with different positions.”
I had the impression of being a spectator of the story in progress, I wanted to become an actress.”
What follows is a “foundational” experience, according to its term, at the Ministry of Ecological Transition with the negotiating teams of the G7, the G20 and the UN, responsible for energy and environment themes. “I had the impression of being immersed in geopolitics books, of being a spectator of history in progress. I wanted to become an actress.”
Clara Furlan will represent France and the voice of young French people at the Y7 summit in Paris from May 17 to 20. Adrien Thibault
Head of public affairs at Hydrogène de France (HDF Energy) in Blanquefort (33), she applied to the Open Diplomacy institute, which trains the French delegations for Y7 and Y20. After a written report, then an oral one, Clara Furlan was chosen for Y20, then appointed co-president for Y7.
Two different, but complementary, missions: “As co-president, my role is to support delegates towards concrete, innovative and ambitious proposals and to promote consensus, while maintaining a certain neutrality. As a delegate to the Y20, I negotiate on behalf of France and young French people aged 18 to 30, defending our positions against other countries. »
The French delegation will arrive there well prepared. “We have followed training and conducted consultations with students from Sciences Po, business schools, engineers and experts on subjects such as the ecological crisis, artificial intelligence, demography, with the fall in the birth rate, or geopolitics, as we see with the issues around Greenland and the Strait of Hormuz. »
The voice of young people
Faced with what she calls “a polycrisis”, Clara Furlan is convinced that the voices of young people must count. “They have solutions built, documented and worked on, it’s time to listen to them, that’s the key to the message I want to convey.”
How can they make themselves heard? “By the concrete nature of our proposals,” replies Clara Furlan. The challenge is that they do not remain on paper. The work will continue after the negotiations to present and justify them in the public debate and with decision-makers.”
Although she does not in any way represent the voice of her employer in Y7 and Y20, the Bordelaise sees working in a company in the new energies sector as an asset. “It’s complementary. HDF is a French company that exports, which gives me knowledge of the international context and the energy market. There is meaning in what I do on a daily basis for the energy transition. »
I want to continue my civic engagement beyond Y7 and Y20.”
Does his participation in the next two international summits bode well for a future in politics? “What is certain is that I want to continue my civic engagement beyond Y7 and Y20, to continue to be involved in international discussions on issues that are close to my heart such as the energy transition. Today, I feel very good in the sector private, where I chose to return, it is entirely compatible with my personal commitments. »
