Industry and music team up for a competition: entries are open!

• The Grand Slam Indus’Contest is a “2023 Industry Week” action, to heighten awareness of industrial professions.
• This music competition, open to middle-school students, is held in the Lacq-Pau-Tarbes Industrial Territory.
• In its capacity as a major industrial player, TotalEnergies is a stakeholder in young people’s education and first steps in the professional world, and fully backs this innovative initiative.

An inter-middle-school competition open to 8th and 9th grade students, the Grand Slam Indus’Contest was created to respond to local employability issues in the medium term. The concept is an innovative one, as the youngsters have to use slam poetry for their entry - a poetic and musical theatrical style, for which French artist Grand Corps Malade is famous - and write a text related to the industrial activities in the territory.
 
The aim of this approach is first and foremost to understand how young people perceive their local industrial sector. Through their musical creations and, essentially the written content, the organizers are hoping to understand young people’s vision of industry. The objective? To gain a better understanding of how the students see things, and adapt awareness-raising campaigns for professions of the future that are in high-demand in the territory, explains the group of public and private players (the French State through the DDETS Pyrénées-Atlantiques and Hautes-Pyrénées and the French National Education services, the Nouvelle-Aquitaine and Occitanie regions, associations of municipalities, the UIMM Adour-Atlantique, France Chimie Nouvelle-Aquitaine, the UIMM Occitanie Adour Pyrénées, the UIMM Adour training hub and local companies).

“As industrial players involved in local life, we share the ambitions of the Lacq-Pau-Tarbes industrial territory, to help young people discover and take interest in our professions. It’s against this backdrop that we are supporting the Grand Slam Indus’Contest.” explains Thierry Renard, Head of the TotalEnergies Site in Pau and HR functions in the Company. “Young people’s education and professional inclusion is one of the main areas in which we focus our actions, and raising awareness among students aged 12-14 in such a fun way seemed like a great idea to us. For this new edition, all the partners in the process would like as many middle-schools as possible in the Lacq-Pau-Tarbes Industrial Territory to participate. And to make sure that happens, we need to make sure the competition is advertised.” he adds.

Write and deliver as a team to win

The first edition was held in 2022, and won by Navarrenx's Collège des Remparts middle school. The students in 9th grade worked on the theme of industrial activity in their area and presented a rhythmic song that won over the audience. TotalEnergies invited the finalists, their parents and their teachers to watch a Section Paloise rugby match in the VIP box to share a festive occasion.

Each middle-school, whether public or private, specialized or not, can take part in this innovative educational initiative by entering one or more teams - the only proviso being that they have to be located in one of the following associations of municipalities: Communauté de communes de Lacq-Orthez, Béarn des Gaves, Haut-Béarn, Vallée d’Ossau, Pays de Nay, Nord Est Béarn, Luys en Béarn et Haute-Bigorre, or in the connurbation communities of Tarbes-Lourdes-Pyrénées and Pau-Béarn-Pyrénées.

The team must comprise 3 a 4 students enrolled for the academic year 2023 – 2024 and in 8th and/or 9th grade. They will deliver a slam with at least one written text and an audio recording, lasting no more than four minutes. They can also add a video clip, though this is optional. After a pre-selection phase, the shortlisted teams will take part in the grand finale.

To take part in the competition, simply enroll your middle-school by sending an e-mail to here, and stating the name of the establishment and a reference contact to exchange information..
What are you waiting for? Entries are open from the first day back to school in September until September 31, 2023. If you require any further information, you can contact the Lacq-Pau-Tarbes Industrial Territory team at the following e-mail address: [email protected] or by telephone at +33 (0)7.60.08.12.98