MARIE RAMAUGÉ

After a trilingual Bachelor’s degree focusing on economics, history, law and politics in Sciences Po Paris, she did an Erasmus year in Bonn, Germany. Between her Bachelor and Master’s in European Affairs, she spent a year in the military. During her year as a military assistant to the base commander at the 133th Air Force Base in Nancy-Ochey, she had the opportunity to supervise journalists, prepare a weekly specialized press review, and manage the training of young soldiers.

“Be determined, not motivated.”

Q: Tell us a few things about your country, and also your life's story!

I come from France. I am grateful to have grown up in this country, because I had an easy childhood, full of happiness. But thanks to my curiosity for other people, and thanks to life experiences in different worlds (such as the army) I am aware that here too, inequalities remain strong. Different groups within the population have difficulties when it comes to having the place they deserve in society. These facts motivate me to act for better communication between the different parts of the population. France is supposed to be the country of democracy, but I think it can be even more democratic by embracing communication and empathy. That’s what I would like to enhance in my future journalist career.

Q: What was your experience of the global pandemic crisis? Did it change your life and/or your views about the world? If so, how?

On a personal level, the pandemic made me think about societal issues such as ecology, globalisation, and our responsibility towards each other. On the other hand, I also had the time to reflect on myself: who do I want to become? What do I want to change for myself? Being alone with my thoughts, I realized I wanted to become a journalist. I finally had space and time to reflect on those questions. This year, I am in Berlin for a year abroad. It is a struggle to meet people with the Lockdown. I can only meet the students in my dorm. But we learn to have fun in the frame that the German government decides. We enjoy every piece of freedom we can get. We enjoy walking in the forest together and playing football. These are precious moments, and I won’t forget what they teach me: being with other people is important, and so is enjoying the freedom I have.

Q: What are some of the key challenges in your society currently?

I think that one key challenges of my society, in France, is the recognition of all gender and sexual identities and orientations. It is the very anchored idea that human lives are unequal that creates discriminations on the streets, in public places, but also inside the homes and even in the self-perception of discriminated people. In recent years, people with alternative gender and sexual identities and orientations have been able to be more visible. This has led to some adaptations of the law, such as the opening of civil marriage for same sex couples. I feel that this trend will continue to grow, even if a large part of the society resists to change.

Another challenge for the next few years is to introduce ecology in politics. I feel that the population is quite sensitive to this topic. But until very recently, only green parties put ecology in the centre of their programs. Nowadays, other political parties are putting ecology at the core of their program. I hope that this trend will continue and get stronger, so that our economy, energy, and practices, can take a real turn.

Q: Can you share with us some of the hurdles that you have had to overcome in your life so far? How did you handle them? 

The hurdles I had to overcome were mainly in my head. For a long time, I didn’t believe in my capacities. I was always thinking “there is someone more intelligent than you that can do the job.” It took me years to realise I wanted to work as a journalist. I couldn’t picture myself in my dream job. That’s also why I had the idea of taking part in a mentoring program. I wanted to understand how I could believe in my capacities. With Roula Douglas, a wonderful Lebanese journalist, author, teacher, and former biologist, I got to identify my imposter syndrome. I realized I was creating hurdles to my success, because of my fear of not being good enough. I am now working on my self-confidence, to begin my journalist career in the best of conditions, free of mental hurdles.

Q: If you were to ask one thing from our current leaders, what would it be?

I have a lot of very concrete actions that I would like to see discussed in politics, but one thing that seems important to me is empathy. In my studies of political sciences, we didn’t speak about empathy. However, I think politics would earn a lot by embracing the other’s feelings. It would help make better decisions, more fair decisions. It would also help to be closer to citizens. It would help to truly understand them, and address their concerns. It would help speaking to citizens with the right language, the right tone. I think that I understood the importance of empathy seeing the management of the COVID crisis by Jacinda Ardern, the Prime Minister of New Zealand. She was able to take decisions that were perceived as fair, allowing smooth and willing cooperation with the citizens.

Q: Why is the role of a mentor important for you?

I have a lot of mentors in my life. My family and my friends are all people that I admire and that I learn from. I discovered only recently how having a mentor outside of your personal circle is precious. The mentor has more distance from you, feelings are not involved. It helps to identify your hurdles, your aspirations, your strengths. I like that we both learn from each other, and have rich discussions. It is also interesting to have insights from someone that already has experience in the field you want to work in. I can receive information that only a lifetime experience can give me.

Q: Do you have a lesson that life has taught you and you would like to share? 

For a long time, I thought that being a good student, doing internships, would be enough to succeed in life. Little by little, I am realizing that one also needs to work on their professional network, to create their own opportunities, to take initiatives and risks.

Q: Name a project, a foundation or a person in your country that you think is doing great work in helping improve other people's lives!

For me, and a lot of my generation, commitment also happens through social media. There is one person that fills a real need when it comes to student support. The name of her account is “Grimpe”, meaning “Climb”. The account helps students find their strength and the resources to build their academic and young professional career. Her advice is always empowering, and her recommendations are always very helpful.

Q: What are some of the challenges that women in your country face and what efforts are being made towards gender equality?

In my country, women face discriminations that are quite invisible for a large part of the society. These discriminations include street harassment; remarks made about our bodies; sexualized advertisement, films, and images; the obligation to adhere to beauty standards; being educated to be nice, shy, and obedient. Because of that, it is harder to hold positions of power in a professional capacity. Laws are evolving towards more and more protection for women and other discriminated populations. However, discrimination is still an everyday experience for women.

Q: Share with us a phrase, a poem or a story that you love or you find interesting!

“Be determined, not motivated.” This sentence means a lot to me. It means that having a clear aim will help you work every day to achieve your goal, while motivation is just an emotion that can change from one day to another. I want to make society more democratic through working as a journalist, and that is what drives me every day.

Q: Can you share with us a project that you would like to make happen for your country or a cause that you are passionate about? 

I would really like to see media that allows communication between very different parts society. A media organisation created by people from very different backgrounds, to share information from their point of views to other people from diverse backgrounds. It is the role of journalists to ease the democratic debate, and such a media organisation would perfectly play this role.