Invited by the Rotary Club France at the Cercle de l’Interallié, Jacques Rougerie placed youth at the heart of his address, delivering a clear message: the ocean is not only a heritage to be protected — it is a horizon of commitment, knowledge, and innovation for future generations.
Speaking before an attentive and open-minded audience, he emphasized the strategic importance of the ocean for the future of humanity. Still largely unexplored, it holds immense scientific and technological potential, provided its development respects the balance of living ecosystems.
For young architects, engineers, researchers, and entrepreneurs, the ocean represents a vast field of opportunity. It is also the foundation of the Blue Economy, which is expected to play a structuring role in the decades ahead by combining growth, innovation, and environmental responsibility.
Jacques Rougerie also presented the work of the Jacques Rougerie Foundation – Académie des beaux-arts, which is actively engaged in addressing coastal dynamics and the future of shoreline living environments. In the face of rising sea levels and climate transformations, he stressed the necessity of developing medium- and long-term solutions tailored to the complexity of geographical and societal realities.
Through its international network of Junior Ambassadors across five continents, the Foundation supports a new generation capable of imagining and building sustainable living environments rooted in local territories and open to the world.
The Foundation extends its sincere thanks to Leo Attias and to Rotary Club France for their invitation and for the quality of the discussions.