Marseille Teen Honored as France’s Top Young Activist for Community Work

Amine Kessaci is number 1 in the "Top 35 of Positive Young Leaders", a ranking established by the newspaper Les Échos and the NGO Positive Planet. The 19-year-old Marseille resident was honored on Monday, January 30 for his commitment to the association Conscience, which he created in July 2020 to help the youth and residents of the northern neighborhoods of Marseille, and fight against all forms of discrimination.

The young man dedicated this award to "all the young people of Marseille and France". "I wish that the young people who have been told that everything is impossible, that getting involved is useless and that they are incapable of doing something would sweep all that away. You have to believe in the impossible," he said. A first-year law student, Amine Kessaci grew up in the Frais-Vallon neighborhood, in the 13th arrondissement of Marseille.

The loss of his brother in December 2020, in a settling of scores, led him to strengthen his action towards his target. "My brother is unfortunately not the first, nor the last, to perish from a settling of scores. It has strengthened our determination to proudly carry this fight. The goal is to change things in the neighborhoods," Amine Kessaci confides to France 3. His association now has 22 committees installed in several cities in France.

In September 2021, the young man had questioned President Emmanuel Macron, during a visit to Marseille. "We have to show that coming from the neighborhoods means absolutely nothing. Anything is possible. We will be proud of ourselves when we have managed to change things. To make sure that fewer young people fall into drugs for example."