Day 10 Plenary 1 - Michel Lafortune

At the heart of Cirque du Soleil:a Creator, a Performer and a Citizen

Michel LafortuneSocial Circus Director

Global Citizenship Service

Once upon a time…

• A group of young creators, entrepreneurs, performers, craftsmen, citizens of the street, rooted in the community

• An eagerness to reinvent the circus arts, create new experiences and perform live shows for audiences all over the world

Vision, Mission and Purpose

• A creative-driven vision and mission, inspired by a dream for a better world and aiming at economic and community viability

• Invoke the imagination, provoke the senses and evoke the emotions of people around the world

• In the pursuit of our dreams and in our business practices, we strive to position ourselves in the community as a responsible proponent of change

Cirque du Soleil at a glance

• Founded in 1984• 4000 employees worldwide• 900 artists• 100 different professions• More than 40 nationalities• More than 25 spoken languages• 90 cities visited on 4 continents• More than 80 millions spectators since 1984• 10 million spectators in 2007

Touring showsTouring shows

Miami

Honolulu

Washington SéoulBruxelle Madrid CanberraNew York

Resident shows Resident shows

OrlandoLas Vegas TokyoMacao

Doing business: Belonging and Contributing

An example : Our Head Office in Montreal

• Leadership in the international communities: Business; Arts and entertainment; Circus arts; Social, political and diplomatic

• A major ecological orientation

• A sustainable development approach

• Social action

• Cultural action

• Social Circus

CulturalAction

• Integration of arts and culture into employee’s lives (draws for tickets for employees, PARADE, contemporary art collection)

• Integration of arts and culture into the community (Sundays at Cirque, Journées de la Culture)

• Support for artists and artistic organizations (ticket purchases, support to music, visual arts, theatre, dance, cinema and other disciplines)

Social Responsibility

Social responsibility includes:

• Mission and values

• Governance and business ethics

• Workplace

• Marketplace

• Environment

• Procurement policy

• Human rights

The 1% policy is the tool to develop the fields of social responsibility and community involvement.

Social Circus

A portion of the 1% of Cirque gross revenue devoted to:

• Being involved as who we are and where we come from

• A focus: youth at risk and the involvement of communities

• A vision: putting youth on the global agenda

• Sharing our knowledgethrough training and networking

Video excerpt « Cirque for life »

Cirque du Monde Our Social Circus Program

• A program that relies strongly on community partners involved at each site (Non-profits, government or community organizations, private sector, schools, etc.)

• An international program where circus arts are used to favour the personal and collective development of youth in difficulty

Learning ObjectivesSocial and personal development of youth

JUGGLING MANIPULATION ACROBATICS PYRAMIDSTIGHTROPE UNICYCLE SKIPPING ROPE TRAPEZESTILTS DRAMATIC ACTING STAGE TECHNOLOGY DIRECTING

Develop personal skills:Autonomy Solidarity Self-esteem Physical fitness

Communication Expression Adaptability to change

Improve self-esteem and

give youth an opportunity to express their marginality in a creative way

Create a respectful, safe and fun environment where youth can take risks

by taking up successive and properly paced challengesthrough acquiring the following skills

Social Circus Partners Cirque du Monde program

YOUTH

2- COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS

1- FOUNDING ORGANIZATIONS

3- INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION ORGANIZATIONS

4- PRODUCTION:TECHNICAL SUPPORTARTISTIC SUPPORT

5- UNIVERSITIES6- GOVERNMENTS

8- BUSINESSESAND FOUNDATIONS

7- TRAININGORGANIZATIONS

Cirque du Monde Sites

Africa

Burkina-FasoOuagadougou

CameroonDouala

South AfricaCape TownDurban

Europe

BelgiumLa Louvière

NetherlandsAmsterdam

Middle East

LebanonBeyrouth

North AmericaCanada

Atikamekw Nation: Manawan & WemontaciDrummondvilleNunavik: Inukjuak & PuvirnituqMontrealQuebec CitySherbrookeVictoriaville

Asia/OceaniaAustraliaBroken Hill

ChinaHong Kong

MongoliaUlaanbaatar & Dornod

SingaporeSingapore

Latin AmericaBrazil25 communities

ChileSantiago

HondurasCholuteca

MexicoMexico City

United StatesAtlantaLas VegasLos AngelesNew York CityOrlando

Factors of Success

• Credible local partners

• Real partnership with the community

• Continuity: duration, coordination and training

• Respect of the local culture

Cirque du Monde ImpactFor youth• 15’000 participants per year• Improve self-esteem• Increase their capacity to

concentrate,to work in a group and to communicate

• A higher awareness of the body

For social circus instructors• Job creation for social circus

instructors• Better knowledge of the situation of

youth at risk• New perspectives of development

in the social field• A pertinent way to create the

contact with youth

For the community

• Give voice to youth at-risk reality and needs

• Catalyst to get more funding and resources towards the cause of at-risk youth

• Proposal of a new model of social action

• Re-establishing a dialogue between marginalized youth and their communities

Social Circus Training ProgramObjectives

• Worldwide program launched in 2000

• Develop sound personal and professional ethics

• Teach innovatively and interactively

• Tie course content with community realities

• Favour circus arts as a personal development tool

Social Circus Training ProgramThe Results

Common vision of circus arts as a social intervention tool

Improvement and diversification of instructors’ social and technical skills

Circus workshops better adapted to at-risk youth and partner organizations

Increased attendance and involvement of youth in workshops

For instructors, greater sense of belonging to an international network

A major movement of mobilization for the development of the social circus

In Quebec, recognition by the Education Board of a college-level diploma in social circus (360 hours) for National Circus School’s students

Social Circus Training ProgramThe challenges and future perspectives

Support the development of training programs to ensure sustainability

Create better adapted educational tools / curriculum

Support the Networking

• Explore new fields of application

Develop evaluation process and support the research

Help finding resources for our partners

Europe

CARAVAN(8 organizations)

NICE

Social Circus Training Networks supported by Cirque du Soleil

CIRQUEDU

SOLEIL

Internationalnetwork

ITNSC

United States

AYCOAmerican Youth

Circus Organisation(20 organizations)

Canada

Quebec networks of Cirque du Monde

(9 organizations)

Brazil

Brazilian networks of Cirque du Monde

(25 organizations)

Australia

ICANIndigenous Circus

Art Network

West AfricaInformal network

Burkina FasoCamerounIvory Coast

Social Circus...

... A vector of development