― By Dona Bertarelli
At the Tribune Bleue final, held at the Sorbonne University in Paris last week, I had the honor of opening the competition with a reflection on what drives us to speak, and on what it means to speak for something that cannot speak for itself: the ocean. Below are the full video and transcript (translated into English).
To inspire. To educate. To explain. To share.
Ladies and gentlemen,
Dear finalists,
It is an honour to open this Tribune Bleue final, here at Sorbonne University, a place steeped in history, where ideas take shape and words endure through time.
For what is the point of speaking…
If our words do nothing to break the ocean’s silence?
It does not shout. It does not protest. It does not vote.
So the question becomes simple:
Who will speak for it?
And even more…
What is it that, one day, compels us to speak up?
I followed the imagination of a certain Jules Verne.
I travelled around the world. In less than 80 days.
To be precise… 47.
An ocean so vast…
And yet never the same.
From one sea to another, everything changes: the colors, the smells, the light…
The forms of life that unfold within it.
And in the midst of this richness, an unexpected feeling:
Loneliness.
A vast world…
Yet far from our view.
Far from us.
And perhaps that is why it leaves room for all kinds of human excess.
And sometimes, all it takes is to see.
Some things, once seen, never leave us.
So remaining silent is no longer an option.
But finding one’s voice is only the beginning.
Holding onto it… is a struggle.
And that is the struggle I have chosen to make my own.
So perhaps eloquence, today,
Is not only about speaking well.
It is about knowing why we speak. And for whom.
Because, deep down…
Speaking,
Is already a start to protecting.
Dear candidates,
Today, you are not just giving the ocean a voice.
You are taking the reins.
Now it is your turn to speak.
I wish you a truly wonderful final.