Sponsored by Guila Clara Kessous, UNESCO Artist for Peace, the Asie - Femmes d’Avenir (AFA) Association helps 48 young women from France, Asia, and the Middle East who are victims of violence and/or poverty to obtain scholarships and to access higher education, so that they can escape precarious situations and contribute to building a more inclusive world.
 

These particularly talented young women are:
- from poor, broken, or highly socio-economically disadvantaged families,
- or from war-torn countries, or belong to persecuted minorities,
- or threatened by state repression, notably in Iran and Afghanistan,
- or threatened with forced marriage or exclusion from their family, in France or abroad,
- or refugees in France due to violence in their country of origin and receive payments that are not sufficient to cover a course of study.

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The AFA provides them with financial and operational support to: - apply for a higher education program, - obtain a scholarship, - obtain their student visa (for foreign students) and accommodation.

The AFA also implements academic and administrative follow-up throughout their studies. AFA scholarship recipients are divided into four different profiles:

• 19 Asian female students from 11 different countries, directly supported by AFA so that they can pursue their studies in France, currently in BTS, Bachelor, or Master's programs at various vocational schools, Grandes Écoles, and French universities, particularly in Environmental Sciences;

• - 19 Asian female students still living in their home countries, supported by AFA, on a regular or ad hoc basis, for example, for registration fees for French courses at the Alliance Française or the Institut Français;

• 8 high school students from the Lycée d'Excellence Edgar Morin in Douai, coming from highly disadvantaged families, supported by AFA in their university orientation;

• 2 young Armenian refugee girls, both violinists, assisted by AFA in their preparation for the entrance exam to the Paris Conservatory (CNSMDP) (violin lessons, workshops, concerts, etc.).

 

AFA regularly brings scholarship recipients together within the "Women's Choir of Asia" and the ensemble "Les Cantatrices," each comprising 10 to 20 singers performing both Western and Eastern classical repertoire and giving concerts in Asia and France. AFA also organizes concerts where the two young Armenian refugee girls can perform.
 

Finally, the AFA occasionally sponsors sustainable development projects. In 2023, it contributed to the funding that enabled the launch of a mangrove planting project led by a group of young women in southern Bangladesh, aimed at limiting rising waters and improving soil absorption.