“Ambassador for a Day” program [fr]

On April 3, the Embassy welcomed its first student for the new “Ambassador for a Day” program. It’s a mentoring program for young women who live in Canada and are enrolled in postsecondary studies in political science and/or international relations, in an effort to boost women’s participation in the public sector and in diplomacy and, more broadly, to increase their participation in demanding jobs.

The Ambassador’s Opinion Column

Opinion Column by the French Ambassador to Canada, Kareen Rispal
_ Member of the G7 Gender Equality Advisory Council

Since joining the Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs, I have not once regretted choosing this enriching and stimulating profession, with its daily dose of challenges and victories in an increasingly complicated international context. I can therefore say that being a diplomat is my vocation.

... Because my passion is my profession and because I am the first female Ambassador in North America, I am pleased to be launching today the “Ambassador for a Day” program. Every year, this initiative will allow a dozen young women studying international relations at the University of Ottawa to come spend a day with me at the Embassy. They will see what being a diplomat is like—far removed from clichés and preconceived notions—and to be Ambassador for a day, and perhaps also in the future. Read

Opinion Column by the French Ambassador to Canada, Kareen Rispal

(PDF - 73.9 kb)

Ambassadors for a day

1. Juliana Trapolino, the Ambassador’s first guest, April 3, 2019

2. Kaina Mehadjebia, Louise Melin and Ilyes Benbouzid new guests, November 25, 2019

Photo : Louise Melin, l’ambassadrice Kareen Rispal, Ilyes Benbouzid et Kaina Mehadjebia

About the program

The French Embassy in Ottawa would like to develop a mentoring program for young women who live in Canada and are enrolled in postsecondary studies in political science and/or international relations. The aim of this program is to boost women’s participation in the public sector and diplomacy and, more broadly, to increase their participation in demanding jobs, to which they have historically often been denied access.

This program is an opportunity for the selected young woman to spend an entire day with French Ambassador Kareen Rispal, to accompany her in all her activities (meetings, visits) and to familiarize herself with the reality of being a diplomat, a largely unknown job about which there are many preconceived ideas.