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At just 19 years old, Alexia MORTAUD is full of ambition, ideas, and convictions. A student at IÉSEG (Grande École Program), she took part in COP30 in Brazil, is developing her own app dedicated to the environment, speaks at schools, participates in city council meetings… all while managing to keep up with her studies.

Her guiding principle? The desire to be useful. “I love the feeling of sharing, helping, and passing things on. That’s truly what motivates me,” she explains.

Committed since high school

At 16, Alexia was already writing a political program, driven by curiosity and a desire to take action. “I couldn’t find any party I agreed with 100%, so I started to form my own opinion. And I realized that everything is political: social issues, the economy, the environment… everything is connected.”

From high school, Alexia discovered community involvement by joining “Nous Toutes”, a feminist organization fighting against sexist and sexual violence, and taking part in local solidarity actions. “That’s when I realized you could truly stand up for causes, and I enjoyed it. I needed to feel useful,” she says. Today, Alexia juggles her studies, projects, and commitments. “It’s a lot, especially at 19. You have to be very organized and know when to slow down,” but her efforts are paying off.

By consistently writing advocacy pieces and voicing the concerns of the youth in her city, she got noticed. Inaugurations, speeches, supporting the mayor… opportunities kept coming one after another.

From Saint-Ouen-sur-Seine to COP30: a stunning journey

Thanks to her strong commitment, Alexia caught the attention of her city’s Youth Center to become a youth ambassador and join the French delegation heading to COP30 in Brazil.

To prepare as best as possible, she joined an intensive training held by “Banlieue Climat, Ça Bouge Grave” and “Écologie Universelle.” “Thanks to them, everything was possible. They trained me, supported me, and enabled me to go to Brasil with the French Institute.”

This experience deeply affected her: “I wanted to see the realities we talk about every day. Seeing them firsthand is completely different. Over there, I understood the scale of the inequalities,” she explains.

She attended moving testimonies, such as that of a young Brazilian who was unable to go to school because of the drought, as he had to travel dozens of kilometers. “You realize how lucky you are. And above all, how urgent it is to take action now.”

Giving voice to youth — and being heard

At first, she feared being just a “symbolic” figure representing youth, but Alexia quickly realized that her voice mattered. “We were able to speak in our own words, defend our ideas, and freely participate in the roundtables. It was a total surprise.”

Her stay was organized around forums, workshops, interviews for the French Institute, a documentary, meetings with ministers and scientists, and even an interaction with French president, Emmanuel Macron.

But what impacted her the most was the time spent with an indigenous community: “They live in the forest, in complete harmony with their environment. They have their rituals, their values. It was fascinating… and very moving to see how much their existence is threatened.”

As for her learnings, there were many: “I truly became aware of our disconnection from reality, of the various issues we are not necessarily faced with in France, and of the common struggles across different countries.”

Her vision of the future

The experience helped her define what she truly wanted to do and pushed her to take even more action: “I feel much more legitimate in passing on and sharing.” Now, she shares what she learns with the new generation, especially in primary schools where she regularly speaks: “I want to show that young people can accomplish a lot. There are so many ways to take action, even at our age. That’s what inspired me to launch even more ambitious projects.”

Alongside her political commitments, Alexia is developing an environmental app that she started coding herself. “I want to help people consume more sustainably, but without it being complicated. No one wants to spend three hours checking their purchases.”

Alexia has many ideas in mind: continuing to develop her app, strengthening her local involvement, pursuing a career in politics, or even exploring sustainable real estate. “It may seem unrelated, but sustainable real estate is a huge topic. The environment can be found in every sector.”

An inspiring student and a generation of changemakers

Alexia’s journey proves that you can be a student, just starting out in life… and already make an impact. Her determination, hard work, sincerity, and ability to build bridges between studies, commitment, and entrepreneurship make her an inspiring example of the new generation of change-makers.

Her message to students is simple: “You can succeed starting from nothing. I had no network, nothing. I just dared. You must not get discouraged, even when it seems out of reach.”