Law students honoured in Geneva

“The University of Bordeaux has long collaborated on initiatives developed by the French Association for the International Labour Organisation with the aim of raising awareness of this organisation, its contribution to promoting a model of decent work, and its defence of social justice around the world. Every year, students of the Master programme in social law visit the ILO headquarters in Geneva, a key player in our field. Gaining experience within the institution where international labour law is shaped is a real asset.”

Unfortunately, this collaboration came to an end following the Covid-19 pandemic. However, at the start of the 2025 academic year, Éléonore Raymondière, Léa Perrodo, Marylou Gillet-Berger and Nicolas Ducom, second-year students of the Master programme in ‘Issues and techniques in social law’ (ETDS), offered to take part in the AFOIT Challenge. “Our whole team was very keen to support them on this project,” says Alexandre Charbonneau, Associate Professor in labour law at the University of Bordeaux and director of the Bordeaux Labour Institute.

A hands-on insight into the work of the ILO

The aim of this challenge, which is open to all French-speaking universities, is to have groups of students work on producing an eight-page article on a topic directly related to the ILO, its values, activities and initiatives.

The students’ work is then submitted to a jury appointed by the AFOIT. The winning entries this year were presented by their authors on March 16^th and 17^th 2026 at the ILO headquarters in Geneva and published in the AFOIT’s journal ‘Libre cours’.

The topic chosen by the students from the University of Bordeaux focused on “the ILO and the fight against domestic violence in the world of work”, an initiative that originated entirely with the Master students, as Alexandre Charbonneau is keen to point out. “Valérie Lacoste-Mary, an Associate Professor in labour law, and I supervised and advised them on this project, and the students were able to secure financial support from the Faculty of Law to organise their trip to Geneva,” he adds.  

The first cohort of the ‘Issues and techniques in labour law’ Master programme

Éléonore, Léa, Marylou and Nicolas are part of the first cohort of this programme, which resulted from the merger of two Master courses: ‘Labour and social security law', on the one hand, and ‘Labour relations law in the workplace’, on the other. “In this new programme, led by Professors Gilles Auzero and Sébastien Tournaux, students are required to write a dissertation over two years to gain an introduction to research and acquire the writing skills expected of any lawyer, as well as to undertake a five-month end-of-studies internship, which is crucial for their entry into the profession. This reorganisation, along with the renewed collaboration with AFOIT, makes the programme more attractive. Taking part in the challenge confers no advantage in terms of the conditions for awarding the degree, and undertaking this challenge demonstrates, above all, our students’ initiative and commitment to the success of their studies,” concludes Alexandre Charbonneau.

Testimonial from Nicolas Ducom, 22, a Master student in ‘Issues and techniques in labour law’ and co-president of the student association Apis Socialis.

“I heard about this challenge via LinkedIn. I was immediately drawn to the international aspect of the project. I suggested to the students in my year group that we take part, with the approval of our professors, who encouraged us. Despite a busy academic schedule involving writing our dissertation and looking for internships, Éléonore Raymondière, Léa Perrodo, Marylou Gillet-Berger and I decided to embark on this adventure: writing an eight-page article on a topic directly related to the ILO. We agreed on ‘The ILO and the fight against domestic violence in the world of work’, a subject that seemed relevant to us given the ILO’s commitments in this regard. We sought to understand how employers can play a role in prevention and to what extent the ILO’s intervention helps to integrate the fight against domestic violence into the scope of a company’s activities.

Once we had reached an agreement, we divided up the work and kept in regular contact. Throughout this project, which ran from November 2025 to February 2026, we received excellent support from Valérie Lacoste-Mary and Alexandre Chabonneau, our supervising professors. At the same time, we managed all the logistics and the majority of the funding for this project, raised in part through a bake sale organised on campus by our Master programme’s student association, Apis Socialis.

Whilst we felt the outcome of our work and the final article were satisfactory and coherent, we never imagined we would receive an award… Upon arriving in Geneva on March 16^th and 17^th, we were delighted and impressed to find ourselves in such a prestigious setting, at the very heart of where international labour law is shaped. We attended fascinating lectures and had very fruitful discussions with students from the other participating French-speaking universities.
We are immensely proud to have been winners of this challenge (fourth out of 60) and to have presented our work in the ILO’s main auditorium in front of around a hundred students, professors and professionals.

"This experience will remain unforgettable for the four of us. It has enabled us to develop our writing and public-speaking skills, as well as our project management skills, in addition to what we learn at university. An undeniable asset on a CV and in life."