AFP and Arcom award Bouchra Berkane the Michèle Léridon Scholarship for Diversity in the Media

Agence France-Presse and Arcom are delighted to award Bouchra Berkane, trained by the association La Chance, the second "Michèle Léridon scholarship" for diversity in the media.

Bouchra Berkane will soon be joining the AFP newsroom as part of a work-study contract, with training provided by the CFPJ. For two years, Bouchra Berkane will work in various AFP departments and offices. To help her realize her projects, the winner will also receive 5,000 euros from Arcom.

The "Michèle Léridon Scholarship", which honors the statement of case and commitment of the former AFP Director of Information and member of the French Superior Audiovisual Council (French Superior Audiovisual Council, now Arcom), is aimed at youngsters who have completed the preparatory course offered by La Chance, but who have not yet entered a journalism school recognized by the profession.

Bouchra Berkane, 26, attended last year's and this year's preparatory courses run by 350 volunteer journalists in seven French cities, while continuing to produce videos on general culture and current affairs from her TikTok account @bch.brk, followed by over 12,000 subscribers.

The winner, who also has a passion for photography, was symbolically welcomed to AFP by Mario Lawson, the first winner of the scholarship and currently in his second year of work-study at the agency.

Roch-Olivier Maistre, President of Arcom: "We are delighted, once again this year, to honor Michèle Léridon's statement of case through the award of a scholarship created in tribute to her commitment to diversity in the media. The entire Arcom board joins me in wishing the winner, Bouchra Berkane, great professional success, in the image of Michèle's."

Fabrice Fries, Chairman and CEO of AFP: "The Michèle Léridon scholarship is gradually finding its place in the training and recruitment process for AFP journalists. We're very pleased with this, as it reflects our desire to make our newsroom as representative as possible of the society it reports on".

Marc Epstein, President of La Chance: "A loyal ally of La Chance, Michèle Léridon would have been delighted to see "her" scholarship become part of the training and recruitment policy of the agency she loved so much. Well done to Bouchra! Her boundless curiosity, energy and sunny personality struck a chord with her classmates. No doubt they will leave their mark on her future colleagues. May the winds carry her forward.

The call for applications for the 3rd edition of the "Michèle Léridon Scholarship" will be launched in spring 2024.

Michèle Léridon, who died on May 3, 2021, worked for AFP as deputy director of the Abidjan bureau, deputy editor-in-chief for Europe and Africa, head of the social news department, and director of the Rome bureau. In 2014, she became the agency's first female Director of Information.

Michèle Léridon was appointed by the President of the French National Assembly to sit on the French Superior Audiovisual Council in 2019. In charge of program ethics and political plurality, she had monitored several elections, including the 2019 European elections and the 2020 referendum in New Caledonia.