There is something uneasy about attending a private boarding school in the north of France -- one of the country's poorest regions. I saw the remnants of a dying upper class, and the sons and daughters of leading industrialists embrace lavish lifestyles at the expense of an impoverished working class and immigrant youth. My classmates went to polo games, country clubs on the coast and elite social functions, turning a blind eye to soaring jobless figures, social strife, and ethnic tensions chronicled in the local press.
Known for its coal mines and a class conflict that reverberated across the 19th and 20th century, the North of France has experienced industrial decline in the last decades, fueling mass unemployment and widespread poverty. Instead of trying to revive unprofitable and outdated modes of energy production, in October 2013 the local chambers of commerce in the Nord Pas de Calais region built a long-term economic road map. They commissioned American economist and social theorist Jeremy Rifkin to architect its so-called Third Industrial Revolution plans.
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Between 2012 and 2013, Rifkin worked with 120 decisionmakers like CEOs, elected officials, teachers, researchers, unionists, and scientists to produce a socio-economic and environment-saving master plan under the name Rev3 to guide the region's transformation. The plan birthed 350 private and public initiatives in the first two years, and today more than a thousand Rev3-sponsored projects have taken shape. Rev3 has received financial support from the European Investment Bank and a handful of private investment funds. Also, 24 startups have already raised $11 million via Rev3 crowdfunding mechanisms.Since it was launched, Rev3 has mobilized provinces, territories, communities, universities, companies, associations and citizens to build a connected society through a long-term energy transition and a sustainable economy driven by jobs of the future. Here are its main features.The energy transition's main objective is to be off carbon by 2050 and divide greenhouse gas emissions by four. It also emphasizes energy efficiency, aiming to reduce energy consumption by 60 percent before 2050. First signs are encouraging: since the master plan was released four years ago, EDF, the largest French utility company, has already given the public access to residential energy production solutions. Renewable energy production has increased by 15% annually, making the region on track to fulfill its commitments.Today, 90 percent of new energy produced is renewable. The region has built the second largest wind farm in the country, and has invested in offshore wind turbines that will start to operate in 2020. In 2016, independent companies such as Borax, Eurowatt, and Heliopales added 1500 jobs in the wind energy sector.
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Quentin Dubrulle, the founder of Unéole - a company that builds residential wind turbines made of local linen - was driven by Rev3 since its inception: " Rev3 has created a grassroots movement to spur a low-carbon society based on innovative and local initiatives," he said. "They're part of a vision to transform our region."
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"Rev3 is a regional movement that has allowed us to build synergies, hire young people, and promote issues that were under-covered," Bastien Dognin, the founder of Les Paniers de Léa, a startup that helps companies implement healthy and green work habits, told VICE Impact. One of their trademark services is the delivery of locally-sourced organic fruit at lunch time.It's no secret that France's lopsided education system favors the well-off. The OECD holds that in France being born well is the surest route to academic success. Rev3 recognizes these trends and has made clear that the third industrial revolution concerns all.Rev3 seeks to give all students access to digital education tools, lower learning costs, and interdisciplinary teaching methods. The Open Source School, which recently opened in Lille in partnership with Rev3 is the perfect product of these new trends. It accommodates students doing apprenticeships and vocational training programs in a post-industrial field, and provides financial aid to young professionals acquiring new skills in the digital space to pursue a career change.The French rustbelt in the north of the country became the pioneering industrial region in the late nineteenth and twentieth centuries. So it's only fitting that the region is attempting to lead the country's efforts to usher in a new Industrial Revolution via programs like Rev3. With bipartisan political support and the involvement of hundreds of startups, associations, public and private sector initiatives, the region is changing for the future, and other similar rustbelts should take note.