Credit: Fairtrade Lëtzebuerg
On Monday 8 December 2025, Fairtrade Lëtzebuerg will host the grand finale of the 2025 Public Speaking Competition, “Je porte, donc je pense” at 18:30 at Neumünster Abbey's (neimënster) in Luxembourg Grund.
Undertaken as part of the Rethink Your Clothes campaign - funded by Luxembourg’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, Development Cooperation and Humanitarian Affairs (MAE) - non-governmental organisation Fairtrade Lëtzebuerg, in collaboration with the Institut Français du Luxembourg, openly invites the public to attend the event.
According to the NGO, the competition aims to engage young people in a major societal issue: understanding and questioning the social, economic and environmental impact of the textile industry. By encouraging secondary school students to express themselves through oratory, it promotes critical thinking, creativity and active citizenship.
The competition will reward two winners, who will embark on a study trip to India to explore the fair-trade cotton sector. Fairtrade Lëtzebuerg will organise this trip with MAE funding. The students will meet key actors in the fair-trade cotton supply chain and witness first-hand the tangible impacts of textile production. Fairtrade Lëtzebuerg said: “This unique experience will turn the winners into ambassadors for fairer and more sustainable fashion.”
Six Luxembourg schools will participate in this edition of the competition: École Internationale de Mondorf-les-Bains; École Privée Fieldgen; Lënster Lycée International School; Nordstad Lycée; Lycée Robert Schuman; and Lycée Vauban.
The NGO highlighted that over 100 students have joined the initiative, demonstrating growing youth interest in responsible consumption and the profound changes occurring in the textile sector.
To support them, students attended an intensive week of workshops in November, during which they participated in:
• awareness workshops led by Fairtrade Lëtzebuerg within the Rethink Your Clothes campaign, covering the global realities of the textile industry, from cotton cultivation to production chains and addressing social and environmental issues;
• public speaking workshops run by the association Eloquentia, internationally recognised for its innovative and inclusive pedagogy, which helped students develop confidence, creativity and analytical skills.
At the end of this programme, each school selected two finalists. These pairs will represent their schools at the grand public finale.
The evening will feature a dance performance by artist Nora Noush, providing an artistic interlude linked to the competition’s themes.
The competition receives support from the Association Victor Hugo and the Sommer Foundation and Fairtrade Lëtzebuerg organises the event as part of the Rethink Your Clothes campaign on behalf of MAE.
The event is open to the public and reservations can be made: https://www.eventbrite.fr/e/grande-finale-du-concours-deloquence-victor-hugo-je-porte-donc-je-pense-tickets-1969374084902.
