“We really hope that this will be able to send a whole generation off to summer camp,” welcomes Jeunesse en plein air

Launched on Monday, the system partially finances the holidays of children aged 11. Aid which will be allocated subject to means conditions.

“We really hope that this will be able to send a whole generation off to summer camp”, welcomed Monday April 15 on France Inter the general director of Jeunesse au plein air (JPA), Anne Carayon, a network which brings together 35 federations from the educational sector. From Monday, the government is launching a “Colour Pass” to partly finance the departure to summer camp for children aged 11. A system welcomed by the JPA, which corresponds to a proposal that it itself formulated in 2021. The objective is to reach two million children who go to summer camp, according to the association.

“The Colo Pass is important because it removes financial obstacles and it will allow the colonies to be talked about”, assures Anne Carayon. The system only concerns children aged 11 in the calendar year and the aid will be allocated subject to means conditions and will be cumulative with other systems, in particular funding provided by works councils. “A majority of 11-year-old children will be able to benefit from it”says the general director of Outdoor Youth.

80% of eligible 11 year olds

According to the ministry’s calculations, 80% of children aged 11 should be eligible, namely those who live in households with up to 4,000 euros of net monthly income. And then, “those who do not benefit from it will still be able to go on a summer camp with friends on the same stays, since these are stays open to all”underlines Anne Carayon.

“When we go to camp, we learn to live with others, we learn to open up, we ultimately become a young adult, an engaged citizen.”

Anne Carayon general director of JPA

at France Inter

“The summer camp is today a relevant tool for our social project”adds Anne Carayon. “With the Colo Pass, we are aiming for a new republican rite”, for her part, explained the Minister Delegate in charge of Children, Youth and Families, Sarah El Haïry. “Our objective for the association is to say that if we want to have an impact on society, if we want it to really make a difference, we have to reach two million children who go on vacation”explains the general director. “There are 1.3 million children who went on vacation last summer or during short vacations in 2023”she specifies, before recalling that in 1960, four million children went to “college”.