For a School with as diverse a community and as rich a history as ESSEC, the difficulty in organizing such an event was to know where to begin. It was with this challenge in mind that Isabelle Rey-Millet, Centenary Campaign Manager and Executive MBA alumna, decided upon an all-unifying concept: “100 years – 100 events”.

From this springboard came idea upon idea for ESSEC’s Centenary Year.

The concept was the fruit of many months’ teamwork, involving committees representing Senior Management, the Board of Directors, students past and present, and the various programs and members of personnel that combine to make ESSEC what it is today.

In order to promote the concept both inside and outside the ESSEC community, a campaign slogan was also devised: “Celebrating our Centenary… and our future together!”
Isabelle explains: “we needed a catchy slogan that conveyed several ideas simultaneously – the notion that the whole ESSEC community is coming together, to celebrate the past, the present and the future. We want everyone to feel involved in the celebrations – the campaign slogan puts this idea across nicely”.
The huge variety of events and event organizers is testimony to the effect the concept and slogan have had.

The final, personal touch to the campaign concept is the lighting of a candle at each Centenary event, in the style of the Olympic flame. Emblematic of the diverse nature of the ESSEC community, the first two candles were blown out by members of the Alumni Association on January 4, and then the very youngest member of personnel at the Cergy campus one week later.
The flame will be brought to each and every event up to and including the finale in mid-December.