Taoufik Vallipuram

Born in Paris to parents of Sri Lankan and Algerian origin, Taoufik grew up mainly in the 13th arrondissement of Paris and spent most of his schooling in the so-called priority education system. He then studied economics at the Sorbonne (Licence d'économie) and graduated from EDHEC, where he was confronted with a drastic decrease in social and ethno-racial mix. He finished his studies in South Korea in order to immerse himself in a socio-cultural universe radically different from what he had known until then.

His professional career has gradually led him to act as an intermediary between people and organizations that do not mix. In 2011, while working at Amazon, he became involved in the association L'APRES, which brings women and men from modest social backgrounds to schools located in working-class neighborhoods, wishing to share their educational and professional experiences with students.

As of January 2015, he decided to devote most of his time to the development of the Ouishare collective, where his role is to pilot new projects, engage with institutional and corporate representatives, federate local organizations, etc. In particular, he led the organization of the last three Ouishare Fests, launched a non-academic research lab dedicated to the cities of tomorrow (Le Lab Ouishare x Chronos, which produced six independent and open source action-research studies, co-funded by public and private organizations), and worked on experiments to bring together residents, businesses, institutions and activists, around fuel poverty in Roubaix, or around the challenges of the circular economy in Paris. He was President of Ouishare from the end of 2021 to 2022.

At the same time, he launches and invests in numerous associative initiatives. In the world of education, he launched the "Je pitche mon stage" program at the end of 2015, aimed at middle and high school students in working-class neighborhoods. A few years later, he accompanied one of the program's former students in launching the Camplus association. In addition, in 2017, he launched R.E.R., an association whose objective is to open healthy and affordable restaurants in working-class neighborhoods.

Taoufik is also involved in movements advocating a responsible and solidarity-based economy. A director of the Maison des Canaux since its launch in 2017, in July 2022 he became a director of B Lab France, the association that carries the B Corp label in France, as one of five qualified personalities on the Board of Directors. Finally, in June 2022, he graduated from the first class of the Academy of Future Leaders, a program promoting ethics, integrity and empathy in politics.