2025 New Year ceremony: a look back at the ceremony on January 14

On Tuesday January 14, the Institut Pasteur held its New Year ceremony, attended by Yves Saint-Geours, Chairman of the Institut Pasteur Board of Governors, Yasmine Belkaid, President of the Institut Pasteur, and Erik Orsenna, Ambassador of the Institut Pasteur.

Before the ceremony began, a group of Pasteur employees, led by CGT representatives elected to the CSE, took the floor to express their salary demands in the context of the Mandatory Annual Negotiations. They were able to speak freely. The President, who was present alongside the Chairman of the Institut Pasteur Board of Governors and the Ambassador of Institut Pasteur, listened attentively to this statement, took note of these demands and reaffirmed her commitment to social dialogue. The ceremony then took place on stage and was broadcast live to Pasteurians.

Erik Orsenna began by sharing his vision of optimism and his deep-seated conviction that "we have never had a greater need for research and researchers," and that "now more than ever, the Pasteur legacy lives on through the Institut Pasteur community." He linked this conviction with one of his personal resolutions for the new year: he wants to come and meet those working on campus. Erik Orsenna took the opportunity of the ceremony to share his plan to set out "like a reporter" in 2025 to meet Institut Pasteur staff – to find out more about their work, their goals and hurdles, and also what it means to choose a career in research today and what science means on a daily basis – especially for women, with fewer and fewer choosing to study scientific disciplines.

Yves Saint-Geours then took the floor from Erik Orsenna to convey his New Year's greetings to everyone on campus.

Yves Saint-Geours referred to a geopolitical context which threatens democracy and the universal values it shares with science, reiterating the importance of engaging in a "fair fight" for democracy at a time when we are faced with "inconceivable debates" concerning "physical and digital territories." He shared his wish for "this fair fight to be waged here, with you and with our friends in the Network around the world."

He was also keen to celebrate all the collective successes of 2024, a year that saw an extensive review of the Institut Pasteur's organizational structure, with "excellent results from the HCERES" and also the development of "the Strategic Plan, which was enthusiastically accepted by the Board." The Strategic Plan now needs to be implemented and embraced by the Institut Pasteur community. Yves Saint-Geours expressed his hope that "each individual will feel involved in the scientific and human realization of the Strategic Plan," in close collaboration with the senior management team and also with the help of the Board of Governors, which "is committed to doing all it can to help us with this ambitious undertaking."

Yves Saint-Geours concluded his address by emphasizing the fact that, despite the geopolitical and financial context of research in France – which is forcing us to rethink the Institut Pasteur's long-term business model –, there is a strong sense of community at the Institut Pasteur. And it was with the Institut Pasteur community as a whole that he was keen to share his New Year wishes, underpinned by a strong sense of friendship, "which asks nothing in return but which needs to be nurtured."

Yasmine Belkaid was the next to speak, again conveying her New Year wishes to "this extraordinary community, which displays so much strength in fighting for what it believes in." She then extended her thanks to all those who comprise and support the Institut Pasteur on a daily basis: the Chairman of the Board of Governors, the Ambassador of the Institut Pasteur, and also the members of the Board of Governors, the members of the General Meeting Board, all the Institut Pasteur's partners – the CNRS, the Paris Public Hospital Network (AP-HP) and others –, all the sponsors and all Institut Pasteur staff.

The meeting was also an opportunity to pay a more personal tribute to Spencer Shorte, "an extraordinary Pasteurian, friend, colleague and brother," whose sudden death on January 8 reminds us that "the Institut Pasteur is not just an institute, a company – it's a home and a family" (see the newsletter article about Spencer Shorte).

After this tribute, Yasmine Belkaid expressed her thanks to the entire Institut Pasteur community for this first year shared together: "In your joy and your anger, you are an extraordinary community, in all your work and your multiple passions for art, sport, the environment and more."

She emphasized the importance of being united as a campus but also as part "of an ecosystem of more than 30 institutes worldwide." "That is a real strength, one that we need today" in a world riven by major upheavals, from climate change to societal pressures. "Our ability to work together is a strength for the Institut Pasteur." Finally, in this context, Yasmine Belkaid referred to the role of the Institut Pasteur in "being a driver for change." "We are there to protect values, a message of truth that society needs and that we are committed to defending." This is the goal of the recently developed Strategic Plan, which "shows that science and commitment to society are not separate." The Strategic Plan "addresses and tackles several dimensions, including the rise in inflammatory diseases, environmental changes and vulnerability at all stages of life."

As Yasmine Belkaid emphasized, 2024 was a year full of achievements for the Institut Pasteur, with the establishment of the Department for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) and the Department for Transformation and Strategic Projects (DTPS), the new Charter for Scientific Integrity, more than a thousand publications in basic, cross-sectional and clinical research, nearly 700 active projects and the establishment of two university hospital institutes (IHUs).

Yasmine Belkaid concluded her address by sharing her hopes for 2025: "This year, let us strive to listen to others, to be generous, ambitious and courageous. You hold in your hands an institute that is a strong symbol for you, for us all, and we have to work together. (...). I wish you all a wonderful New Year, one that is fueled by passion: fight for what you believe in, together, as this institute belongs to us. Many thanks to you all."

The event was followed by a drinks reception which provided an opportunity for further discussion.

Watch the ceremony online