A look back at the launch of Pasteurdon 2020: a virtual extravaganza!

The Institut Pasteur and its staff, patron Alexandra Lamy and the event partners and sponsors were all determined to make sure that the 14th edition of Pasteurdon could go ahead despite the increasingly stringent precautions required to safeguard public health. So they decided to host a launch event with a difference for Pasteurdon 2020, inviting you all to take part online.

Many of you joined the festivities on Wednesday October 7 via Teams to get the ball rolling for this year's Pasteurdon and find out about the many initiatives introduced for the latest campaign.

The action-packed event, full of highlights, was attended by Stewart Cole, President, Jean-François Chambon, Vice-President Communications and Fundraising, and actor Alexandra Lamy, the loyal Pasteurdon patron who was celebrating 10 years of dedicated support for the Institut Pasteur.

Always bursting with energy, Alexandra Lamy has been an active, committed patron year after year, spreading the Pasteurdon message as far and wide as possible. So it was the perfect opportunity to celebrate her invaluable support – and to look back at a video montage showing a decade of commitment, discovery, generosity and inquisitiveness for the Institut Pasteur's teams, their varied professions and their wide-ranging research.

After this brief trip down memory lane, three Institut Pasteur scientists took to the floor for a lively chat led by Jean-François Chambon alongside Alexandra Lamy: Julia Chamot-Rooke, Head of the Mass Spectrometry for Biology Technology and Service Unit, Anna-Bella Failloux, Head of the Arboviruses and Insect Vectors Unit, and Arnaud Fontanet, Director of the Department of Global Health at the Institut Pasteur. This discussion was an opportunity to talk about the current health context and the related research efforts, and also to take a closer look at the many other research activities that are making progress despite the crisis.

Following a screening of the campaign teaser and film, produced in 2018 and 2019, Anne Barrère joined Alexandra Lamy and Jean-François Chambon on stage to highlight the unwavering support of the Pasteurdon media partners, with more TV channels and radio stations than ever on board this year.

It was then time for a few words from the Pasteurdon sponsors. The Le Roch-Les Mousquetaires Foundation, AG2R LA MONDIALE and Assu 2000, all loyal Pasteurdon sponsors for many years now, appeared in successive video messages to explain the reasons for their continued support, emphasizing how their staff are always eager to get involved in the campaign each year.

The event concluded with a run-down of the full gamut of Pasteurdon 2020 initiatives: the auction of graffitied lab coats, the scientific podcasts produced by Radio France, interviews with scientists by Alexandra Lamy, digital communication on social media, participation in the 20km de Paris and the special COVID-19 digital conference – all great ways to boost the visibility of this 14th edition of Pasteurdon and raise awareness of the need for donations.

Prior to the launch of this new edition of Pasteurdon, Alexandra Lamy was received by Vincent Enouf and Sylvie Behillil during a visit to the National Reference Center for Respiratory Viruses in the company of the Institut Pasteur's Scientific Director Christophe d'Enfert.

Following the launch, the Pasteurdon patron, accompanied by Jean-François Chambon, Anne-Barrère, Julia Chamot-Rooke and Anna-Bella Failloux, arrived for the photocall held in the CIS hall for the official countdown of the launch of the 14th edition of Pasteurdon.

Thank you all for your "virtual" presence and your support for this latest Pasteurdon. With this year's edition we are reminded more than ever of what we can achieve as a truly connected community – in every sense of the term!

Make sure you're comfortably settled on your sofa this Friday evening, from 8.30pm, as the Pasteurdon broadcasts get under way on your favorite TV channels. Let's defend research together!

 

Consult the 2020 Pasteurdon press kit (in French)

Relive the launch of the 14th edition of Pasteurdon (internal use only)