The Conférence Olivaint is a French youth association, recognised as being of general interest. Founded in fall 1874, it is the oldest student association in France . Its mission is to provide young people with training in public life, notably by holding weekly conferences with political figures and, since 2003, with personalities from civil, economic and cultural spheres. The Conférence Olivaint model has been adopted in Belgium, where there is a Belgian Conférence Olivaint since 1954. History The Conférence Olivaint was established in the fall of 1874 by Jesuits. It was named after Father Olivaint, superior of the Jesuits on Rue de Sèvres, who was executed on May 26, 1871, along with other hostages, by the Communards. These executions came as a response to the Versailles Repression during the "Bloody Week" of the Paris Commune. Father Olivaint wished to train young people for public and political life: "If you are driven towards a political career, it is important that you be highly ranked. In a time of revolution, it is necessary, through knowledge, character, and independence, to rise above all parties, to see only the interests of the country and to devote oneself to its salvation", he said. The goal of the Conférence Olivaint at the time was to recruit young people form the Rue de Sèvres Congregation and prepare them to become defenders of the Church and the country. The Wednesday session has been a tradition at the Conférence Olivaint since its creation. During these sessions, the guest would deliver a speech of general scope, often with strong political or moral connotations. The Conférence Olivaint benefited from ultramontanism. Indeed, Pope Pius IX, and later Pope Leo XIII, bestowed their apostolic blessing on the Conférence Olivaint, insisting on the specific role that this organisation fulfilled in their eyes. They described it as "of public interest to society". In the wake of the First World War and until the Second, the Conférence Olivaint wished to focus its debates on the international scene. The Conférence Olivaint invited personalities from all political backgrounds. In 1946, the Conférence Olivaint invited Italian students to come and exchange with the Olivaints on the theme "Democracy and Fascism". The following year, the first of a series of Franco-German sessions was held on the topic of "Responsibility and Nazism". After the war, the Conférence Olivaint was rather Christian-Democratic and, above all, pro-European. In 1968, secularism was widely accepted