Julien Leyre

Julien Leyre is a French-Australian writer, educator and social entrepreneur who has lived in Australia since December 2008. Since then, he has worked on a range of projects drawing support from diverse communities, in Australia, Europe, Singapore and China, with a focus on language, collaboration, innovation and cultural appreciation. In 2011, he founded Marco Polo Project, an organisation that brings new Chinese voices to Western audiences, and explores innovative models to develop cross-cultural core strength and celebrate linguistic and cultural diversity. He’s enrolled in a PhD on digital Chinese language learning tools at Monash University and, since 2016, he’s been working with the Global Challenges Foundation in Stockholm on global governance and global catastrophic risk. He’s an alumni of Ecole Normale Superieure in Paris and the THNK School of Creative Leadership in Amsterdam, and was listed on the Victorian Multicultural Honour Roll. His practice aims to help people living across cultures and languages build greater resilience, empathy and self-awareness. He likes to listen and look for common ground.