S3 Ep3. Building Bridges, Not Walls: Francoise Palau-Wolffe on Human Rights Education

This episode of ABWilson’s Heart of the Matter, guest Francoise Palau-Wolffe explores how one person’s conviction, compassion and courage can ripple outward to transform communities. 

From her early inspiration in Avignon, where a political dissident’s story led her to Amnesty International, to her current work as founder and executive director of the Human Rights Education Network (HUREN) in Bermuda, Francoise shares a powerful journey grounded in fairness, human dignity and an unwavering intolerance for injustice. She reflects on being described as principled, caring and a go getter, explaining how speaking up for what is right, even without overthinking the consequences, has guided her activism, teaching and leadership.

Listeners will hear how Francoise helped design and deliver an Intro to Human Rights course with Bermuda College, bringing together Bermuda and Geneva based students and local experts to help participants see human rights as omnipresent in their everyday lives. She tells a moving story of a school based Amnesty International “Write for Rights” campaign where students wrote letters on behalf of prisoners of conscience and witnessed one young man’s release, illustrating the power of one multiplied by millions. 

Beyond her advocacy, Francoise opens up about her love of flamenco dance and the almost spiritual experience of duende, her multilingual path through English, French, Spanish and Quechua, and her deep appreciation for literature, art and nature as sources of solace and joy. Throughout the conversation, she highlights the importance of rest as resistance, the quiet strength of family support and her belief in the passion and leadership potential of Bermuda’s young people, inviting listeners to see their own capacity to build bridges, challenge injustice and make the world a better place from wherever they are.

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Transcript

Aderonke Bademosi Wilson (00:02.742)

Welcome to another edition of ABWilson’s Heart of the Matter, a podcast that uses overwhelmingly positive questions to learn about our guests, where every episode uncovers extraordinary stories of triumph, growth, and empowerment. Hi, I am Aderonke Bademosi Wilson. My guest on today’s show is Francoise Palau Wolffe. Francoise is caring, principled, a go getter. Welcome to the show.​

Francoise Palau Wolffe (00:36.715)

Thank you so much, Aderonke. Thank you for having me. This is really appreciated.​

Aderonke Bademosi Wilson (00:42.634)

Well, I appreciate you saying yes to being interviewed, right, and I never take it lightly when people agree to come on the podcast. Francoise, I want to start with your descriptors. Tell me about being principled. What does that look like? What does that feel like for you?​

Francoise Palau Wolffe (01:01.217)

Sure. Actually, I chose those descriptors based on what people said about me, and the person who said that I was principled was my boss, and I was quite surprised that he would use that as a descriptor. But I think it means that I value fairness, I value human dignity.​

I was thinking that maybe the reason why he chose that adjective was because I am not scared of speaking up when I see injustice. There is, for me, a very low tolerance to injustice, so when I see it around me, then I would acknowledge it in that sense that I think it has to be said, and I do not think too much of the possible repercussions of me speaking up.​

Aderonke Bademosi Wilson (02:13.034)

And when you see injustice, what prompts you to speak up? Where do you go? How do you do it?​

Francoise Palau Wolffe (02:25.015)

Well, I would go to the people who have the power to make a change in the situation and also try to bring other people to that realization and to defend or to advocate for that particular issue.​

Aderonke Bademosi Wilson (02:47.363)

Mm, thank you. You are also a go getter. Tell me about that.​

Francoise Palau Wolffe (02:51.955)

Yes, so this is another descriptor which was used by a former boss of mine, and I was quite surprised as well because I am not a very aggressive person and I am more of an observer, a listener, I am very analytical as well. But I do have this perseverance when I believe in something, and I would go and I would put everything in place to achieve my goals. So in that sense, I can understand why maybe she was using that term to describe me.​

Aderonke Bademosi Wilson (03:36.744)

And caring.​

Francoise Palau Wolffe (03:39.788)

Yes. I think as a mother, as a wife, and I am in the field of human rights education as well, you have care as your main attribute. As a mother, you would care for your children with unconditional love, affection, patience. We are very cuddly at home, we are very affectionate with each other, we hug, we kiss often.​

As a wife, being supportive, making sure that my husband’s needs are met, providing comfort when there is stress, professional stress or otherwise, and being a good friend really. And as a human rights educator, I have to show empathy, I have to show emotional intelligence when dealing with people. So I think that is what caring means to me.​

Aderonke Bademosi Wilson (04:49.102)

And you mentioned that you are a human rights educator. Tell me about your work.​

Francoise Palau Wolffe (04:54.773)

Yes, so it started quite a long time ago when I was a teenager. I was in my hometown in the south of France, Avignon, and we were very lucky because in Avignon, we are exposed to this tremendous festival every single summer. And one particular summer, I attended a performance where the former Czech Republic president, who was also a writer, a playwright and a poet, was showing his play.​

He had just been released from prison. He was also a political dissident, and he had a major impact on my future commitment to human rights. He mentioned Amnesty International. He had been adopted as a prisoner of conscience, and he was actually helped by Amnesty International and, thanks to the actions of the movement, he was released from prison.​

And I then realized that from my level as a young person, I could indeed make a difference in someone’s life. So I joined Amnesty International in France when I was a young person, and then when I first came to Bermuda, I also joined the Bermuda section, and under the mentorship of Lucy O’Toole Sterling I was really involved and really committed to the different causes which we were defending.​

I later on focused on human rights education. I piloted a program in a local school, and recently, with a team of experts in France, we started an organization called the Human Rights Education Network, or HUREN.​

Francoise Palau Wolffe (07:02.367)

So the idea with this organization is really to amplify the potential of the human rights framework, especially in those troubled and trying times. We have to have a very powerful counter narrative against all the human rights abuses, the rise of fascism in the world, et cetera.​

Aderonke Bademosi Wilson (07:33.632)

And so it sounds like the work that you are doing from a tiny place like Bermuda can potentially have a global impact.​

Francoise Palau Wolffe (07:43.744)

Of course it can. And what we do not realize is that the human rights abuses overseas also affect us anywhere we are. There are some implications, and as you probably know, human rights are interconnected, but sometimes we do not see this link. We are a bit in a bubble. We only see what is in our backyard and do not want to appreciate what other people are experiencing and how it can come to us maybe.​

We have seen that with the States, being so close to the States, the influence of certain narratives can be felt here in Bermuda.​

Aderonke Bademosi Wilson (08:33.230)

Thank you. And so I want to move on to our questions. Francoise, I would like our listeners to learn a little bit more about you. Please share three interesting things about yourself our listeners may not know and your friends will be surprised to learn.​

Francoise Palau Wolffe (08:39.362)

Sure.​

Francoise Palau Wolffe (08:52.268)

Okay, yes. So I think I want to start with my first job experience in the UK. I was at the University of Kent in Canterbury. I was an exchange student doing a master’s degree in applied linguistics, and once I finished my degree, I was offered a job as a technical translator with the Eurotunnel company.​

So the Eurotunnel company, they were actually building the Channel Tunnel between Britain and France, and I was based in Folkestone. With a group of translators, we translated all the documents exchanged between the English and the French partners. So it was a phenomenal experience being privy to what was communicated between the two groups.​

But most importantly, I got to witness a historic moment when the English engineer met the French engineer in the middle of the tunnel and they exchanged flags. So it was in 1990, I think, and we witnessed that as members of the company. It was really a historic moment because it was the first time there was a land link between Britain and France, so it was phenomenal.​

But now I look back at this experience and I think that later on we experienced Brexit and all those things and I feel that I want to go back to a time where we were really building tunnels or bridges between nations to be connected. So now I think it is a bit of a step back in that sense. But the tunnel is still being used by many people.​

Aderonke Bademosi Wilson (10:55.116)

Yes, thank you. Thank you. And your second interesting fact.​

Francoise Palau Wolffe (11:02.676)

Okay, the second interesting fact. I just wanted to actually share my experience with dance. Again, I was very fortunate to live in a town where culture was really valued. We had this phenomenal festival, we had dance festivals every February as well, so I was curious and I experienced different styles of dance, like Brazilian, African, et cetera.​

But being in the south of France, we also have a large Roma population, and also I am half Spanish, so I found really the perfect fit for me with the dance of flamenco. And I think that I gravitated towards flamenco because of the raw intensity, the raw emotional intensity of the dance. And also I love the rhythmic complexity.​

So I took classes when I was young with this lady called Malika Loizo. She was actually Algerian, but she was a Spanish teacher in one of the high schools, and so we were quite dedicated and we learned different choreographies, et cetera. And in flamenco there is something, a concept which is called el duende, which is actually to describe this type of really deep emotional, almost spiritual feeling that you can experience with the dance as a dancer, but also that you can communicate to the audience. It is a bit like soul, I guess, in English.​

And I got to experience this very spiritual feeling once I mastered the technique of a particular choreography. We were rehearsing and this was a unique experience. I have not experienced that since, but yes, I was amazed by it, the realization that I could not of course experience a full duende, but to be near that elevation through dance. And I really value dance as a great form of expression. In another life, I would have liked to be a dancer because I found it very impactful, very impactful.​

Aderonke Bademosi Wilson (13:48.408)

Do you still do flamenco dancing?​

Francoise Palau Wolffe (13:50.296)

I try. The good thing about flamenco is that you can do it at any age. You have older ladies doing flamenco, so nothing is lost. I still have my skirt, my shoes with the special metal underneath to make the sound. I have some videos I can use. Yes, I just need the time.​

Aderonke Bademosi Wilson (14:15.198)

And you said you are half Spanish. Do you speak Spanish?​

Francoise Palau Wolffe (14:19.200)

I do speak Spanish, but not because my father taught us Spanish or spoke to us in Spanish. Plus he was actually Catalan, so you do not want to ask Catalan people to speak Spanish. They have their own dialect and they want to be independent from the rest of Spain.​

But I did learn Spanish at university. It was my first degree in applied languages, so I learned English and Spanish. And my third interesting fact, actually, which I wanted to share is that I also learned the dialect from Peru and Bolivia. It is a dialect spoken by Indigenous people in the mountains, and it is called Quechua.​

The grammar is very, very different from my own language, but I had a great appreciation for this type of idiom, and it was a great experience to be exposed to that Quechua dialect.​

Aderonke Bademosi Wilson (15:30.904)

So did you spend time in Peru? How did you learn the language?​

Francoise Palau Wolffe (15:33.052)

No, not yet. Yes, I would like to. We had a young teacher who was from Spain actually, who had spent a lot of time in Peru and he had been living in those communities. So he wanted to share that knowledge and he had organized this particular class at the University of Aix en Provence where I first was, before going to Kent.​

Aderonke Bademosi Wilson (16:06.582)

All right, so Francoise, this begs the question. What other languages do you know? Are there any others? So far I have gotten French, English, Catalan, Spanish, and the Peruvian language. Is that correct? That is five?​

Francoise Palau Wolffe (16:22.442)

Yes, I do not speak Catalan unfortunately. Spanish, yes. No, no, but you know, sometimes if you go elsewhere, this is almost the norm to know that many languages, and we take English for granted because it is kind of the reference language.​

Aderonke Bademosi Wilson (16:26.788)

Okay. But you say you speak Spanish. Okay. So that is four. Any others? Any others we should know about?​

Aderonke Bademosi Wilson (16:44.396)

Mm hmm.​

Francoise Palau Wolffe (16:50.076)

But when you are not English speaking, you have to learn other languages and of course English. Yes, especially at the international level, when you go to conferences about human rights, many people speak several languages. It is the norm. So that is why we try to encourage young people to learn more than one language.​

They do not realize it at first. They do not realize the value of learning languages, but this is basic in this world to learn a few.​

Aderonke Bademosi Wilson (17:33.742)

Thank you. Can you tell us about a recent accomplishment or success that you are particularly proud of?​

Francoise Palau Wolffe (17:45.984)

I think I am going to use the example of the organization which we started. It was back on the 28th of February of 2025. That is when we incorporated it as a nonprofit with limited guarantee. We are not yet a charity, but it was the groundwork to come as the organization.​

And we started with offering an Intro to Human Rights course with the great support of the Bermuda College. We worked on a partnership with them. So this course was initially intended for the young people whom we are targeting, so 18 plus. They were to be involved in a research project on human rights needs in Bermuda, so we thought they would have to have basic knowledge of human rights.​

So there was a group of Bermudian students as well as a group of students from Geneva, and we wanted them to be on the same wavelength with human rights. So we designed this course, but then we decided to open it to a wider audience, and it was well attended. It was very well received. We had local experts participating in the course, Lisa Reed from the Human Rights Commission, Dr. Lucy Framlova from the Gender Affairs Council, and so it brought this back to Bermuda very nicely.​

And we found that we had achieved the objective of the course, which was for people to see human rights are omnipresent in our society and in their everyday life. So people did say that now they see things from a human rights lens, and in that sense, it was quite transformative for them, and it is really what we wanted to achieve as a course.​

Francoise Palau Wolffe (20:06.932)

It was so well received that we were given a second opportunity to offer the course. So if you are interested, it is going to happen in February through the Bermuda College.​

Aderonke Bademosi Wilson (20:18.919)

And how long does the course last?​

Francoise Palau Wolffe (20:23.422)

It was a 12 hour course. It was self paced so people could organize their time as they wished. It had also some live sessions every week to engage on the materials and talk to local experts and to instructors. So it is a four module course.​

Aderonke Bademosi Wilson (20:48.878)

And so what happens next? Are you going to do the course in other locations or expand what you have here in Bermuda?​

Francoise Palau Wolffe (21:01.272)

The next step is for us to complete the baseline research. This research will document and will inform a future human rights educational program, because to make it relevant to Bermuda, we need to know more about local needs. So the future courses will be tailored around the data which we are going to collect as part of the research.​

And of course we involve all stakeholders. We partner with the Human Rights Commission, CURB, all the organizations who have already done excellent work in that field, but hopefully we can amplify the message and we can, by collaborating, really increase the impact of the human rights framework.​

Aderonke Bademosi Wilson (22:03.426)

Thank you. You mentioned an organization, CURB. For anybody that does not know what that organization is, tell us just a little about it.​

Francoise Palau Wolffe (22:11.260)

Sure. So CURB has been in existence for so many years and they have been instrumental in fighting racism in Bermuda. The director is Stacey Lee Williams, and they are also training people in restorative justice practices. I was one of the trainees and I am using those techniques also in human rights education, for instance.​

So they have done a lot of research. They continue to educate young people and the public on those issues, and they are very impactful in what they can achieve here in Bermuda.​

Aderonke Bademosi Wilson (22:58.926)

Thank you. Thank you for sharing. And so, Francoise, please tell us about a time when you made a difference in another’s life. What were the circumstances? Please paint a picture for me.​

Francoise Palau Wolffe (23:11.128)

Sure. As an educator, I think that you constantly at least strive to make differences in people’s lives, so I can see the impact I have had, especially when educating about human rights. But I remember this particular event. It was at the start of the human rights project I was implementing in the school, and we were working closely with Amnesty International.​

Around Christmas they have this campaign which is called Write for Rights. So the idea is that you support prisoners of conscience in different countries. People have been imprisoned because they wrote something on a blog, or people have been imprisoned because they demonstrated. So these are rights which we take for granted here in Bermuda, but in other countries they can be seriously abused.​

So we had organized an assembly in school whereby each student involved in my group was representing one of those prisoners of conscience. And this particular boy was representing a young man from Azerbaijan, I think it was, who had been imprisoned because of what he said on the internet. It was against the government.​

So we highlighted this case during the assembly. We wrote letters to the prisoners themselves, letters of support, but also to governments to highlight the condition of those people. And shortly after that assembly, this particular person was released from prison. And this had a major, major impact on that particular student who was embodying the young man from Azerbaijan.​

And he probably realized, like I did when I met that former political prisoner, that you have power as one person. The power of one when it is multiplied by millions can definitely make a difference. And if not for Amnesty International, those people would possibly be in prison for a long time. We put a spotlight on them and make governments pay attention, so it is really important, I think.​

Aderonke Bademosi Wilson (26:14.488)

Thank you for sharing that story. Thank you. Wow. And you have said the power of one multiplied by millions can make a difference.​

Francoise Palau Wolffe (26:24.705)

Yes. Sometimes you do not realize, or you say, why should I bother? What can I do from my little island of Bermuda? But not doing anything is a stand in itself. Not doing anything is a responsibility as well.​

Aderonke Bademosi Wilson (26:48.930)

Francoise, what were the key strengths and qualities you relied on to make a difference in this instance for your students, for this young man that was imprisoned?​

Francoise Palau Wolffe (27:02.232)

I think in general you have to show empathy. And for this particular project, of course, and for all the human rights educational projects I have designed and implemented, you need the background knowledge of those facts. And you need leadership skills, you need to make people want to follow you and be part of it. Especially when you deal with young people, you have to motivate them.​

Aderonke Bademosi Wilson (27:48.846)

Thank you. Can you recall a situation where you overcame a challenge that led to personal growth? What did you learn from that experience?​

Francoise Palau Wolffe (27:58.900)

Well, I would say that as the founder and executive director of a nonprofit, you are faced with challenges all the time, especially when you do that in addition to a full time job. So the issue of time management is of extreme importance. And I managed to find a way to make it work.​

Working evenings, weekends, you need to be a hard worker to make it work. You need also to be extremely well organized and take other people’s values and ideas into account, so a good listener. A good listener. And if I go back to the go getter quality, which I may have, the perseverance and wanting to implement the vision and the ideas which you have in mind, you would do anything to make this work.​

You have to learn new skills. You have to be brave as well because sometimes you are dealing with fields which are totally new to you. But I love the challenge, the intellectual challenge, learning how to incorporate a company, for instance. And that is how you grow, by being involved in different experiences like that.​

And this quote, which is a bit maybe corny, but one of those inspirational quotes comes to mind all the time. I do not know who wrote this, but the fact that comfort zones are beautiful places, but nothing grows ever from there. You have to take chances, take risks, go out of your comfort zone to grow, and I am pretty sure, Aderonke, you would agree with that because you have been doing that quite a bit with your different projects and businesses.​

Aderonke Bademosi Wilson (30:38.702)

Yeah, indeed. It is easy to sit in your comfort zone and be like, okay, life is great here. But then when you decide to venture out of that space and say, what else can I do, where else can I help make a difference, you do not necessarily see it as growth at the time, do you? You think, okay, I just have to do it. Somebody has to do it, let me do it.​

Or it is something that just calls to you and is like, I have to do it, this idea will not leave me alone, so let me try and do it. And what I find is that I do not necessarily think of it as bravery, I just think of it as, okay, I have to do it. And so do you see it like that?​

Francoise Palau Wolffe (31:20.864)

Yes, you are really into the action mode. You do not self reflect. It is one step after the next to make something come to fruition. So yes, you do not see it as growth initially.​

Aderonke Bademosi Wilson (31:45.198)

And sometimes if things are really hard, it is like, okay, I have done enough growing, let us just make this easier. But then when you have been through it, it is like you can look back and say, wow, wow. And I always feel that you will meet people along the way once you get started. You will find people that will help you, support you, guide you, or even just answer a question, and that answer makes a huge difference to what it is you are doing at that time.​

Francoise Palau Wolffe (32:21.900)

Yes, it is always so important to hear different perspectives as well because it reframes certain ideas and it is going to enrich everything you do. So it is really a great experience to be in that space and, as you said, to meet like minded people and to grow with them.​

Aderonke Bademosi Wilson (32:50.934)

You are listening to ABWilson’s Heart of the Matter podcast.​

Welcome back to ABWilson’s Heart of the Matter. My guest today is Francoise Palau Wolffe. Francoise, we have talked about your work in human rights. We have talked about your work at Amnesty International and the fact that you and your students have indeed made differences in people’s lives. We have talked about your dancing and your language acumen. What self care practices or strategies help you to sustain your energy and motivation while navigating your journey?​

Francoise Palau Wolffe (33:35.390)

The first source of comfort for me is of course my family, my husband, my sons. It is just nice to be home with them and to be together, especially now that our youngest son is away at university. It is really a treat when the four of us are in the same room.​

So this is my main source of comfort and they have always been extremely supportive of me. My husband has always been my champion and I do not know how to thank him for that. And the boys are really also very supportive. We support each other and this is a wonderful feeling.​

I find solace also in literature, in reading. It is a way to escape. I cannot read nonfiction at night. I need to have a novel. I need to be in a different world. So this is really a form of relaxation and it brings a lot of joy to me as well.​

And art is very important in my life, music, dance, all forms of art. I love to see art exhibitions. Recently I felt that I almost need it. When you look around and see what is going on in the world, you really need art, and I think that we do not value artists enough for what they bring to us in this world. So yes, this is important.​

And also I love to be in nature. This is also a source of wellbeing for me, which I cherish here in Bermuda, being by the water. And rest, simply rest. I remember reading this book, Rest is Resistance. Have you read it?​

Aderonke Bademosi Wilson (35:53.782)

I have not, I have not, but I have heard a lot about it.​

Francoise Palau Wolffe (35:46.420)

So we have to make it intentional, and the author of the book sees it as a form of rebellion as well against our capitalist society, which is all about performance, which is profit driven. So not doing anything is a form of rebellion, and I really take this message wholeheartedly and I think it is important, especially for us women.​

I think we have so many hats to wear, and so it is important. But I think we are starting to realize that we have to pause from time to time.​

Aderonke Bademosi Wilson (36:36.682)

Mm hmm, indeed, indeed. And so I just want to go back to two things. First of all, art. Are you an artist yourself? Do you create any kind of art?​

Francoise Palau Wolffe (36:49.336)

I like to draw, yes, and I like to make things, but again, the lack of time prevents me from going deeper in those fields. And I appreciate your photography, by the way. I love photography as well.​

Aderonke Bademosi Wilson (37:13.102)

And fiction, what do you read? What books or authors do you gravitate to, and what genre of literature?​

Francoise Palau Wolffe (37:27.384)

You will be surprised, but I read a lot of thrillers because I find that the type of thrillers which are out there are also almost an analysis of the different societies where the story takes place. You have all those Swedish authors who have had tremendous success. I also read thrillers which talk about the Inuits, and so they really inform us about the society.​

It is not only about the crime plot. The characters are really interesting. For me, they are a great form of escapism, but also they tell me a lot about the different societies. Japanese thrillers, I find them really interesting. And then I read different authors. I read in French, I read in English, and sometimes in Spanish as well. But I am quite eclectic in my taste of literature.​

Aderonke Bademosi Wilson (38:50.414)

And I was going to ask you if you read in different languages. I mean, unfortunately I just read and write in English, so that is all I have. It must be, I think, perhaps reading in a different language gives you a different perspective, right, because you are reading it presumably in the language in which it was written.​

Francoise Palau Wolffe (39:10.644)

Exactly, yes. And as a translator, I recognize the excellent work of translators trying to convey a whole culture through their translations. Without them, we would not have the possibility of accessing those cultures. I read books in translation myself if they are written in Swedish or whatever, but reading in the original language is really important as well, I think.​

Aderonke Bademosi Wilson (39:48.248)

Thank you. And I am going to ask you about your book recommendations in a little while, so I am looking forward to hearing what you have to say about that. Francoise, how might sharing your experiences of success and growth create a positive ripple effect in your family, community, the world?​

Francoise Palau Wolffe (40:07.702)

In my family, I think that I would like to say that I can be a role model to the boys, and they have actually been doing great work in that field as well themselves. They have been committed to their community and the youth, so I can see how the message has not been lost in a way, but it was by osmosis almost, it was not intentional.​

So I think this can have an impact on our sons definitely. And in the community, the idea is that we are going to train young people for them to train others, so there is going to be a multiplying effect hopefully, and therefore we can increase the impact of what we do and hopefully create a more peaceful society, less violence, more understanding.​

That is the vision we have about the impact of our work as an organization.​

Aderonke Bademosi Wilson (41:31.948)

I want to go back. I neglected to ask you this question when you were talking about your next steps for your human rights program. How can people get in contact with you? How can people find out more about the program if they want to take it or if they just want to be involved somehow?​

Francoise Palau Wolffe (41:52.324)

Sure. Thank you for asking. So they can email education@hurenbermuda.org. You spell HUREN, H U R E N, Bermuda and then dot org. HUREN stands for Human Rights Education Network. So we call ourselves a network because strategically we want to form meaningful local and international partnerships.​

So we welcome anyone interested in making this place a better place or making the world a better world. We need you.​

Aderonke Bademosi Wilson (42:44.312)

Yes, indeed. What exciting opportunities do you see on the horizon? How do these opportunities align with your passions and aspirations?​

Francoise Palau Wolffe (42:55.626)

I am very, very impressed with young people in Bermuda. There are so many young leaders in this community and so passionate and dedicated, and I can see them making a real change for the future generations and even maybe for us, it is not too late.​

But I can see the potential and the passion is really tangible. It is really encouraging and I have great trust in young people in Bermuda. Yeah, and it is really inspiring.​

Aderonke Bademosi Wilson (43:45.998)

Francoise, what brings you joy?​

Francoise Palau Wolffe (43:49.592)

A lot of things. My family, first and foremost. Art. I think I am going to have to reuse what I said earlier, but art, friends, friendships, food. I am lucky that my husband is a foodie as well, so we really enjoy good meals.​

We love traveling together. We have the same taste. We are great traveling companions, so it is very lucky, very lucky. Yes, we share many things and this brings me joy, as well as doing the work I do in the community. If I can make an impact at my level, I would be very happy.​

Aderonke Bademosi Wilson (44:49.250)

What book recommendations do you have? It can be a book or books that you have read recently or something that has stayed with you over the years.​

Francoise Palau Wolffe (44:58.104)

Okay, so I am going to choose a book which I read a few months ago, and I have to say that it is going to be translated into English and available in June 2026. So far it is only written in French. It is called Jacaranda. Jacaranda is the name of a tree from Africa, and the book was written by a young man whom I admire. He is a rapper, he is a writer and an activist really.​

His mother was from Rwanda and his father is French. He was born in Burundi, but they had to move to France after the 1994 Rwanda genocide because of the implications for his family. He wrote a first book called Petit Pays, which means “small country,” and this book is actually translated into English. So while waiting for Jacaranda, maybe you can read his first book. It is about Rwanda.​

I admire his storytelling skills. The literary style is really extraordinary, I find, for a young person like him. The second book is more about the impact of the genocide on the second generation of people from Rwanda. Often he is talking about his own experience really. His mother was of course very affected by the genocide, but she remained really silent and never talked about the atrocities which she may have experienced.​

So it had a very strong impact on him not knowing his roots really, not knowing where he was coming from, and it took him a trip to Rwanda to uncover what his parents had experienced. So it is very well written. It is very profound. It has a universal message and I would recommend it to anybody.​

And this young man has immense talent. Even his songs are very poetic, and I can recommend also his latest album, which is called Lundi Méchant, which literally would mean “naughty Monday,” but apparently in Burundi it means the Monday where you party and you rebel against the norms. So it is actually quite positive. “Méchant” in French is negative, but this describes that tradition in Burundi. So it is available on Spotify, Lundi Méchant, and yes, I recommend the album as well.​

Aderonke Bademosi Wilson (48:28.194)

So tell me his name, I am not sure I caught his name.​

Francoise Palau Wolffe (48:30.428)

Sorry, his name is Gaël Faye. G A E L. His last name is Faye, F A Y E.​

Aderonke Bademosi Wilson (48:44.320)

Okay. I will add it to your descriptor and put the link in French, but then when it comes out in English, I will make sure to update it so that people can find it.​

Francoise Palau Wolffe (48:51.681)

Okay.​

Francoise Palau Wolffe (49:01.336)

It is going to be available through Amazon.​

Aderonke Bademosi Wilson (49:05.428)

Okay, all right, I will look for it. Francoise, is there anything else? Do you have any final thoughts to share?​

Francoise Palau Wolffe (49:14.818)

I just want to thank you for what you do in the community. I have vivid memories of my first years in Bermuda. I was very lucky to be welcomed by a great group of friends. We are still in touch with them. And I remember vividly going to your brother’s house and you being there sometimes, and the warmth with which you all welcomed me as a French expat in Bermuda stuck with me and I really appreciated that.​

And I really admire what you do, your creativity and your desire to build this community of people in your own way. So that is what I want to share to conclude.​

Aderonke Bademosi Wilson (50:13.102)

Francoise, thank you so much. Thank you. Thank you. I thank you. That is all I can say. Thank you. I appreciate your comments. I will let my brother, I will make sure he listens to this conversation so that he knows, he can hear your thoughts as well.​

Francoise Palau Wolffe (50:26.828)

Yes.​

Francoise Palau Wolffe (50:34.168)

Great.​

Aderonke Bademosi Wilson (50:36.654)

Francoise, I want to just go over some of the appreciation nuggets that I am taking away from our conversation. One of the things that you said is that human rights are omnipresent and in our everyday lives. You also indicated the power of one multiplied by millions can make a difference. And overall, the importance of human rights in our lives, the fact that we all have the power, we all have the ability, if we take the time, we can make a difference in another’s life.​

Whether in a small place like Bermuda or around the world, we do not know where our impact will be until we start. So that is what I am taking away from our conversation. So I thank you. I really appreciate you taking the time to join me on ABWilson’s Heart of the Matter, a podcast dedicated to asking overwhelmingly positive questions as we uncover incredible stories and wisdom of people you may know. Francoise, thank you so much for being here today.​

Francoise Palau Wolffe (51:57.168)

Thank you, Aderonke. This was a pleasure to have this conversation with you. Thank you for the opportunity.​

Aderonke Bademosi Wilson (52:04.110)

Thank you