Isabelle Cussac, author, founder of the Académie de la Robustesse, and member of larobustesse.org, explores how port cities can navigate a permanently fluctuating world. The keynote links the multi-generational vision and territorial interdependence of ports and cities to the core principles of systemic robustness. Her intervention proposes robustness as a path of conciliation and reconciliation, providing a practical roadmap to build a shared future anchored in local needs and resources.
An entrepreneur, author and speaker, Isabelle Cussac devotes her energy to promoting and implementing approaches based on ‘robustness’ – a concept developed by the researcher Olivier Hamant – within organisations, communities and regions. Her commitment is to make this a practical guide for those who wish to endure in a world of constant flux, and who are seeking a viable, joyful path that is deeply rooted in life itself. As a member of the larobustesse.org collective, she translates this concept into practical applications for businesses, entrepreneurs and local communities. Her area of specialism is family-run businesses. These businesses have succession as their ultimate goal, think in terms of generations, cultivate a wealth of connections and build alongside their local community rather than on top of it. She sees them as the model best suited to reorienting the economy towards systemic resilience. Founder of the Academy of Robustness, she is the author of "The Robustness of Family-Owned SMEs – 6 Practices for Sustainability and Succession".
To the AIVP, and to the cities and ports that also plan for the long term across several generations and recognise both their interdependence and the fact that they share the same economic fluctuations, she proposes that robustness be recognised as a path to reconciliation and harmony, laying the foundations for a shared future rooted in needs and resources.
