Voir & Entendre Foundation

The Voir & Entendre Foundation is a scientific cooperation foundation dedicated to diseases of the different sensory systems. It is the entity that coordinates and supports the research projects of the Institut de la Vision.

Vision diseases: a global public health issue

Out of a global population of approximately 7.8 billion people, it is estimated that 43.3 million are blind. The prevalence of eye diseases - and therefore of blindness - increases with age: most blind people are 50 years of age or older. With the increase in life expectancy, a sharp increase in the number of patients is expected by 2040, with 111.8 million cases of glaucoma and 288 million cases of AMD. Not to mention rare diseases, which are also a major source of visual impairment and blindness, such as retinitis pigmentosa and Leber's hereditary optic neuropathy (LHON).

Public and private governance at the service of research

Since its creation in 2007, the Voir & Entendre Foundation has been supported by five founding members: the Quinze-Vingts National Hospital, the Institut Pasteur, Inserm, Sorbonne University and the French Federation of the Blind and Amblyopic. Four other founding members have since joined: the CNRS and the Foundation for Hearing, the AP-HP and the Adolphe de Rothschild Foundation Hospital.

The Steering Committee

President: Mr. José-Alain SAHEL
Treasurer: Mr. François PELEN
Director: Mr. Emmanuel GUTMAN
Scientific Director: Mr. Serge PICAUD
Secretary General: Mrs. Dominique SANTIARD-BARON
Financial Director: Mr. Pierre BEUCHET

The Board of Directors and its composition

The Voir et Entendre Foundation has a Board of Directors composed of the nine founders, qualified personalities, representatives of the economic world, local and regional authorities as well as elected representatives of teachers, researchers, teacher-researchers and other staff. It defines the strategic choices and approves the budgets and accounts of the Institute.

  • 15-20 National Hospital
    Nicolas PÉJU, Director General
     

  • Institut Pasteur
    François ROMANEIX, Deputy Director General for Administration
    Nathalie de PARSEVAL, Scientific Secretary General
     

  • Inserm
    Thomas LOMBES, Deputy Director General (Strategy)
    Elli CHATZOPOULOU, Director of Partnerships and External Relations
     

  • Sorbonne University
    Nathalie DRACH-TEMAM, President
    José-Alain SAHEL, Emeritus Professor of Hospital Medicine
     

  • French Federation of the Blind and Amblyopic
    Julien ZELELA, President of the FAF Sports Commission
     

  • CNRS
    Bernard POULAIN, Deputy Scientific Director of CNRS Biologie
     

  • Fondation Pour l’Audition
    Armand de BOISSIÈRE, Secretary General of the Bettencourt-Schueller Foundation
     

  • Assistance Publique - Hôpitaux de Paris
    Erik DOMAIN, Director of Relations with Universities and Research Organizations
     

  • Adolphe de Rothschild Foundation Hospital
    Julien GOTTSMANN, Director General
     

  • Qualified personalities
    Henri CHIBRET
    Alain GAUDRIC
     

  • Representative of local and regional authorities
    Pierre DENIZIOT, Regional Councilor of the Ile-de-France region, in charge of disability, universal accessibility and the republican promise
     

  • Representative of the economic world
    François PELEN, Founder of Groupe Point Vision
     

  • Elected representatives of researchers, teacher-researchers and other staff
    Annabelle REAUX-LE GOAZIGO, Inserm Research fellow, team leader at the Institut de la Vision
    Valentina EMILIANI, CNRS Research Director, team leader at the Institut de la Vision

Arnaud Bricout
Head of Philanthropy