Our mission

Our vision

Art transforms us!

What would human beings be without the arts? Whether we are artists or spectators, the arts stir us, challenge us and move us. They carry visions of the world that make us think, creating narratives that speak our aspirations. The arts heal our wounds, empower us and set us free.

We root our work in countries dealing with major social challenges. To address these challenges, Metis uses the arts to engage with the Sustainable Development Goals (environment, health, education, employment, peace, gender equality, food security, and more) working directly with local communities, and with those most affected. Our actions create space for emotions and creativity, fostering individual and collective transformation.

Metis proclaims it loud and clear: the arts get us moving!

Download our leaflet

The metis fund invests in our emotional intelligence

Tiphaine de Mombynes, Founder and Director of the Metis Fund

“The information and images circulating around the world remind us how many people still live in unacceptable conditions of precariousness. Women, men, and children are deprived of the most essential goods. Added to this are global problems —ecological, health, social, and economic— that weigh on our daily lives… and even more so on the most disadvantaged populations.

Various entities are working at all levels to tackle these challenges. Their solutions —essential ones— primarily rely on technical knowledge.

But a whole area of action remains to be explored: the one that focuses on and appeals to emotions. Our decisions and actions are mainly motivated by our emotional aspects (our senses, feelings, instincts). Science has proven it, and pragmatic observation loudly affirms it. We are all beings of emotions.

To activate our emotional intelligence in favor of a fairer, more dignified world, the Metis Fund proposes to provide space for artists in areas concerned with sustainable development issues.

The goal is to resonate, connect, and make each person freer and more aware. Music, dance, writing, visual arts, theater… With Metis and with you —we invite you to join us— arts and artists become powerful vectors for improving the living conditions of the most disadvantaged. This is why the Metis Fund deserves all your attention and support.

Our impact

From emotions to the world

The arts allow every human being to connect with their sensitivity. They nurture our minds, our hearts, our knowledge, and our actions. The arts unite, liberate, heal, empower, educate, spark debate, and shift perspectives.

By harnessing the power of the arts, the Metis Fund strengthens the will and capacity of its partners to learn, take ownership of the sustainable development challenges they face, and take action to address them.

“Thanks to the Metis project, I’ve banished the word impossible from my vocabulary.”

Slamunity project participant, Congo Brazza

co-created works

countries reached

15000

people directly impacted

100%

of the sdgs addressed

Our approach of impact evaluation

The quest for impact is in our DNA. The structured engineering we implement, the visual documentation of projects and the systematic qualitative surveys we carry out after each project support learning and capitalisation.

Aware that we are investing in a new and evolving field of action, Metis stands on the frontier between research and action. An assertive and seeked positioning

Download our report 2021-23

The Metis Lab

Understanding the role of emotions, the arts, creativity and the social transformations they bring about is a long-term field of reflection that we are proud to explore and share.

The Metis Lab fosters a dynamic space for knowledge sharing, debate, and exchange on the intersection of Arts & Development. Its ambition is to cultivate a network of actors dedicated to thinking about, questioning, and promoting the connections between the arts and development.

Our governance

A public-private initiative for agile partnerships

Hosted within the French Development Agency (AFD), the world’s fifth-largest public development funder, Metis benefits from AFD’s extensive and expert network across nearly 150 countries, providing strong operational and institutional support. This connection also ensures rigorous management of grantors’ funds through strict compliance verification protocols.

The Metis Fund relies on multiple financial channels available for its financial partners: a specific Metis account within AFD and an endowment fund (a private entity with its own board of directors). These structures allow Metis to receive both public and private funds—French or international—with or without tax exemptions, depending on the financial context of the partner. Metis maintains its own decision-making, operational, and financial management processes. Each project emerges from a collaborative process, starting from local needs and leading up to the Metis Fund team.

To guide its strategy and critically assess its work, Metis has established a strategic council that includes artists, development practitioners, and leaders from cultural and scientific institutions. This council meets twice a year.

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The board of directors of the metis endowment fund

Philippe Baudouin

PRESIDENT
Former CEO AFD

Sylvie Boyer

TREASURER
AFD General Secretary

Patrick Papazian

SECRETARY
ADF deputy legal director

Our history

It all started from an observation

In 2018, six development professionals with 15 years of experience at the French Development Agency (AFD) came to a realization: the development sector relies primarily on technical and financial expertise. It pays little attention to the emotional dimension, which can make it feel rather “cold.” Yet, our actions and decisions are largely driven by sensory and emotional factors—our senses, intuitions, and feelings.

This observation led to a key question: why do development policies overlook this powerful driver of impact? Why not make their approaches more “human” by integrating the arts and emotional intelligence?