A creative and digital life that takes its time - Alexandre Leforestier, CEO &Founder of Panodyssey

Thank you, Imane.

And thank you to the children for sharing their visions of an imaginary world, and their solutions, through the 7Rs.

Well done, and thank you to all the children for opening our eyes.

And you, what do you dream of when you imagine a European social network?

This question is no longer theoretical.

It has become political, societal, and urgent.

Only a few weeks ago, more than sixty Members of the European Parliament addressed a letter to the President of the European Commission, warning about serious abuses observed on certain dominant platforms: the spread of violent content, violations of human dignity, and the inability for citizens to freely transfer their data and communities.

Their message was clear:

Europe must support responsible, open alternatives that respect fundamental rights.

Panodyssey stands precisely within this movement.

It offers a space where creators and citizens are not trapped, where their works remain protected, and where technology is designed to build trust, not to erode it.

Twenty years ago, I founded the European music streaming platform Qobuz, guided by a commitment to difference and musical ethics.

Today, the Panodyssey Manifesto 2026 extends this vision by inviting music streaming platforms to work alongside digital publishing actors, in order to restore the full value of song lyrics.

Italian songs carry meaning.

Fado carries meaning.

French song lyrics are filled with meaning — with stories, memory, and culture.

The words of John Lennon, Jean Ferrat, Georges Brassens, Renaud, Claude Nougaro, from Édith Piaf to Serge Gainsbourg, from Barbara to Dalida, carry meaning.

So do the words of Jacques Brel and Stromae.

Hungarian lyrics carry meaning.

The words sung in our traditional dances carry meaning.

Even the literary texts embedded in French musical publishing during the reign of Louis XIV are rich with meaning, history, and cultural influence. The work carried out today to preserve this heritage is invaluable.

That is why Panodyssey, a European social network dedicated to text, is fully committed to restoring meaning to song lyrics by reconnecting words and music.

I invite lyricists from every nation to publish the stories behind their songs on Panodyssey — to share not only their words, but the sound and soul of their texts.

I invite all music and cultural actors to join Panodyssey to archive, document, present, and explain the meaning of Europe’s songs.

Songs have shaped the histories of our nations.

They accompany our lives from birth to farewell — from lullabies to sea shanties.

I invite all artists, all song writers, from slam to popular music, to bring their creations to life on Panodyssey.

Because Panodyssey is an interconnected space, positioned at the crossroads of tomorrow’s cultural digital ecosystems, capable of carrying your words, your languages, your songs, your refrains across the world — always in respect of your creativity and your choices.

This is the purpose of a European cultural social network fully committed to its mission of openness, listening, gathering, and diversity, for the millions of European creators who lack a direct, authentic connection with their audiences.

Take a moment away from TikTok, Instagram, and X.

And, like the hundreds of Panodyssey authors from France, Belgium, Switzerland, and both South and North America, have the courage to download Panodyssey — to shape your texts and images, and to experience new, connected cultural journeys in peace: without advertising, without fake content, without intrusive distractions.

Here, everything is carefully structured.

Spaces are calm, varied, and welcoming.

And at any moment, a creative encounter can turn a simple visit into an extraordinary story.

Proof of this lies in the present moment:

I am speaking to you here, you are listening, and I am sharing with you the stories of Panodyssey’s authors.

Let us roll up our sleeves.

This is only the beginning, the genesis of a project that, like the children of Green Tales, dreams of a connected world that is calm, safe, and respectful.

Let us gather around the new digital cathedrals and cultural architectures yet to be built within our nations.

The journey will be long and difficult. Mountains will still need to be moved.

But if Panodyssey has shown you that, with a hundred times less investment than its American competitor, we have managed to achieve a hundred times more — then imagine what your lives and rituals could become when the real journey truly begins.

I call upon Europe’s cultural and artistic communities to write their words on Panodyssey.

I call upon engineers and developers to write numbers and code through new, open, public APIs — and to amplify this movement now, so that in ten years’ time we may offer our children a digital world that truly reflects who we are.

This space of freedom will exist alongside others — with respect, empathy, and balance — out of love for difference and complementarity.

Now, please take the natural paper book from Tuscany that my brilliant engineering partner, Yann Rigo, will place in your hands, and write your digital dreams.

Take a page.

Write them down.

Each of you here has a page.

Let this book travel. Write, and in a few moments, let us read your dreams together.

Let us now turn to the AI Transparency Notice I mentioned earlier.

This initiative was designed and developed as part of the CREA Trust AI action, a European consortium supported by Creative Europe, with the valuable collaboration of the Spanish news agency Agencia EFE. I would also like to thank the leadership of ARTE TV, who have consistently supported us since Panodyssey’s very beginning.

If you want young people to read, start by speaking to them about their music, their songs, their artists.

Listen to them sing their lyrics, especially when you dislike both the words and the melodies of their idols.

Then, they will be far more willing to follow you into reading, discussing, and perhaps writing about what is essential to the construction of their identity and character.

Finally, I would like to thank someone who, seven years ago, saw, long before many others, what we could build together through ideas, determination, and passion: the American writer born in Bucharest, Claudia Moscovici.

Thank you, Claudia, from the bottom of my heart, for your trust and your clarity of vision.

And I invite you all to read her latest book, Reflections on Art and Culture — from Diderot’s Salons to Panodyssey and Art Explora.

Because, ultimately, from the salons of Diderot to today’s European digital spaces, one truth has never changed:

Words build civilizations. It is up to us to build the places that respect them.