Nicolas Escach, who is a doctor and associate professor of geography, studied at the École normale supérieure in Lyon. He specialises in the Baltic space, and is the author of numerous articles and books devoted to riverside cities and their inhabitants (including Les Danois, 2017 and La France à l'heure nordique, 2021). He is a regular contributor to the written press (Libération, Le Monde diplomatique) and to radio (France culture, Radio classique). He has taught sustainable urban strategies at several universities and Grandes Ecoles in France (Lyon, Versailles Saint-Quentin, Paris, Chartres) and abroad (Oslo, Riga, Nuuk, Irkutsk) and has also worked as an advisor and project manager for the former DATAR, the Ministry of Agriculture and the Rhône-Alpes region. He was also an assistant at the French Embassy in Berlin and at the Marc Bloch Centre.
He returned to Caen in 2017 as a lecturer and is currently the director of the Caen Campus of Sciences Po Rennes, dedicated to transitions, territorial dialogue and sustainable development. He also founded a Northern Europe hub and a work-study master's degree entitled "Innovative strategies for urban territories: anticipating transitions". In his capacity as the Normandy for Peace Chair, he is in charge of collecting portraits of inspiring personalities, involved in the follow-up of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Two years ago, together with Norman stakeholders involved in Franco-Nordic relations, he created Confluences nordiques, an association that promotes the creation of a Nordic agenda throughout the year in Caen. This organisation also focused on the construction of symbolic objects that could establish the role of the city as a relay to the North and spread Scandinavian practices and leisure activities throughout the districts. His fascination with Denmark is reflected in his board membership of France-Denmark and in his position of co-editor of the magazine, Nordiques.
Since 2020, Nicolas Escach has been Deputy Mayor, in charge of the sustainable city in Caen (soft mobility, energy, climate policies) and community councillor of Caen la Mer. He launched the ‘Neighbourhoods in Transition’ initiative to support the emergence of demonstrators carried along by public, private and associative actors.
Bibliographic selection:
Les Danois, ateliers henry dougier, 2017.
De la mer Baltique à la mer Noire (with Benoît Goffin), ENS Éditions, 2021.
La France à l'heure nordique, Éditions Les Pérégrines, 2021.
