Biography
Scott Tilton is the Co-Founder and Director of the Nous Foundation, a platform for exchange between Louisiana and the French-speaking world. He lived the past several years in Paris where he worked as a consultant at Ernst & Young France on projects for the European Union, the UN, and the French Government. While in Paris, Scott launched and spearheaded an initiative that saw Louisiana become the first U.S. state to join the International Organization of the Francophonie (La Francophonie). A graduate of the University of Virginia, Scott also holds a master's degree in international relations from Sciences Po Paris.
Research
Voices of Renewal is a video project focusing on how the revitalization movement for Louisiana Creole is confronting the coastal erosion crisis in Louisiana. Coastal erosion has led many historically Creole-identifying communities along the coast to retreat from their homes and jeopardizes communities from Lake Charles to New Orleans.
Louisiana Creole (also called Kouri-vini) is a critically endangered language with around 10,000 speakers across the Gulf South. Despite the challenges faced transmitting the language, a dynamic revitalization movement has emerged in the last two decades spearheaded by activism. The Creole language emerged in communities along the coast where most of today's speakers still reside. As a result, the erosion of the coast poses a direct threat to these communities. Understanding this connection, many Louisiana Creoles advocating for the language also are fervent defenders against the continued environmental degradation of Louisiana's coast.
Taking this context into account, our goal is to show the urgency of the situation and to give activists the opportunity to talk about the link between the language and the environment themselves.
