A celebration in memory of Joseph Cardijn in Namur
A mass was celebrated in memory of Cardinal Cardijn in the Saint-Nicholas church in Namur, Belgium, on May 8, 2022, on the initiative of former members of Catholic action movements who used the See-Judge-Act method created by the founder of the Young Christian Workers, a movement whose 100th anniversary will be celebrated in 2025 and which has branches in some fifty countries around the world and an international secretariat in Schaerbeek, Belgium.
At the request of Mgr Warin, Bishop of Namur, the mass was presided over by Fr Joseph Bayet, former JOC-F chaplain and former vicar general in Namur, assisted by Fr Jacques Hanon, IYCW collaborator, and Fr Pierre Dejardin, the parish priest.
During the service, the Philippine Leizyl Salem, treasurer of the IYCW, who was accompanied by the Brazilian Arlindo De Oliveira, in charge of the International Cardijn Association (ICA), recalled that Joseph Cardijn's parents had accepted that their eldest son study to become a priest instead of going to work in a factory, because he wanted to help young workers to find answers to their difficult living conditions, using the famous See-Judge-Act method that he proposed later on.
Quoting testimonies from members of different branches of the IYCW, the dynamic spokesperson showed how Cardijn's legacy is still relevant today and how important it is for those young people to be part of the movement which "since its foundation, has always been committed to the development and transformation of young people's lives and work."
The International YCW is proposing a new issue and a new format of its bulletin. Together with the International Cardijn Association (ICA), we want to provide you with information that summarizes our analysis as well as the actions carried out in the different countries where we have and build IYCW member movements. This new format will hopefully attract new readers and serve as a training tool for young workers and all those interested in the International YCW.
Who is voting against a waiver for the intellectual property rights on Covid vaccines? What does the European Parliament say about a right to disconnect from work? These and other questions are part of a campaign JOC Europe is starting on Twitter and Instagram. With the help of Vote Watch Europe and in cooperation with ACV, there will be publications in the upcoming weeks showing how the different groups in the European Parliament are voting on relevant topics. Follow @EuropeJoc on Twitter or @joceurope on Instagram to keep up to date.
This year's International Labour Conference is being held in two segments. The second segment is running from 25th November to 11th December 2021.
Errol Alonzo, Carolin Moch and Sarah Prenger represented the IYCW in the second segment of this international assembly. On this occasion, Errol delivered a statement responding to the report of the Director-General of the ILO on inequality.
Starting his statement, Errol confirmed the Director-General’s report.
“Young workers from all over the world confirm the report. They confirm, for example, that workers with temporary contracts have been the first to be laid off; that informal workers have had to choose between starving and risking infection; that temporary workers on a weekly basis are not really able to interact with fellows; that a department leader was degraded after telling her employer about her pregnancy; and that a qualified platform worker is working without a contract.”
The IYCW was invited to the 41st UNESCO general assembly which took place at UNESCO headquarters in Paris, France from 9-24 November 2021. As an official partner of UNESCO, the IYCW was invited to provide its views on the issues currently under the attention of UNESCO.
Sarah Prenger, the IYCW president, shared her views on education, work and youth. She appreciated the director general of UNESCO highlighting the impact of educational disruption due to the pandemic on almost two billion learners.
“I thank the director general of UNESCO for pointing out that in the year 2020, 1.6 billion learners were affected by an unprecedented educational disruption. These data just show how billions of people around the world are far from living in dignity,” Sarah said.
Rosa Galeano, a leader of Paraguay YCW, elaborated on how and when the YCW entered the country. She explained that the YCW is a movement that was created at the beginning of the 20th century on the initiative of a Belgian priest, Joseph Cardijn, and some young workers.
Joseph Cardijn, a Belgian priest, and a number of young working women and men were concerned by the deplorable conditions experienced in Belgium by their fellow workers in factories, spinning mills, mines and in the families living in working-class areas.
“In Paraguay, the movement arrived through Monsignor Ramón Bogarín Argaña in 1941, and from that year onwards its most important moments were until the 1970s. Then, like all social organisations, it began to fade away due to the persecutions of the dictatorship,” Rosa said.
“This is my second life. I spent a day and a night afloat more than 24 hrs. in the big sea in March 2020. I was fortunate to be discovered by the seashore of a nearby town. I am grateful to God for my second life.” - Jesus Aguilar, young fisherman
Errol Samarista, IYCW Asia-Pacific coordinator, was present as one of the resource persons in the webinar “Safety and Health is a Fundamental Right at Work”, organized by INSP!R Asia (International Network for Social Protection Rights) and ACV-CSC International, on Monday, October 25 and Tuesday, October 26, 2021.
All workers, regardless of their type of employment, formal and informal, men and women, have the right to a safe and healthy working environment, including affordable quality health care and social protection. Declaring safety and health as a fundamental right at work means that governments have to respect it, promote it, enshrine it in law and enforce it, monitoring its implementation in good faith.
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- We Are Called to Act! We Are Connected! Act for Change and for Social Justice
- In Baudour, a small town in Wallonia (Belgium), former YCW members have kept the values of the YCW alive for over 40 years!
- Young Workers for Change Towards Decent Work and Fairer World
- 75th Anniversary of UNESCO: Youth to Take the Lead
- Pope Francis to the ILO: Calls for Economic Reforms and Social Protection to be Strengthened for Every Worker to be Respected
- History is a dynamic and infinite process
- Uncertain Dreams of European Young Workers in the Shadow of the Covid-19 crisis
- News from the ICA: Welcome to our New Members!
- CIOs Addressing the Impact of Covid-19: Young Workers, Informal Economy Workers, Migrants and Women are the Most Vulnerable
- The IYCW Stands Strong with Colombian People for Peace, Ending Human Rights Violations
- The IYCW Echoes the Workers’ Voice in ILO Conference: Act for Social Justice and Respect Everyone’s Dignity
- The IYCW called on 187 ILO Member States to Act in Solidarity for Stronger and Transformative Social Protection System
- The Impact of Covid-19 on Young Workers: an analysis by the International YCW
- YCW-Info 2018