Chiro Flanders ( nl, Chirojeugd Vlaanderen) or simply Chiro, is a

Belgian Belgian may refer to: * Something of, or related to, Belgium * Belgians, people from Belgium or of Belgian descent * Languages of Belgium, languages spoken in Belgium, such as Dutch, French, and German *Ancient Belgian language, an extinct language ...

youth organisation The following is a list of youth organizations. A youth organization is a type of organization with a focus upon providing activities and socialization for minors. In this list, most organizations are international unless noted otherwise. 0 ...

, founded on

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

values, active in

Flanders Flanders (, ; Dutch: ''Vlaanderen'' ) is the Flemish-speaking northern portion of Belgium and one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium. However, there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to culture, ...

Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...

and

Eupen-Malmedy Eupen-Malmedy is a small, predominantly German-speaking region in eastern Belgium. It consists of three administrative cantons around the towns of Eupen, Malmedy, and Sankt Vith which encompass some . Elsewhere in Belgium, the region is commonly ...

. With more than 100,000 members Chiro is the biggest youth organization in Belgium. While mainly focusing on having fun, it also aims at developing youngsters' responsibility and skills. Chiro is a member of the umbrella of Catholic youth organizations

Fimcap The FIMCAP, which is short for Fédération Internationale des Mouvements Catholiques d’Action Paroissiale (French for "International Federation of Catholic Parochial Youth Movements"), is an umbrella organization for Catholic youth organizatio ...

Name

The name Chiro is a combination of the

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

letters ''chi'' (χ) and ''rho'' (ρ), which are the first letters of ''Christos'', the Greek form of

Christ Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other Names and titles of Jesus in the New Testament, names and titles), was ...

(see

Chi Rho The Chi Rho (☧, English pronunciation ; also known as ''chrismon'') is one of the earliest forms of Christogram, formed by superimposing the first two (capital) letters— chi and rho (ΧΡ)—of the Greek word ( Christos) in such a way t ...

). It was introduced by Jos Cleymans in an issue of ''Het Katholiek Patronaat'', describing ''the youth of Chiro'' (Chirojeugd).

History

The Chiro movement emerged from meetings for children after the mass on Sunday called "" teaching Catholic values. In 1934 the Jos Cleymans, a priest and from 1932 secretary of the Flemish Youth Union for Catholic Action (JVKA), used for the first time the term "Chiro" to name the youth movement. The approach of the movement became less formal and changed to an emphasis on playing and activities. He tried to transform the , now called Chiro, into a modern youth movement. At the same expressive practices like banners, songs and marches were introduced to make a common identity of the groups of the movement visible. Cleymans was inspired by the German Catholic youth movements "Quickborn" and " Neudeutschland" as well as by the Scouting movement. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

Chiro formulated a concept for its youth work encompassing three pillars: # Chiro was structured in different sections based on age groups. Youth was led by youth. Each section was led by a foreman and an assistant. # Chiro developed a system of requirements. # Chiro introduced a creed. The creed was a poetic text describing an ideal to live. In the beginning Chiro was an organization only for boys. Later also girls groups of Chiro were founded and also mixed groups emerged. Today there are 282 local groups for girls only, 237 for boys only and 397 mixed groups.

Structure

The members are divided into several sections according to their age. This division is not strict and not always applied in every individual group. * ''Ribbels'': 6–8 years old (not in every Chiro group) * ''Speelclub'': 8–10 years old, if there are ribbels, else 6–9 years old * ''Rakwi'': 10–12 years old, if there are ribbels, else 9–12 years old (''rakkers'' (boys) & ''kwiks'' (girls)) * ''Tito'': 12–14 years old (tippers (girls) & toppers (boys)) * ''Keti'': 14–16 years old (kerels (boys) & (girls)) * ': 16–18 years old
Moderne afdelingskentekens Chiro

Notable Chiro members

Bert Anciaux Bert Jozef Herman Vic Anciaux (born 11 September 1959) is a Belgian politician and Vooruit faction leader in the Belgian Senate. He was one of the founders of Spirit (later known as the Flemish Progressives, then the Social Liberal Party, or SL ...

(former Minister for Culture, Youth and Sport in the

Flemish Government The Flemish Government ( nl, Vlaamse regering ) is the executive branch of the Flemish Community and the Flemish Region of Belgium. It consists of a government cabinet, headed by the Minister-President and accountable to the Flemish Parliament, a ...

) *

Rutger Beke Rutger Beke (pronounced "bay-kuh") ( Halle, 8 August 1977) is a retired Belgian triathlete living in Leuven. Beke competed for the Uplace Pro Triathlon Team until he announced his retirement from professional triathlon on 31 May 2011. Rutger B ...

(triathlete) *

Jean-Luc Dehaene Jean Luc Joseph Marie "Jean-Luc" Dehaene (; 7 August 1940 – 15 May 2014) was a Belgian politician who served as the prime minister of Belgium from 1992 until 1999. During his political career, he was nicknamed "The Plumber" and "The Minesweep ...

(politician, he later transferred to

scouts Scouting, also known as the Scout Movement, is a worldwide youth movement employing the Scout method, a program of informal education with an emphasis on practical outdoor activities, including camping, woodcraft, aquatics, hiking, backpacking ...

) *

Luc De Vos Luc De Vos (12 July 1962 – 29 November 2014) was a Belgian musician and writer, best known as the lead singer of the Dutch-language alternative rock formation Gorki and as a guest in multiple television shows. He also voiced VW bus in the Flemis ...

(Flemish singer

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) *

Stijn Devolder Stijn Devolder (born 29 August 1979) is a Belgian former professional road bicycle racer, who competed professionally for (2002–2003), (2004–2007), (2008–2010), (2011–2012), (2013–2016), (2017–2018) and (2019). Career Born in ...

(cyclist) *

Piet Goddaer Piet Goddaer (born 29 April 1970 in Kortrijk) is a Belgian musician, better known by his stage name Ozark Henry. , he has released nine studio albums under the name Ozark Henry. In 2001, he released the album ''To All Our Escapes'' under the nam ...

(singer:

Ozark Henry Piet Goddaer (born 29 April 1970 in Kortrijk) is a Belgian musician, better known by his stage name Ozark Henry. , he has released nine studio albums under the name Ozark Henry. In 2001, he released the album ''To All Our Escapes'' under the nam ...

) *

Marc Herremans Marc Herremans ( Merksem, 19 December 1973) is a Belgian triathlete and motivational speaker. Triathlete Because of his 4th-place finish in the Ironman of Australia, he secured a place for the 2001 Ironman World Championship held in Hawaii. On ...

(triathlete) *

Leif Hoste Leif Hoste (born 17 July 1977) is a retired Belgian professional road racing cyclist, who last rode for UCI Professional Continental Team team . Born in Kortrijk, Hoste's career highlights included winning two stages and the overall title at the ...

(cyclist) * Oliver (Eurosong for Kids 2008) *

Kris Peeters Kris Peeters (; born 18 May 1962) is a Belgian politician of the Christian Democratic and Flemish who has been serving as vice-president of the European Investment Bank (EIB) since 2021. Earlier in his career, he was Minister-President of Flander ...

(former

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, former Belgian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Employment, member of the

European Parliament The European Parliament (EP) is one of the legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and informally as the Council of Ministers), it adopts ...

) *

Thor Salden Thor Salden (born 28 November 1997Thor's birthday bl ...

(

Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2006 The Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2006 was the fourth edition of the annual Junior Eurovision Song Contest for young singers aged 8 to 15. On 2 December 2006, the contest was broadcast live from Bucharest, Romania making it the second time the con ...

) *

Herman Schueremans Herman Schueremans (born 5 January 1954) is a Flemish politician and concertpromotor. Schueremans was involved from the start with Rock Werchter and Torhout-Werchter. Now he still organises Rock Werchter for Live Nation, that bought the two f ...

(CEO

Rock Werchter Rock Werchter is an annual music festival held in the village of Werchter, near Leuven, Belgium, since 1976 and is a large sized rock music festival. The 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2012 and 2014 festivals received the Arthur award for ''best festiv ...

) *

Peter Van de Veire Peter Van de Veire (born Eeklo, Belgium, 1 December 1971) is a well-known radio personality in Flanders. Early life Van de Veire grew up in the town of Waarschoot. After attaining a degree in communications management, he briefly sold vacuum c ...

(radio presenter) *

Stan Van Samang Stan Van Samang (born 19 March 1979 in Wijgmaal, Leuven) is a Belgian actor and singer. Career He played the role of 'Kevin' in one of Flanders' famous soaps called ''Wittekerke''. Van Samang appeared in other Flemish TV series such as ''Flik ...

(actor, singer) *Els Van Weert (former Undersecretary for Sustainable Development and Social Economy, former leader of the social-liberal party "

spirit Spirit or spirits may refer to: Liquor and other volatile liquids * Spirits, a.k.a. liquor, distilled alcoholic drinks * Spirit or tincture, an extract of plant or animal material dissolved in ethanol * Volatile (especially flammable) liquids, ...

") *

Johan Verminnen Johan Maurits Verminnen (born 22 May 1951 in Wemmel, Belgium) is a Belgian singer. Discography *2019 ''En Daarna ga ik Vissen'' (Album) *2016 ''Tussen een Glimlach en een Traan'' (Album) *2014 ''Stemmen'' (Album) *2009 ''Solozeiler'' (Album) * ...

(singer) *

Inge Vervotte Inge Vervotte (born 27 December 1977) is a Belgian politician for the Christian Democratic and Flemish party (CD&V). She was Belgian federal minister for Civil Service and Public Enterprises in the Leterme I Government, which was in office in 2 ...

(politician) For a more elaborated list, please refer to the Chiro website.

Chiro Organizations worldwide

Belgian

Missionaries A missionary is a member of a religious group which is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Thomas Hale 'On Being a Mi ...

brought the ideas of Chiro into third-world countries. Today there are Chiro organizations in the

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

(since 1952),

Burundi Burundi (, ), officially the Republic of Burundi ( rn, Repuburika y’Uburundi ; Swahili language, Swahili: ''Jamuhuri ya Burundi''; French language, French: ''République du Burundi'' ), is a landlocked country in the Great Rift Valley at the ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

, Botswana, Lesotho, D. R. Congo (as "

Kiro Kiro was a colonial post in what is now the Central Equatoria province of South Sudan on the west side of the Bahr al Jebel or White Nile river. It was in part of the Lado enclave. In 1900 there were said to be 1,500 troops from the Congo Free ...

") and Haiti (as " Mouvement Kiro D'Haiti", since 1960). All these organizations – including the original Chirojeugd Vlaanderen – are member organizations of

, which is an

Umbrella organization An umbrella organization is an association of (often related, industry-specific) institutions who work together formally to coordinate activities and/or pool resources. In business, political, and other environments, it provides resources and ofte ...

of catholic youth organizations.

References

External links

*
Chiroyouth Flanders
i
ODIS - Online Database for Intermediary Structures

Archives of Chiroyouth Flanders
i
ODIS - Online Database for Intermediary Structures
{{Catholic youth work 1934 establishments in Belgium Catholic Church in Belgium Catholicism in Belgium Fimcap Youth organisations based in Belgium