Jeunesse Étudiante Chrétienne (JEC) is a worldwide group of young

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 ...

students. The movement also goes by the name YCS (Young Christian Students) in English or JEC (Juventud Estudiantil Catolica) in Spanish.

History

Created 1929 in

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

, as part of the Catholic social movement, the JEC was formed by students from the ACJF (Association Catholique de la Jeunesse Française) wishing to minister to other catholic students. The movement organised specialist branches. In 1935 the JEC, opposed

fascism Fascism is a far-right, authoritarian, ultra-nationalist political ideology and movement,: "extreme militaristic nationalism, contempt for electoral democracy and political and cultural liberalism, a belief in natural social hierarchy an ...

and

Nazism Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Na ...

and grew rapidly, in 1936, their first national convention had 4000 participants. JEC movement grew in the spirit of the Specialized Catholic Action movements that were inspired by

Joseph Cardijn Joseph Leo Cardijn (; 13 November 1882 – 24 July 1967) was a Belgian Roman Catholic cardinal and the founder of the Jeunesse ouvrière chrétienne (JOC) oung Christian Workers Cardijn was best known for his lifelong dedication to social ...

(the founder of the

Young Christian Workers The Young Christian Workers (YCW; french: Jeunesse ouvrière chrétienne) is an international organization founded by Rev. Joseph Cardijn in Belgium as the Young Trade Unionists; the organization adopted its present name in 1924. Its French acronym ...

) with the

methodology In its most common sense, methodology is the study of research methods. However, the term can also refer to the methods themselves or to the philosophical discussion of associated background assumptions. A method is a structured procedure for bri ...

of See-Judge-Act. The JEC was a significant operator in the French resistance 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 ...

and continued to play a role in French political life until the 1960s. JEC members included numerous members of the resistance, politicians, media and university people, among them:

Jacques Delors Jacques Lucien Jean Delors (born 20 July 1925) is a French politician who served as the 8th President of the European Commission from 1985 to 1995. He served as Minister of Finance of France from 1981 to 1984. He was a Member of the European Par ...

Pascal Lamy Pascal Lamy (born 8 April 1947) is a French political consultant and businessman. He was the Director-General of the World Trade Organization (WTO) from 1 September 2005 to 1 September 2013 for 8 years. In April 2009, WTO members reappointed Lamy ...

Joseph Fontanet Joseph Fontanet (9 February 1921, Frontenex, Savoie – 2 February 1980, Paris) was a French politician. He was first elected to Parliament in 1956 as MP for Savoie Savoie (; Arpitan: ''Savouè'' or ''Savouè-d'Avâl''; English: ''Savoy'' ...

Gilbert Dru Gilbert may refer to: People and fictional characters * Gilbert (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters *Gilbert (surname), including a list of people Places Australia * Gilbert River (Queensland) * Gilbert River (South ...

, Pierre Alviset,

René Rémond René Rémond (; 30 September 1918 – 14 April 2007) was a French historian, political scientist and political economist. Born in Lons-le-Saunier, Rémond was the Secretary General of Jeunesses étudiantes Catholiques (JEC France in 1943) and a ...

, André de Péretti, Patrick Viveret,

Pierre Rosanvallon Pierre Rosanvallon (born 1 January 1948) is a French historian and sociologist. He was named a professor at the Collège de France in 2001, holding the chair in modern and contemporary political history. Career His works are dedicated to the his ...

, , Antoine Spire,

Jean-Pierre Sueur Jean-Pierre Sueur (born 28 February 1947) is a French politician of the Socialist Party (PS) who has been serving as a member of the Senate of France since 2001, representing the Loiret department. In the Socialist Party's 2011 primaries, Sueu ...

, Georges Montaron,

Christophe Hondelatte Christophe Hondelatte (born 17 December 1962) is a French television and radio host who has worked for BFMTV since fall 2014.

, Claude-François Jullien, Roger-Henri Guerrand,

Renaud Sainsaulieu Renaud Sainsaulieu (4 November 1935 – 26 July 2002) was a French sociologist specializing in the sociology of organizations. He was noted for promoting sociology outside academia. He was the director of the Centre d'Etudes Sociologiques (Cen ...

Jean-Marie Vincent Jean-Marie is both a given name and a surname. Notable people with the name include: * Jean-Marie Abgrall (born 1950), a French psychiatrist, criminologist, specialist in forensic medicine, cult expert, and graduate in criminal law * Jean-Marie C ...

Jean-Yves Le Drian Jean-Yves Le Drian (; born 30 June 1947) is a French politician who served as Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs, Minister of Europe and Foreign Affairs in the First Philippe government, governments of Prime Ministers Édouard Philippe and ...

, and Jacques Bugnicourt. JecfeudeCamps

In the 1960s the JEC denounced torture and the French government's fighting against Algerian independence; this caused tensions with the bishops of the

Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

in France. As a result, in 1965, the Church removed its mandate from the association. This engagement with the church lead to schism within the JEC, which lasted until the reconstruction in the 1980s.

Today

Today the JEC continues its evangelistic mission amongst its members. Their objectives are to make students more aware of their social responsibilities and to help them maintain their faith. The JEC encourages its members to work for social change in their own environment.Aristide infos
from jecfrance.org The JEC has a

General Consultative Status The consultative status is a phrase whose use can be traced to the founding of the United Nations and is used within the UN community to refer to "Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in Consultative Status with the United Nations Economic and Soc ...

with the Economic and Social Commission (

ECOSOC The United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC; french: links=no, Conseil économique et social des Nations unies, ) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations, responsible for coordinating the economic and social fields ...

) of the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...

, and an Operational Status with UNESCO in 1998. JEC is recognized by the

Holy See The Holy See ( lat, Sancta Sedes, ; it, Santa Sede ), also called the See of Rome, Petrine See or Apostolic See, is the jurisdiction of the Pope in his role as the bishop of Rome. It includes the apostolic episcopal see of the Diocese of Rome ...

and since the World Council of Kampala in 2007, has the private juridical statute according to the Canon Law 298-311 and 321-329.

Objectives

* A. Evangelize student milieu and promote students apostolate, by responding to their specific needs and stressing their responsibility. * B. Bring together students seeking community; give them a space for formations and actions in the social vision of the Church at various levels. * C. Promote a global solidarity among students and young people for joint reflections and actions leading for a more equitable social order. * D. Give students more resources, pedagogic and methodology to integrate their Christian faith to their intellectual and social lives.

References

External links

Official websiteJEC Internationale
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jeunesse Etudiante Chretienne 1929 establishments in France Youth organizations based in France