Christian working-class youth

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Christian Youth Workers Germany
(CAJ)
logo
founding 1925 International
1946 in Austria
1947 in Germany
founder Joseph Cardijn
Seat eat
method see judge act
people Andrea Karl (Federal Chair),
Alexander Franz-Prenger (Federal Secretary),
Christoph Holbein (Spiritual Director)
Members 8000
Website www.caj.de

The Christian Workers 'Youth ( CAJ ) or in Austria the Catholic Workers' Youth ( KAJ ) is a democratic, international, Christian youth association . It has its roots in Catholic Action and the labor movement . CAJ Germany is an independent youth organization of the Catholic workers' movement and a member of the Federation of German Catholic Youth .

History of the CAJ

First beginnings in Belgium

The foundation of a young trade union movement ( Jeunesse Syndicaliste ) by the priest and later Cardinal Joseph Cardijn , Fernand Tonnet and Paul Garcet mark the beginning of the CAJ movement in Belgium. As a young worker priest Cardijn went from house to house in the workers' settlements of his parish, proclaimed the gospel , saw the miserable living conditions of the working class families and was open to the needs of the young workers.

After a name change, the movement has been called Jeunesse Ouvrière Chrétienne (JOC) since 1924 . “The first general assembly of the JOC takes place on April 18 and 19, 1925 in Brussels: 600 delegates publicly declare the existence of the movement and its program. This date is regarded as the official date of origin of the movement founded by young workers. "

It was Cardijns' concern to make them aware of their dignity and to train them to be able to take responsibility for themselves and society. He developed the method “see - judge - act”, which has been adopted in many ways from the pedagogy of youth and adult education.

In his “Handbook for the CAJ” he laid down the principles of the movement: “Every young worker is worth more than all the gold in the world because he or she is the daughter or son of God.”

Foundation in Germany

The first large gathering of 120 German CAJers and international guests took place from Saturday, January 25th to Sunday, January 26th, 1947 in Ludwigshafen. This meeting is now considered the founding assembly of CAJ Germany. Just two months later (March 24-28 , 1947) representatives of the CAJ were involved in the founding assembly of the Federation of German Catholic Youth in Harderhausen.

The first Federal Congress in Essen in 1966, in which Joseph Cardijn personally participated, was particularly important for the development of the German CAJ. Under the motto “Work shapes the world”, 320 delegates took a close look at the world of work and its effects on the lives of young people. On the basis of 35,000 questionnaires completed by young people, the Congress developed political demands and the CAJ's action plan.

Spread worldwide

Because of the similar situation of working youth around the world, the CAJ has become a worldwide movement. "The CAJ allows an exchange between young workers about their reality, their hopes, their cultural and spiritual wealth, leading to a mutual aid, solidarity and mutual understanding among young workers around the world." In 1975 a policy statement of the CAJ was first adopted .

Thematic priorities of the past

In the past, the CAJ in Germany specifically addressed the following topics in its work:

  • Fair design of the world of work
  • internationality
  • Vocational education
  • Tolerance and international understanding
  • Working and lifetime

Characteristics of the CAJ

Characteristic Christianity
The CAJ is based in the Catholic Church, but nevertheless “offers (it) all young workers, without distinguishing between faith and religion, the opportunity to discover, deepen and share their faith and convictions. The CAJ is an open community that welcomes all young workers who are interested in their future and are committed to shaping it, together with other young people all over the world. "

Worker characteristic
“The CAJ consists of young workers; Young people who belong to the class of the working class, the oppressed and the marginalized. ” In many national movements the CAJ takes on union-like tasks and fights for better living and working conditions. Due to the changes in the concept of the worker and social realities, the CAJ Germany is now working more generally against precarious living and working realities, taking into account, for example, the situation of young refugees or students.

Characteristic of youth
Regardless of the occupation of the parents, school education or appearance, everyone is important in the CAJ. Since the young people know their situation, their worries and their wishes best, they are encouraged in the CAJ to take responsibility themselves and to campaign for a change in social conditions. The commitment of the young people is therefore an important prerequisite for the content orientation of the association.

CAJ in Germany

Structure of CAJ Germany

Coat of arms of the Christian youth workers

The CAJ is a democratic youth association . The structure in Germany is based on the Catholic division into dioceses . In 20 of them there are diocesan associations of the CAJ, which together form the CAJ Germany eV. Voluntary representatives of the diocesan directors meet once a year for the management council, the highest decision-making body of the CAJ Germany. The Bavarian dioceses have also come together to form a state working group.

The diocesan associations of the CAJ are: Aachen, Augsburg, Bamberg, Berlin, Eichstätt, Essen, Freiburg, Hamburg, Hildesheim, Cologne, Limburg, Munich-Freising, Münster, Osnabrück, Paderborn, Passau, Regensburg, Rottenburg-Stuttgart, Speyer and Würzburg.

The cross and ear of wheat in the coat of arms are the symbols of the Christian youth workers. The sign or coat of arms of the CAJ shows these symbols in a coat of arms on a white background, with the word “CAJ” above the cross on a red background (outside Germany corresponding to “YCW”, “JOC” etc.).

The prayer of the CAJ

The CAJ has its own prayer , which the KAB has adopted from it and thus connects the two associations. It is known within the Catholic Church as "prayer from the world of work" and was printed in the last edition of the Praise of God in some dioceses.

The banner

The CAJ banner is actually a flag (although the designation as a flag is frowned upon within the association) and shows the CAJ's coat of arms either on a black or white background. Originally the association was divided into a male and a female youth (CAJ-M and CAJ-F); the black banners belonged to the CAJ-M, the white to the CAJ-F. The banners are shown at public events such as demonstrations etc., but are also often seen at internal association events.

The logo of the German CAJ

Logo of CAJ Germany

Since the 1990s, the CAJ in Germany has mostly used the logo on letterheads, stickers etc. instead of the coat of arms with cross and ear of wheat. This logo is the first step towards a uniform national corporate identity . Before that, the diocesan associations presented themselves in a colorful mix of logos.

Focus

Saint Prekarius / Saint Precaria

The CAJ is committed to fair and decent work. For this purpose, the CAJ Bayern in 2010 had the figure of the (imagined, virtual) Saint Prekarius or Saint Prekaria carved out of wood in the tradition of the Catholic veneration of saints. The model for this was a figure that emerged from the Italian EuroMayDay movement and came to Germany as an idea through the KAB in Austria. The figure is used by the CAJ in a wide variety of campaigns to bring the issue of precarious employment to the public and symbolizes the many people who cannot make a living from their work. The most uncertain day of the year, February 29th, is named as the commemoration of St. Precarius or St. Precaria.

Action groups

The action groups of CAJ Germany, in which CAJers from different diocesan associations participate, are called practitioners. Since practitioners are always brought into being for one year, you can see the main topics of the CAJ Germany from the currently existing practitioners. There are currently the following practitioners:

  • The Praktiker Weltnah / rr was founded in 2005 and has dealt with the various effects of globalization in the past. For example, a project was carried out in which the situation of young Roma in Germany was examined, which received a lot of public attention. The current focus of the practitioner is the situation of young people in Germany who do not have a secure residence status.
  • The Praktiker Netzspinner was launched in 2012. In it, volunteer CAJers network who want to improve the CAJ's web environment.
  • The Praktiker history songbook was founded in 2013. He researches the historical background of the songs that are traditionally healthy in the association and thus documents a significant part of the CAJ history.

Institutions sponsored by the CAJ

Educational institutions and educational institutions
  • Waldmünchen youth education center
  • Nell-Breuning-Haus Herzogenrath
  • CAJ workshop Saerbeck training center
  • Employee training and meeting place in Obertrubach
  • Joseph Cardijn House Listrup
Youth meetings
  • Checkpoint Netphen youth club
  • Burbach youth promotion, with the youth clubs in Burbach and Burbach-Holzhausen
  • Wonderful XXL food
  • MP75 street

Honourings and prices

  • The Praktiker Weltnah was awarded in 2011 for her project with young Roma "So keres? What are you doing? How are you?" awarded by the Alliance for Democracy and Tolerance .
  • CAJ Germany and CAJ Bayern received the Ketteler Prize from the Foundation for the Future of Work and Social Security (ZASS) for their "Fair instead of Precarious" campaign.

CAJ in other countries

KAJ in Austria

The KAJ was founded as CAJ in January 1946 in the Vienna-Crimea parish by Father Josef Zeininger (later Episcopal Vicar in Vienna). The breakdown of Catholic youth by occupation and milieu, such as the workers' youth (KAJ), was abandoned in many regions at the turn of the millennium in favor of a unified Catholic youth . There is still an independent KAJ in the St. Pölten region.

European CAJ

The German CAJ networks with other national movements at the European level under the name Jeunesse Ouvrière Chrétienne (JOC Europe). The European level secretariat is in Belgium.

CAJ international

The international CAJ is called Young Christian Workers (YCW) and unites more than 50 national movements on five continents. The International Secretariat is in Brussels.

World Council of the International CAJ

The following important information is missing from this article or section:
In which year? (When is / was "this year"?) Can you describe "exchange" (Who? Only within CAJ? Exchange of thoughts or information?) And the framework program (focus / goals, not only in Germany) in more detail so that you know why is this encyclopedically relevant? What about Australia? Is there a receipt?
Help Wikipedia by researching and pasting it .

The World Council of the International CAJ takes place every four years. This year the XIV World Council took place for the first time in the Diocese of Aachen . The aim is global exchange (Asia, Africa, America and Europe), which is accompanied by a supporting program in the cities of Brussels, Aachen, Münster and Würzburg. Where from different continents: Asia, Africa, America and Europe came to exchange ideas.

Known members

Theologians and priests
Politician
Other personalities

literature

  • CAJ Germany e. V. (Ed.), Sabine Gottschalk (Ed.): Forward! We are only at the beginning! The history of CAJ Germany from 1974 to 2011. Waldmünchen 2014, ISBN 978-3-944427-07-2 .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Éditions du Signe (ed.): ICAJ. International Christian Young Workers. 75 years in action. Beta: 2000. p. 15.
  2. ↑ Cf. Frankfurt working papers on socio-ethical and sociological research FAgsF 18.1, page 39; however, there is an error in the source. Since the event went from Saturday to Sunday, it cannot be January 26-27 as stated there. act.
  3. ^ Altenberg letter, summer 1947. Communications from the Federation of German Catholic Youth.
  4. ↑ International Declaration of Principles of the CAJ (adopted at the IX World Council, Johannesburg, South Africa, December 1995. p. 19.)
  5. ↑ International Declaration of Principles of the CAJ (adopted at the IX World Council, Johannesburg, South Africa, December 1995. p. 16.)
  6. ↑ International Declaration of Principles of the CAJ (adopted at the IX World Council, Johannesburg, South Africa, December 1995. p.15.)
  7. ↑ http://www.caj.de/dioezesanverbaende
  8. ↑ Archived copy ( memento of the original from January 7, 2017 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.caj.de
  9. ↑ Christian youth workers celebrate "holy" Prekarius . saarbruecker-zeitung.de. Accessed March 1, 2014
  10. ^ Prekarius Flyer ( Memento from March 5, 2014 in the Internet Archive )
  11. ↑ http://www.caj.de/multimedia/Textdokumente/Praktiker-Weltnah/sokeres.pdf
  12. ↑ CAJ members and Roma youths made a project film together ( Memento from April 2, 2015 in the Internet Archive )
  13. ↑ News from the practitioner Weltnah / rr ( Memento of the original from March 5, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. caj.de. Accessed March 1, 2014 @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.caj.de
  14. ↑ News from the practitioner Netzspinner ( Memento of the original from March 5, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. caj.de. Accessed March 1, 2014 @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.caj.de
  15. ↑ Federal Agency for Civic Education: Locally committed: With youth work and perseverance for integration and participation | BfDT Alliance for Democracy and Tolerance. In: www.buendnis-toleranz.de. Retrieved January 8, 2017 .
  16. ↑ Foundation ZASS: Ketteler Foundation Award future of work and social security (ZASS). In: www.kettelerpreis.de. Retrieved January 8, 2017 .
  17. ^ Images of man - Father Josef Zeininger - Episcopal Vicar for Vienna . In: ORF Radio Austria 1 . July 9, 1989. Retrieved March 10, 2016.
  18. ↑ KAJ St. Pölten Accessed on August 23, 2015
  19. ↑ JOC Europe www.joc-europe.org. Accessed March 2, 2014
  20. ↑ International CAJ www.joci.org. Accessed March 2, 2014
  21. ↑ https://www.bundestag.de/dokumente/textarchiv/2012/40316823_wege_politik_schummer/209164