The archives of the International Young Christian Workers (IYCW), also known as the Jeunesse Ouvrière Chrétienne Internationale (JOCI), are now consultable at KADOC. Numbering over 800 boxes and spanning ca. 80 meters, they cover the IYCW from the establishment of the International Secretariat of the Young Christian Workers in 1945 up until the early 2000s.
The archives form a rich, coherent whole and shed a light on all aspects of the IYCW, from its internal structures, councils and tensions to its external relations with other (Catholic) organizations and the Vatican. Their most striking characteristic is, without doubt, their vast geographical scope. At one point in time, the YCW was present in almost 100 different countries. As a result, the numerous “country-files” contain precious documents on every corner of the world, from the Virgin Islands to the German Democratic Republic.
The disclosure of the IYCW-archives opens a field of opportunities for international researchers. First and foremost, the history of the organizations remains to be written. Moreover, the archives contain, for instance, crucial evidence for the study of Cardijn’s See-Judge-Act method which spread across the world, influenced the doctrine of the Catholic Church and is still widely used by Catholic movements today.
Country files
The “country-files”, for their part, allow for case-studies on the development of the YCW and its emancipatory force in certain regions or countries while the external contacts allow for an analysis of the network of Catholic international organizations and/or their representative status in the body of the United Nations.
However, more than anything else, the IYCW-archives offer the researcher a window on political, societal and religious evolutions that took place from 1945 onwards. From the rise and fall of South-American dictatorships to the Vietnam War; from the turbulent 60s to South-African Apartheid and immigration and integration in Europe; from Vatican II and the rise of Liberation Theology to contemporary religious diversity; the IYCW witnessed, influenced and reacted to defining currents and episodes of the post-war period. As such, the IYCW-archives are a useful source for almost any research on the second half of the 20th century.
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Archiving progress: what KADOC is doing to conserve the IYCW heritage (IYCW)
CONSULT THE ARCHIVES
BE/942855/322 Archives International Young Christian Workers (IYCW), 1925-2012 (KADOC)