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The
Centennial was held on the 28th of April 2004 at the Paris Committee
foyer, Monsieur le Prince Street in Paris. To celebrate this double
event, the foyer was organized as a day of "Open Doors"
in order to make the foyer known and to show the renovation of the
young workers' foyer and a few rooms in the school dormitory.
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Mrs.
Ramecourt, the director, and all her team, happily and spontaneously
went into action to organize the welcome, decorations, and visits.
The welcome by the educational team, the administrative and technical
team and the young people created a warm family atmosphere which
pleased all visitors.
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The
first part of the afternoon was devoted to the visit of the renovated
rooms.
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A
friendly excitement took over on entering them: joy, spaciousness,
light and color were everywhere.
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Guided
visits in small groups were made through the bedrooms, kitchens,
dining halls and rooms for recreation and study. Around 4 pm the
visitors were invited to listen to the various talks planned on
the program.
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The
President of the Paris Committee, Edith Chauveau, after thanking
the social and city partners of the foyer and recognizing the work
done for the young people by Mrs. Ramecourt and her educational
team, paid tribute to Mrs. Le Vert to whom a room of the foyer had
been dedicated. In conclusion, the determination of the Paris Committee
to respond even more to the needs of young people was expressed:
an extension of the foyer is foreseen which is totally part of the
ACISJF objective…
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The
President of the National Committee, Nicole Clugnet, traced the
history of the Association in France from its beginning, as well
as the history of the present foyer.
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The
International President, Odile Moreau, who had just returned from
Latin America, shared various information with us about the dramas
of small children, adolescents and young women throughout the world.
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A young woman thirty years old, formerly in the "Unity of Life" sector of the Paris Committee gave witness: "I have not always been easy to deal with and I have certainly not left only good members behind me! But it is here that I learned to deal with myself, it is here that I became independent…
It is here that I wanted to provide service to lost young girls. Seven years ago I applied at various schools for social workers: I was refused! Then I went to work and tried again. At present I am in a study course for social workers and I am happy". |
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Resilience/font>
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Conférence de Monsieur Jacques Lecomte. Docteur en psychologie, Professeur à l'Université, et co-auteur avec S. Vanistendael, d'un livre : "Le bonheur est toujours possible " (Bayard, éditeur) . Resilience means to break the contract with unhappiness and guilt. It is refusing to be a prisoner of a supposed destiny which spirals down into misfortune or wrong-doing. In fact, it is to come back after misfortune, or after a childhood of ill-treatment… "Resilience is a long negotiation : it is not a matter of playing "you lose some, you win some", but of playing always to win. (This speech was recorded and the videotape can be borrowed from the Paris foyer). |
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Following
this address which was much appreciated by the public, all were
invited to have a drink around a magnificent buffet; it was a time
for casual and very pleasant encounters.
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(In CONTACTS no. 27/August 2004 - Heading - "Association life") | ||||||||||||||||
Lecomte