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Johan Leman, 22 August 2022

One month ago, Paul Steels passed away. Foyer des Jeunes actually originated in 1969 near the Brussels North station. The Foyer des Jeunes still exists today as part of the Foyer cluster. In 1969, Paul Steels started in the North Quarter an operation that had a great impact at that time and led to a real youth centre in 1972.  In 1974, Foyer des Jeunes moved to Molenbeek, together with many residents from the North Quarter. This move was prompted by the repressive actions of some building promoters: the houses in the North Quarter had to be demolished to make way for megalomaniac new administrative buildings.

The numbers of young people who visited the Foyer des Jeunes every day in the 1970s were staggering. There were several hundreds of them every day. I can really testify to this, as someone who had nothing to do with Foyer at that time. You have to see it like this: the Foyer was the only youth centre in Molenbeek and the surrounding area, and it was open 7 days a week. There was a small zoo with a real lion, a film room (with Tarzan, Laurel and Hardy, Charlie…), a children’s library, kickers, a restaurant (with French fries, soup and an egg), and an after-school work. For most young people, Foyer was their foyer, their home. I am still surprised by how much emotion and sympathy people in the fifties and sixties in Molenbeek tell about their Foyer today. Paul experienced his highlight when, at the end of the 1970s, King Baudouin visited the Foyer des Jeunes anonymously, on the recommendation of then Secretary of State Vic Anciaux, a visit repeated some years later by king Albert.

At the end of the nineties, after ten years of hard work, Paul Steels’ health did not allow him to stay with Foyer anymore. In 1981, Foyer des Jeunes was extended and integrated in a cluster, with a French-speaking and a Dutch-speaking section, with a women’s house and a social service, all working together under the name Foyer. A new management and a broader structure were introduced: the current Foyer. From the 80’s on, the projects continued to develop. Foyer follows the developments in society and adapts, without fear of pioneering.

However, it is correct to gratefully highlight the very special place of Paul Steels (03.10.37-27.07.22) within the whole of Foyer’s story, in his case: the first 10 years in a story of more than 50 years.

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