Foyer des Jeunes asbl

Foyer des Jeunes, which has been located at Werkhuizenstraat 25 since 1974, has always worked with young people on prevention and remediation, and has already welcomed thousands of young people. We would even dare to say that all the Moroccans in Brussels who are now ± 45 years old attended the Foyer at least once in their youth.

Welcoming young people outside school hours has always been one of the pillars of Foyer’s work. Activities tailored to different age groups are offered to children, teenagers and young adults. Foyer’s youth centre is open to children from the age of 8 to young people aged 25, and all our activities and projects are co-educational. In fact, we currently have almost perfect parity. We have also been welcoming newcomers for many years.

Play activities, sports, tutoring and creative workshops are offered to young people in a coherent and organised way. All these activities are part of a wide-ranging educational project that aims to develop responsibility for children, young people and their parents and promote citizenship within a framework of social cohesion. The youth centre works in partnership with the main social actors in the Molenbeek commune, as well as with partners from other communes, other regions and even international partners.

Contact02/411 74 95
bachir.mrabet@foyer.be
Werkhuizenstraat 25, 1080 Sint-Jans-Molenbeek
Contact hours
Tuesday: 12h30 – 20h
Wednesday: 10h – 20h
Thursday: 13h30 – 20h
Friday: 10h30 – 20h
Saturday: 12h30 – 20h
Opening hours
Tuesday: 15h30 – 20h
Wednesday: 14h – 20h
Thursday: 15h30 – 20h
Friday: 15h30 – 20h
Saturday: 14h – 20h

During the year, we offer weekly different activities and workshops. Here you find an overview of all activities. 

Media Workshop

The Media workshop has been running for many years within our association. It welcomes young people of all ages and aims to dissect subjects chosen by young people through research, (street)interviews, opinion-forming via or interpretation through fiction. As soon as we set up this workshop, we wanted each young person to learn the different roles involved in creating a video: cameraman, boom operator, editor, director, etc. Thanks to the long existence of this project, we have the advantage that the young participants are now well-versed in the use of the equipment. Because of this expertise, we can ask them to mentor newcomers by passing on the knowledge they have acquired.

Tuesday: 17h-19h
Thursday: 17h-19h

Eco-citizen

The workshop Eco-citizen aims to raise young people’s awareness of their role and its importance in safeguarding our environment and has been running since September 2022.
To that end, the young people had the opportunity to visit the Delacroix sorting centre to familiarise themselves with the processes put in place to manage our waste on a daily basis.

Friday 17h-19h

Homework class (social cohesion)

The Homework Class offers educational support that is of vital importance to the academic and intellectual development of children and young people. It is run by qualified staff who work closely with the schools attended by the children. Its role is not limited to academic remedial work, but above all it plays a very important role in cultural development in the broadest sense of the term. In this sense, our homework class is a very important gateway to the development of young newcomers. 
Primary and secondary school pupils are welcome, but places are limited to 40. Please do not hesitate to contact us for more information about available places and the waiting list.

Tuesday 15h30-19h30
Thursday 15h30-19h30
Friday 15h30-19h30

Workshop “the World of Tomorrow”

The “World of Tomorrow” workshop is a debate and exchange of ideas workshop for the pre-teens. Throughout the year, the youngsters will be asked to discuss issues that affect them directly. For example: since September 2022, they have been discussing the issue of bullying, a problem that has been amplified by social networking sites and now extends beyond the school environment to affect young people in their private and family lives.

Wednesday 17h30-19h30

Theatre Workshop

The theatre workshop gives young participants the opportunity to get up on stage and perform sketches, skits and even longer works. Most of the work produced in this workshop comes from the creativity of the youngsters. Little by little, their creations take shape and, as the sessions progress, their stories develop, right up to the climactic moment when the day of the performance arrives and the youngsters present the fruits of their labour in front of an audience.

Thursday 16h-18h

Culinary Workshop

The culinary workshop enables us to raise young people’s awareness of the importance of eating healthy. The recipes created during the culinary workshops are very varied: sweet/savoury, hot/cold, starter/main course or dessert. Our culinary workshops are based on the season. We take advantage of the morning market held on Thursday mornings in the centre of Molenbeek to buy the fresh fruit and vegetables we use in our workshops.

Saturday 14h30-16h30

Multisport

We believe that sports workshops are very important for the well-being and development of our young people. In order to introduce our youngsters to sporting activities that they are not used to practising, we play basketball, futsal, badminton, volleyball, handball, etc. We focus on team sports to strengthen group cohesion.

Years 8-10: wednesday 15h-16h
Years 11-14: wednesday 16h-17h
 Years +15: wednesday 17h-18h

Creative Workshop

The creative workshop offers our youngsters an opportunity to enrich and develop their artistic talents. They are led by specialists in various disciplines (painting, collage, graffiti, object making, etc.). Their artworks are the proof of all these talents, sometimes hidden. On special occasions such as Halloween, St Nicholas’s Day, Carnival, Easter, Mother’s Day and Father’s Day, the youngsters make creations in line with the theme of the festival.

Thursday: 17h-19h

Music Workshop

The youngsters in the Music workshop are divided into two groups. As a result of their interest in learning musical instruments, we offer ukulele lessons. As music is always best accompanied by singing, we also offer a singing workshop.

Friday 17h-18h30

Manga Workshop

Many of our young people are fond of Mangas. The youngsters were first introduced to the various drawing techniques (proportions, shading, lines, etc.) to ‘loosen up’ their lines and gain confidence. Then we launched the idea of asking them to imagine in group a story they would like to tell and to create their own manga.

Tuesday 17h-19h

Youth Council

In the Youth Council our youngsters learn about democracy, listening, negotiation and compromise. Here they can have their say on the running and activities of the association. 

They can give their opinion on the activities on offer and suggest new ones. During these discussions, projects are also put forward for the youngsters’ opinion. Finally, during these meetings, all the practical aspects are debated. They can, for example, ask for changes and additions to our internal rules, and discuss the days and times of the workshops so that they suit as many people as possible. 

The last friday of the month (once per two months): years 8-10
The last friday of the month (once per two months): years 11-14
The last friday of the month (once per month): years +15

Extra activities

In addition, during the school holidays we offer adjusted programmes in the form of camps or courses. We also carry out a number of special projects throughout the year linked to solidarity, empowering young people and developing their autonomy. For example, our youngsters travelled to Morocco by bike in 2022 and 2023.

Keep an eye on our website and social networks for more information.