After her parents’ marriage, Julie Hendrickx Devos takes the name of her father, but she decided in 2014, when the name reform allowed her, to add the name of her mother (Devos) to enrich her surname.
Note that if Julie takes the name of Devos, it is also by proximity to Jeanne Devos, her aunt. Nun of the Congregation of Sisters of the Immaculate Heart of Mary (who took care of an orphanage in India), Jeanne Devos was a very respected personality in Flanders, and awarded for her commitment to the rights of domestic workers in India, where she founded the National Domestic Workers Movement.
English, History and religion
“Christian values and the most disadvantaged concern have always been obvious and unalterable benchmarks for us in our way of living together”recalls Julie Hendrickx Devos who notes that these values have gone through her life from start to finish.
“I lived a happy childhood with dedicated adoptive parents. We lived in the small village of Linden near Leuven “, tells Julie.
The MOC, “more offensive”, “more radical” and takes the path of “post-capitalism”: “Today, we have to change our consumption methods …”
Later, equipped with her regent diploma in English, history and religion, she concretizes her dream and teaches at the Sacré-Coeur Institute in Heverlee. It is then entrusted with the training and practical internships of future teachers in history. “”Teaching at two different levels was a very enriching experience for me “she admits.
The teacher who became an activist
To meet the many challenges of our time, the teacher is coupled with an activist who tries the union adventure. His clear vision, his energy, his perseverance therefore bring him to the field.
On the merits, to help set up an inclusive, united and respectful society of the planet, Julie Hendrickx Devos recalls that citizen engagement is the key to progress: “Society does not depend on the elites, it belongs to citizens “, underlines the one who draws in particular her inspiration from the pioneers of the Christian workers’ movement.
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Concretely, it is at the Christian Syndicat ACV that she learns to put her skills for “give a voice to the most vulnerable“The union official quickly feels like a fish in water and appreciates contact with the base. Very quickly, she takes braid.
Encyclylique of the News
Framed as Flemish Brabant Director and Brussels of Beweging.net, she takes the reins of this dome which today brings together 16 organizations, including the Christian ACV union, the Mutuality CM, the Kajotters Young Movement, Familiehulp…
Appointed president last June, Julie Hendrickx Devos succeeds Peter Wouters, at the helm of the Flemish Federation for eight years. This one changed the dome of Christian inspiration and close to the CD&V in a new world, throwing its nets outside the sphere of Christian influence. This is how a dialogue with Vooruit and Groen was initiated.
However, Julie Hendrickx is expected at the turn. Beweging.net needs to forge a new image and a “sexier” look in a world where extremes are constantly gaining ground. But behind this desire for modernization, the Federation remains fully in line with the values of the Christian personalism, as formulated by the French philosopher Emmanuel Mounier (1905-1950). The latter already invited to make society more human through a personalization process, relying on the encyclical Of the revolutionary published on May 15, 1891 by Pope Léon XIII, founding text of the social doctrine of the Church.
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From Bombay to Louvain
During the death of her aunt, and thinking about the conversations carried out with her, Julie Hendrickx Devos looked at her Indian origins and felt invested with a mission. “”I wanted to immerse myself in Jeanne’s past. I wrote a book to tell his apostolate in India which also traces the history of the national movement of house employees, initiated by her “, She enthuses.
“In Bombay, Jeanne Devos was indeed struck by the fate of workers poor living in miserable conditions. Among these workers, were very young girls, placed as servants in wealthy families”, recalls our interlocutor.
“Jeanne Devos therefore wanted to break the isolation of these poor women, establish contacts, identify critical situations, give advice and legal assistance, offer them possibilities to continue their education “, she explains.
The movement founded by Jeanne Devos has largely contributed to developing the legislative framework in India. “”Under its leadership, the country has set a minimum wage for home employees. The missionary also worked for unpaid domestic work to be considered by the United Nations as slavery. “
This work led to the 189 Convention adopted in Geneva on June 16, 2011, which grants legal status to house employees around the world. India has therefore awarded the prestigious Priyadarshini Global Award to Jeanne Devos. In 2010, it was also raised to the rank of honorary citizen of Leuven. Already in 2005, she was one of the nominees for the Nobel Peace Prize.
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“Sometimes I am looked at me”
Julie Hendrickx Devos is proud of her Indian roots. But she believes that there are still a lot of obstacles to overcome before you can eradicate discrimination in Flanders. “”Discrimination, brutality and withdrawal have become new normality with us “, she deplores.
“In the street, it happens regularly that I am looked at my way”, rEgrette Julie Hendrickx Devos. “It is not uncommon for my Indian look to give rise to insults, inappropriate remarks, prejudices “.
“In the future, the danger will come from heaven, it is not only on earth”
“One day I gave a conference on India. My aunt Jeanne was next to me. Someone asked me if I was talking about Dutch. Another time, I was asked if it was I who led my aunt’s car. And it happened to me that the delivery man asked me to send the package to my ‘patron.