Ajoe, the "testament" of Julien Brin, its first president

As Ajoe celebrates its 50th anniversary this year, its first president, Julien Brin, looks back at the origins of the association formerly known as "Le club de loisirs des jeunes lorientais".

Julien Brin has everything ready. With his cap on, he sits down carefully on his wooden seat, and takes out a sheet of paper. On it, the octogenarian has handwritten the genesis of Ajoe. A flickering but linear handwriting, it recounts in three points the birth of the association 50 years ago. In 1973, Julien Brin was 30 years old. He returned to Saint-Barth after a few years spent in Saint-Thomas, and in Brittany, in Dinant, for his military service. The parish priest, Père Bellec, "insistently" asked him to supervise the "Lorient youth leisure club". Every day, for a month, he would come up to me and tell me that he had chosen me with the Holy Spirit," recounts Julien Brin. In the end, I agreed to get rid of him. "Julien Brin became the general manager of this leisure club, hence his nickname given to him by the sisters: "The General".

Cinema and volleyball
At the time, the club was for boys only, and only from Lorient. The aim was clearly to keep idle youngsters busy. "Father Bellec wanted each neighborhood to create its own association," explains Julien Brin. Alongside Jean-Claude Gréaux, Christian Giraud, Jean-Marie Laplace and Jean-Luc Gréaux, Julien Brin organizes activities in the Lorient parish hall, an infrastructure that now corresponds to the site of the Saint-Joseph de Lorient school. The program includes ping-pong, card games, dominoes, board games and a library. Right from the start, cinema was in the association's DNA. Several times a week, Father Bellec screened films. Julien Brin was in charge of viewing the films sent from Guadeloupe, before showing them to the teenagers. "Once, I had to turn off the sound and image, as it wasn't suitable for 12-year-olds," recalls Julien Brin. Outside, only volleyball was played. "There were very few facilities for practicing sports, which is why we insisted on including 'initiation to sport' in the association's articles of association," explains the first president. Around forty people took advantage of these activities on Wednesday afternoons, Saturdays and Sundays.

Official declaration on October 11, 1974
But very soon, the departure of three of the organizers to pursue their professional training in France plunged Julien Brin into doubt. With just two of them, it's hard to keep up with so many activities. Jean-Marie told me not to give up," smiles Julien Brin. I told him, 'Okay, but we need to recruit young managers to support us. "Julien Brin sees the association as more than just a leisure club; he wants to restructure it completely. With a brand new team, the Association des jeunes ouvriers et étudiants de Saint-Barthélemy was born. "I didn't want the name," says Julien Brin. With good reason, the name proposed by Jean-René Laplace has been emulated by many. Some see a political agenda behind the name "ouvriers". But this is not the case. In the legal statutes of Ajoe, officially declared on October 11 1974, the association is listed as having the following aim: "To help young people develop and blossom physically, morally, culturally and intellectually in a healthy and friendly environment. "

"The joy of kids"
"I spent nights trying to draw up the statutes that might suit the new association I wanted to set up," recounts the first president. In a cupboard, the retiree preciously keeps the first articles of association of the association he nicknames "Ma Poulette". Among the yellowing leaves, Julien Brin leafs through an old notepad. There's a hand-drawn sailor's anchor, a sunset or a bird. These are the proposed logos for the association. "The sunset got 35 points, but the anchor got 40," says Julien Brin, before modestly putting the notebook away. Fifty years later, the retiree remembers "the joy of the kids": "We brought them a little something, not much, but still. "In anticipation of Ajoe's 50th birthday party, Julien Brin is already preparing his speech. "It's only if I'm asked for a few words," he says timidly, full of pride that the association has endured over the years. To the question, "What does Ajoe mean to you?", Julien Brin confidently replies this time: "My will".

Ajoe's first articles of association

Julien Brin has carefully preserved the Association's first legal statutes. The document contains a wealth of information, including the Association's emblem, "L'ancre de Marine", which is still relevant today. But also its motto, "Unis nous parviendrons" ("United we will succeed"), and its anthem, "Mélodie, enfants de tous pays" ("Melody, children of all countries"). The association's objectives include film screenings, theatrical and recreational sessions, sports initiation and practice, the organization of campsites, picnics, organized trips and even "surprise parties". It also states that, at the time, membership was reserved for people aged between 12 and 35, for a fee of 10 francs.