CIRAC ASBL

The non-profit organisation CIRAC ASBL - International Centre for Meetings and Cultural Events - has been existing since 1961! Its purpose is to welcome young people from all walks of life, without distinction based on origin or philosophical or religious beliefs, by creating and operating a residential youth and social tourism centre. The centre is located in the Belgian Ardennes, in the village of Marcourt (Municipality of Rendeux). Its aim is also to carry out awareness-raising and training activities on the respect for nature and health, including education on healthy eating and the practice of sport. The non-profit organisation CIRAC ASBL benefits from several recognitions which enable the association to pursue its social purpose. Recognized by the youth service of the Wallonia-Brussels Federation (« Fédération Wallonie-Bruxelles ») as a residential youth centre, the CIRAC develops activities for the guests of the centre, but also for young people from the surrounding municipalities. It promotes the meeting of these two young target groups around cultural, sport or game activities. Thanks to its recognition as an Association of Social Tourism by the General Tourism Commission (« Commissariat Général au Tourisme ») of the Walloon Region, the CIRAC can obtain subsidies for the development or the creation of infrastructures or for the purchase of equipment to welcome young people with fewer opportunities. The CIRAC is accredited by the CPAN (« Classes de Plein Air et de Neige »), a non-profit organisation promoting education through school trips to outdoor and winter sports centres which aims at connecting schools in search of appropriate and efficient venues with meetings and accommodation centres corresponding to their selection criteria. As a holiday centre recognized by the ONE (« Office National de l’Enfance », in English « National Children Authority ») as part of the workshops organized for children from 2 and a half years old, the CIRAC meets quality criteria in this area as well which, on the one hand, allows the centre to organize creative educational activities for the children of its area during each school holiday period and, on the other hand, to offer young qualified instructors or instructors in training the possibility to carry out a rewarding work, with the support of a qualified youth worker and coordinator. The non-profit organisation CIRAC ASBL, which has also been supported by the Municipality of Rendeux since January 2016, was created on the initiative of Fernand Goosse, who died in 1988. It now comprises 2 co-directors and 17 staff members whose mission is to welcome a multicultural audience with all the attention and humanity that are required.