(c) A survey to determine which fields of youth welfare work are fairly and adequately covered by existing agencies and in which fields new agencies need be established at the national or regional level. In this conection it should examine whether there is any avoidable overlapping in the work of the existing agencies and whether through proper co-ordination a more effective use could be made of their combined resources.
3. Government should provide an adequate amount of money in the next year's budget for youth welfare work from which it could give grant-in-aid to organizations doing satisfactory work and initiate its own projects where necessary.
4. Government should create a Division or a Section especially concerned with Youth Welfare in the Ministry of Education, or Social Services or Public Welfare at the Centre and encourage the establishment of similar Divisions or Sections in the Provinces or States. It should be the function of this Division to make its advisory service available, on request to any organization working in the field of Youth Welfare. In order to educate Public opinion and create enthusiasm in youth, it should organize adequate publicity to stress the importance of Ms work and to bring to their notice successful experiments being tried out in this field in the country or abroad. For this purpose it should make use of the various media of mass-communication like the Radio, the film, the Press and specific publications, particularly in the form of small brochures and folders bearing on this work.
5. In order to encourage research in the various problems where it is necessary, Government should give grants to Universities and other institutions of adequate status as well as to specialized agencies so that effective methods of youth welfare work may be developed.
6. In each region or province, Government should organize or assist in the organization of one Pilot project in youth welfare, in co-operation with the specialized agencies, whose object should be to develop in that locality youth services in an intensive and coordinated manner. This project should enable observers and trainees to study the new methods and techniques of work that might be worked out there so that they may be able to introduce them in their own localities with necessary modification. Care should, however, be taken that these projects are not organised on such an ambitious or elaborate scale, either financially or administratively, as to be, incapable of being repeated in other parts of the country.
III. Role of States and Voluntary Organizations. The Committee discussed the role of State and Voluntary organizations in working out programmes of youth welfare and formulated the following points and suggestions in this connection :-
1. There is such a vast field of work to be covered that both the State and the Voluntary organizations can, and should, cooperate in implementing the programme that may be drawn up and there is no reason why, with good will on both sides and, the establishment of some suitable agency for coordination of effort, this should now be possible.
150
2. The Committee recognised the fact that, in some region or countries, sufficient local and nonofficial initiative may not be forthcoming at this stage and there fore, it would be advisable for the State, at the Central and regional level, to take the initiative if necessary in organizing a vital youth movement. But the formulation of policy and programmes should be done consultation with voluntary organizations and the bulk of the actual work carried on through them or in association with them. It should also be the constant endeavour of the State to encourage voluntary effort and secure local help and leadership.
3. In forming the Central Council at the national (or regional) level, as envisaged in II 2(a), no attempt should be made to force all existing organisations into affiliation but a beginning should be made with those that are prepared to come in voluntarily on the basis of certain generally agreed objectives and conditions, leaving the others to come in, if and when they choose to do so under the rules of the constitution. An attempt (should, however, be made to maintain co- operative contacts with the latter organizations also provided they are working with similar aims and for cognate purposes.
The point was raised whether political organizations doing youth welfare work should be admitted or affiliated to- the Central body. The general consensus of opinion was that, while youth section of political organizations as such could not be admitted, they may be considered eligible to get financial assistance for activities which are devoted exclusively to youth welfare work, e. g. cultural groups, sports teams and games clubs etc. under the general rules and conditions that may be laid down for the purpose.
IV. Finances. The Committee next discussed the question of raising, and distribution of funds for purposes of youth welfare and made the following points
(i) It is the duty of the State, both at the national and regional level to contribute generously to the cost of the youth movement.
(ii) Certain types of expenditure or some part of the total expenditure on youth movement should be met from the funds of the Local Bodies and the promotion of youth welfare activities, through financial assistance and in other ways, should be recognized as a part of the normal functions of all local Bodies.
(iii) The various voluntary organizations, youth groups and youth clubs should raise part of funds required through their own efforts e.g. through membership fees, donations, undertaking productive projects organizing special function like dramas, concerts, matches, etc., for the public for which gate money may be charged.
(iv) So far as other possibilities of raising funds are concerned, the Committee invites attention to the valuable suggestions about sources of income made by Committee V "Training for Leadership and Community Service", in Paragraph 36 of their Report and, in particular, commends the following major suggestions which should be explored by all youth groups and organizations:
1. Organization of community chests.
2. Productive projects like Chip-a-job weeks.
3. Donations and membership fees.
4. Bequests, legacies and charity amounts set aside by banks and firms.
5. Sale of articles made in leisure hours.
6. Stamps for youth work, like 'Pro-Juventut' stamps of Switzerland ; and
7. Youth welfare seals.
(v) Government should consider the advisability of exempting from income tax the funds donated to Youth Councils for Youth Welfare.
151
In addition, the possibility of raising funds through sports meets and Turf Club meets, which may donate a special day for the purpose (as is done for hospitals in some cases) 'should be explored.
(vi) In regard to the distribution of grants by the States, the general opinion affiliated to the Central Coordinating Council, it should be done not directly but through the Councils-National or Regional--as soon as they begin to function effectively and that these' grants should be given under certain clearly defined rules and conditions laid down by the Council and approved by the Government.
(vii) In order to ensure that grants are given to institutions and organizations doing really useful work and were properly spent, provision should be made for the registration of all organizations and inspection of demiciliary institutions like orphanages, widows' Homes, training centres for juvenile delinquents and defectives, etc.
V. Personnel (1) With regard to personnel, the Committee was of the opinion that there was urgent need for increasing the strength as well as the efficiency of the available manpower in the field of youth welfare. It would be necessary for this purpose:-
(a) to survey the needs of existing organisations for the type of personnel required by them for improving and expanding theirs work. [This might form part of the general survey recommended above under Section 112 (c)]
(b) to increase and improve existing training facilities, as recommended in Section V, particularly in the field of activities to be undertaken under the short range programme. Appropriate type of training would be necessary for all workers, whether paid or voluntary ; short term courses in the form of Seminars should be held with the assistance of experts in order to train the higher personnel for doing Youth Welfare work.
(c) to establish better coordination and encourage cooperative exchange of personnel amongst existing organizations, which would make it possible for them to utilize the services of experts wherever they may be available ; and
(d) to train, for each region, the requisite number of persons needed at the highest level for purposes of organization and planning by awarding them scholarships and Fellowships, e.g. the U. N. Fellowships. such training may also have to be arranged in outside countries where youth services are more fully developed.
(2) The personnel required for implementing the programmes will be both paid and voluntary , depending on the nature of the work. Generally speaking, the Committee is of the opinion that, subject to local circumstances
(a) In all bigger organizations, both at the national and regional level, the Secretary or the Chief organizing officer should be a whole-time paid official and he should be assisted by a certain number of paid supervising field officers who will watch the progress of the movement, initiate it where it does not exist and stimulate it where it is not working properly.
(b) There will be a large number of persons, social workers, school and college teachers and students and others, who will be prepared to give a part of their time to helping in youth welfare activities locally. There cooperation should be welcomed and active efforts should be made to secure it.
(c) Some persons belonging to the above categories may be prepared to participate in the work, provided some honorarium can be given to them for their services. This should be done so far as possible.
152
VI. Buildings and Equipment The Committee is of the opinion that, in implementing programmes of Youth Welfare activities
1. Full use should be made of the existing buildings of schools and colleges, of other public buildings, of available army barracks to house these activities and of open spaces and public parks, etc., for play grounds.
2. The cooperation of Government, local bodies and philanthropic bodies should be sought in securing playgrounds, camp sites and building sites either free of cost or at nominal rent.
3. Grants should be given by Government for the construction of new buildings or major structural alterations in the existing buildings while the normal cost of repairs and maintenance should be met by the local bodies or the organizations concerned.
4. In rural areas, in particular, a hall or a couple of rooms may be added to the school building for accommodating youth groups and youth clubs etc. It maybe possible to have such additions made through the youth organizations themselves, who, together with adults of the community, could contribute free labour for the purpose.
5. In regard to Equipment the Committee felt that it was not possible or necessary to lay down any rigid rules or draw up lists. The general principle to be kept in mind is that this equipment should be simple and inexpensive, preferably locally manufactured if possible, and it should be of varied kinds so as to facilitate the starting of different types of activities. A good deal of it particularly by way of replacement, should be provided by the local community out of its own resources. Certain types of activities, e.g., Akharas (gymnasia) and indigenous games which required comparatively little equipment could be started immediately without any difficulty.
VII. Programme of Work. In discussing the actual programme of activities to be initiated on the short term and long range basis, the Committee was of the opinion that it was both difficult, and unnecessary to make rigid and separate programmes for these stages. Many of the activities initiated under the short term programme will be continued and will, become fully developed after a number of years. Moreover, some of the activities which have been listed as long range activities may well be started in certain countries or regions immediately or within the next few years if resources permit. However; in view of the need to emphasize certain types of activities which must be initiated without delay the Committee has included them in the short term programme and listed under the long range programme certain other activities for which the training of personnel and the provision of resources are likely to take greater time. In the opinion of the Committee, the short term programmes should envisage a period of three years and, within this period, all those activities should be initiated and vigorously carried out. The various aspects of the life and interests of youth are so inter-related that it is not possible or desirable to suggest one category of activities, e. g., the physical, for being given priority in time . It is, therefore, essential that a beginning, however modest should be made on all fronts. An other point that the Committee would like to emphasize in this connection is the desirability of starting-these programmes in an impressive and spectacular manner so that they might capture the attention and imagination both of the youth and the general public. For this purpose effective methods of organising publicity will have to be devised.
153
A. Short Term Programme.-(i) Existing organizations should take steps to increase their membership and also to throw it open-where that is Dot the case at present-to youth outside educational institutions. They should also endeavour to improve their working efficiency.
(ii) Additional provision should be made for training youth leaders at different, levels and for this purpose different types of courses should be organized under the auspices of the Central and regional councils as well as specialized agencies, like scouting, junior Red Cross, etc. These will train youth leaders either for the general work of youth welfare or special activities like organizing youth camps, youth hostels, boys and girls clubs, discussion groups, handicrafts centres, etc.
B. Physical, Health and Recreation.-The following activities should be taken. up in connection with the development of physical health and recreation, which should. be regarded as integrally inter- related.
(1) National Playground movement, which will aim at the provision of adequate playgrounds for youth inside and outside schools but also encourage playing of games and holding of local and regional tournaments. State Governments should take all possible steps to find out and make available to Youth Organisations suitable plots of land to be used as play grounds and camping grounds.
(2) Hiking Movement which would popularize week-end and holiday trips, mountaineering, cycling, swimming and similar other activities.
(3) Development of Youth Camps and Youth Hostel movement on lines which have proved successful in many other countries. This would be useful not only from, the point of view of developing an intrest in outdoor life and activities but also give the youth valuable experience in community living and cooperative work and an interest in exploring different regions of their country.
(4) Organising gymnasias, akharas and swimming pools for encouraging sports, games and exercises, including indigenous games and exercises. It was desirable, that so far as possible the gymnasias akharas and swimming pools should be constructed by Youth themselves or with their active help.
(5) Increased provision for medical inspection of school children and the. necessary follow up arrangements
(6) The organization of Youth Festivals which will bring together large groups, of youth from different parts of the country or the region and enable them to participate in mass-physical displays and recreational and cultural programmes.
(b) Social and Cultural Activities.-(1) Organization of Youth Clubs of various kinds which can be made centres for the development of various hobbies and cultural' and recreational pursuits, like music, drama, for which construction of open air theatres may be encouraged-arts, handicrafts, cottage crafts, etc., which might be taken up by interested groups spontaneously. These Clubs can be of different kinds, like Friendship Clubs, Hobbies Clubs. Boys and Girls Clubs, Young Farmers Clubs, Four-H Clubs, (as in the United States) Inventors Clubs, and other Clubs formed for special purposes. The State Governments should help voluntary organisations in establishing colleges or Centres as mentioned above.
(2) Establishment of Community centres in selected localities. In sonic countries there is already a movement for the establishment of such multipurpose centres which will focus the various kinds of cultural, social, recreational and other cooperative activities of the local community.
154
These centres cater not only to the needs of the adults as well as of youth and if necessary they should set aside different times when the facilities of the Centre could be utilized by the adults, adolescents and children.
(3) Developing schools in urban and rual areas as community centres. In many places, particularly in the rural areas, it may not be possible for a long time to establish a large number of separate community centres, and, therefore, it would be necessary to take advantag of the facilities and services that can be provide by the schools in this connection. This object could be facilitated, as suggested earlier, by adding a school hall or a couple of rooms to the school buildings to be utilized specially for this purpose. In addition where possible a "community organizer" should be added to the staff of the school who should be specially Concerned with the promotion and organisation of such activities. The idea is that, while, all the teachers and the older students would be associated in the various activities to be developed, whether in the interest of youth itself or for the service of the community, organizer would serve to coordinate and organise this aspect of work on, proper lines.
C. Education Activities.-(1) Organization of a University Settlement Movement which will enable the universities to raise the educational and cultural level of the local community as well as other areas that they might be able to serve.