Youth welfare offices should develop more ideas and initiatives

For many young people, visits to commercial leisure centres are barely affordable. An evening at a disco often eats up all their pocket money. 89 per cent of 14 to 19-year-olds complain that entrance fees are too high and go beyond the limits of their leisure budget. According to a new survey by the BAT Leisure Research Institute, school pupils and trainees in particular would like to see disco events offered by youth welfare offices at a lower price, at least at weekends and during the holidays.
The BAT survey of 1,000 young people aged between 14 and 19 reveals a wide range of possibilities for local youth policy, which has so far left the youth leisure scene almost entirely to commerce. There is a desire for „youth centres and youth clubs in the vicinity“ (81 %), where people can be among themselves „without being constantly controlled by adults“. There is a lack of „film clubs for young people“ (81 %) and cultural youth programmes in the community, town or district: two thirds of young people complain that there are „far too few jazz and folk events, cabarets and young galleries“.
This applies in particular to over 80 percent of young people in rural areas and small towns, who are hardly offered anything in this respect - in contrast to young people in large cities, where only 49 percent express a desire for more cultural programmes for young people.

More variety wanted in discos

For most young people today, going to a disco is not just a question of money, but also of quality. They have much higher expectations of the leisure activities on offer in the disco scene. They are not looking for expensive posh discos, but for varied programmes that offer more than just music and high prices. 73 percent of young people criticise the monotony and boredom of the programme at „commercial discos“. Disco events should be expanded to include films, talk shows and competition games.
According to the BAT Institute, this is a great opportunity for initiatives by youth welfare offices. Their disco events should not only differ in the price of drinks, but also in the more sophisticated leisure programmes. Young people almost always go to discos in cliques, because otherwise they would remain alone among many others. Talk shows and competitive games could create opportunities for communication and get people talking to each other again. After all, going to discos is perceived positively by young people as a „piece of freedom without chaperones“; however, superficiality and speechlessness are perceived negatively.
The youngest should not be forgotten either. The majority of young people surveyed (59 %) are in favour of „teen discos“: discos should also be open to „12 to 15-year-olds until 10.00 pm“. Understandably, the 14 to 15-year-olds who are most affected are particularly in favour of this (82 %). So far, they can hardly wait to turn 16 because they are largely excluded from commercial leisure activities.

Youth policy as leisure policy

„Young people have and show a wide range of leisure interests. The youth welfare offices should be able to respond to this,“ says Prof Dr Horst W. Opaschowski, Director of the BAT Leisure Research Institute. In future, youth policy must also always be a local leisure policy and feel responsible for new leisure ideas and more quality leisure time. Youth welfare offices must also be willing and able to provide sophisticated alternatives to commercial leisure activities. Sweden could lead the way here: Over 4,000 full-time employees have been trained in recent years to become leisure educators for working with children and leisure counsellors for youth work.