Rethinking

Leisure Time by Expanding Opportunities for YOUNG

PEOPLE COMMUNITIES World YOUTH Report, 2003

The importance of leisure time for young people,particularly as it relates to personal and community development, is examined in this chapter. It is imperative that youth be given a wide range of opportunities for meaningful participation within the community, provided or facilitated by a multitude of organizations,institutions and programmes in all sectors. The various sections in the chapter focus on how young people spend their free time, the developmental opportunities presented within diverse contexts, and the virtuous cycle of mutual benefit created through reciprocal youth-community support (illustrated in several detailed case studies). The conclusion emphasizes the importance of saturation(adequacy of opportunities is more important than variety), a solid infrastructure, a strong public and political commitment, and the recognition that leisure time and opportunities constitute a right to be protected rather than a privilege to be earned or lost. Certain major themesbasic health, risk behaviour reduction, education, employment and political participationconstitute the pillars of youth policy. Indeed, they are the foundations of human resource development in general, reflecting a continuum of goals from protection to prevention to civic and economic participation. They are the domains of responsibility of the main public systems charged with providing services and opportunities for youth. In every culture, there are hours in the day when young people are not formally required to be in school or engaged in household or paid work. They choose to be involved in various activities, and there are public and private programmes, organizations and individuals who support their participation. These hours, these activities and often even these programmes are considered discretionary. They are viewed as optionalnice but not necessary, or even particularly important. These are the hours, the activities and the programmes whose absence or disappearance would not be noticed by policy makers but would be very much felt by young people. Public recognition of their importance is low, a fact reflected in the scarcity of relevant data. Equally important, it is these hours, activities and programmes that policy makers, programme planners and frequently the public have few qualms about reducing. When test scores drop or family incomes dip, opportunities to participate in voluntary activities are often restricted, as the hours required for work or study are increased. When public funds are low, sports, recreation and cultural programmes and institutions are often among the first casualtie. The amount of time young people spend away from work and school work varies significantly across populations and regions. Differences exist within the developing world. In a Kenyan sample, 10 per cent of childrens waking hours were free,compared with 63 per cent

for a sample of young men in urban India. In developing country populations, boys tend to have significantly more leisure time than do girls,as the latter spend more time in household labour than do their male counterparts. In the developed world, about half of American young peoples waking hours are free,and European adolescents seem to have about the same or slightly less leisure time,while Asian young people appear to have a quarter to a third of their time for leisure. While media use is not even mentioned in the developing country time-use studies Larson and Verma examine, it is a dominant force in developed societies.East Asian, European and North American young people appear to spend an average of about two hours daily in front of the television, with boys watching more than girls. Young people from all regions spend less than an hour reading each day, with those in the United States reading less than Europeans, and Europeans less than Asians.Music plays a less substantial role in young peoples leisure time than any other activity. In terms of active, unstructured leisure, the time that younger children spend in play appears to be supplanted during adolescence by labour in developing and transitional populations and by talking (often more than two hours a day) among. American and European young people, while children and youth in East Asia spend relatively little time in unstructured active leisure. Young peoples engagement in active, structured leisure such as sports, organizations and the arts is also greater in Europe and the United States than in Asia; studies tracking organized activity participation in developing areas have not been carried out. Across regions, participation appears to increase as socioeconomic status improves, with sharper rises in sports for boys than for girls, and a greater increase for younger than for older adolescents. Time spent doing nothingwaiting, hanging out and thinking, for exampletakes more of Western young peoples time than that of Asian youth, and perhaps more time of youth in developing than in developed countries.

 O gandire diferita a timpului liber prin extinderea oportunitatilor pentru comunitatile de tineri
Raportul World Youth,2003

Importanta timpului liber pentru cei tineri, in special asa cum se raporteaza la dezvoltarea individuala si a comunitatii, este tratata in acest capitol. Este important ca tinerilor sa li se ofere o gama larga de oportunitati, pentru a putea participa si pentru a fi folositori comunitatii in care ei locuiesc, aceste oportunitati provenind sau fiind facilitate de foarte multe organizatii, institutii si programe in toate sectoarele. Diverse sectiuni din acest capitol pun accentul pe modul in care tinerii isi petrec timpul lor liber, dar si pe oportunitatile de dezvoltare prezentate in contexte diverse si ciclul virtuos de beneficii mutuale create prin sprijin reciproc pentru tineret de catre comunitate (ilustrata in cateva studii de caz detaliate). Concluzia subliniaza importanta saturatiei (adecvarea oportunitatilor este mai importanta decat diversificarea lor), a unei infrastructurii solide, a unui public activ,puternic si un angajament politic si nu in ultimul rand recunoasterea faptului ca timpul liber si oportunitatile constituie un drept care trebuie sa fie protejat si nu trebuie sa fie privit ca un privilegiu care sa fie castigat sau pierdut. Cateva teme majore, importante cum ar fi sanatatea de baza,reducerea

comportamentelor de risc, educatia, ocuparea fortei de munca si participarea politica, constituie pilonii politici de tineret. Intr-adevar, acestea sunt componente esentiale ale bazei dezvoltarii resurselor umane,in general reflectand goluri incepand de la protectia si prevenirea fiecarui tanar la participarea economica si participarea civica. Acestea sunt domeniile responsabile ale sistemului public principal care furnizeaza servicii si oportunitati pentru tinerii din fiecare comunitate. In fiecare cultura, sunt anumite ore intr-o zi cand tinerii nu sunt nevoiti sa mearga la scoala sau sa fie angajati in intretinerea casei sau pur si simplu sa mearga la locul de munca, jobul part-time, astfel ca ei aleg sa se implice in diverse activitati si programe publice si private alaturi de alti tineri.

Aceste ore libere, activitati si programe a caror absenta sau disparitie nu par a fi remarcata de politicile de marketing dar lipsa lor este simtita din plin de tinerii care au nevoie de ele. Recunoasterea publica a importantei acestor activitati nu este prezenta mai deloc aceasta constituind un fapt care se reflecta in lipsa de capital. La fel de important ca aceste ore libere sunt activitatile si programele pe care politicile de marketing le planifica din timp dar ele sunt mai putin frecventate si apreciate sau dorite de catre public si din cauza aceasta ele sunt mai reduse. Un exemplu ar fi ca atunci cand scade nota de la testul care priveste administrarea banilor sau mai bine zis atunci cand venitul familiei scade, oportunitatile pe care le au tinerii de a participa in activitatile voluntare sunt adesea restrictionate sau limitate sau la acele ore de studiu care cresc atunci cand fondurile publice sunt scazute astfel ca cele mai defavorizate sunt programele sportive, de recreere, cele culturale si diversele institutii care se ocupa de tineri. Timpul total al tinerilor petrecut in afara timpului de lucru sau scoala variaza semnificativ de la om la om sau de la regiune la regiune. Diferentele exista odata cu dezvoltarea lumii noastre. S-a efectuat un esantion pe locuitorii din Kenya astfel ca doar 10% din copii petrec in mod liber orele pe care le au la dispozitie excluzand de aici orele de munca sau de scoala si daca ii comparam cu cei din mediul urban procentul este la 63% in India. In ceea ce priveste emanciparea locuitorilor din mediul rural, s-a constatat ca baietii au tendinta de a petrece si de a avea mai mult timp liber decat fetele, acestea din urma se pare ca isi petrec timpul liber in casa cu treburile specifice, deosebindu-se in felul acesta de baieti. In lumea de azi, care este mai dezvoltata din mai multe puncte de vedere, jumatate din tinerii americani care dispun de acest timp liber au cam acelasi numar de ore libere pe care le au si europenii sau chiar mai putin decat ei, in timp ce tinerii asiatici par sa aiba de la un sfert la o treime timp liber din numarul total de ore pe zi. In timp ce media nu mentioneazafaptul ca dezvoltarea timpului liber reprezinta o forta dominanta in societate. Tinerii est asiatici, europeni si nord-americani, par sa petreaca in medie 2 ore zilnic in fata televizorului, baietii vizionand mai mult decat fetele. Tinerii din toate regiunile petrec mai putin de 1 ora in fiecare zi citind, astfel ca americanii citesc mai putin decat europenii, si europenii mai putin decat asiaticii.

Muzica joaca un rol important in petrecrea timpului liber decat oricare alta activitate. Timpul de joaca se modifica, impartindu-se acum in timp liber si timp dedicat muncii, in timpul liber interactioneaza cu alte persoane, comunicand mai mult de 2 ore pe zi. Tinerii americani si europeni petrec relativ putin timp in activitatiile libere decat tinerii din estul Asiei. Timpul liber, cand nu faci nimic, in care sa stai, sa te gandesti, apare mai des la tinerii din vest decat la cei asiatici, si poate mai mult timp la tinerii in dezvoltare decat la tinerii din tarile dezvoltate.