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SOCIAL WELFARE
including extension of services into the newer resettlement communi- ties through the establishment of estate welfare buildings, the ex- periment of the District Community Office scheme, and a complete review of the Government's programme of public assistance.
GROUP AND COMMUNITY WORK
Community development connotes a process by which people of an area are encouraged to acquire a better appreciation of local problems and to co-operate in solving them. This concept is inherent in the kaifong welfare movement in the urban areas, the rural committees in the New Territories and a host of district and clansmen's organisations, as well as other voluntary bodies which promote charitable and welfare activities.
The Social Welfare Department plays a leading role in this activity and is responsible for the operation of eight community, social and youth centres, two more of which-for Chai Wan and Yuen Long-are under planning and construction. These centres help develop social consciousness among the population of develop- ing townships and encourage the formation of groups sharing com- mon interests, through which residents are encouraged to develop a sense of responsibility initially to the group and eventually to the community to which they belong. The centres also help to weld divergent groups into a more integrated community.
In February 1969 the first four District Community Officers were appointed on an experimental basis. Their appointments reflect a recognition that the need for community and group services is evident as much in the older, more established urban districts as in the resettlement areas and new townships. The four District Community Officers work in close relationship with the City District Officers of Yau Ma Tei and Sham Shui Po in Kowloon, and of the Western and Wan Chai districts on Hong Kong Island. Their task is to foster the growth of responsible attitudes towards citizenship and they achieve this by encouraging people to take a more active part in community projects.
The Social Welfare Department works in close co-operation with voluntary welfare organisations such as the Hong Kong Federation of Youth Groups, the Scouts Association, the Girl Guides, the Boys' and Girls' Clubs Association, the YMCA, the YWCA, the Duke