the resettlement areas and new townships. The four District Com- munity 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. Generally, their task is to foster the growth of responsible attitudes among people by encouraging them to take a more active part in the furtherance of local objects and activities which are beneficial to their districts. There is scope for the extension of this type of service and a review of the work of the District Community Officers is being made by the Depart- ment with a view to making additional appointments on a permanent basis.
YOUTH WORK
28. The original, limited, purpose of the Social Welfare Department's youth service was to provide some healthy activity for those children aged eight to fifteen who could not get into school; but since it is now so much easier for the children to enter primary school, more energy can be turned to the organization of constructive activities for young people generally, and especially for those aged between fourteen and twenty-one who form a very large sector of the population. The Division tries therefore to stimulate and facilitate the development of new and improved facilities. It does this partly by direct provision of services and partly by lending support and encouragement to the many voluntary agencies which are active in this most important field. Typical of its own direct provision are its 'groups' at the community and social centres. There are usually five to six hundred active youth members in each of these centres. They take part in a variety of interest groups, club groups and uniformed groups. While interest groups are designed to meet the specific interests of individual youths, club groups more for social activities, and uniformed groups for a specific programme, they are all aiming for the development of well adjusted individuals, who are expected to become mature adults and contributing members of society.
29. A separate Youth Centre has been set up in Sham Shui Po since 1963 to provide constructive and creative activities for over seven hundred young people in that area. Like those in community and social centres, activities include a wide range of special interests such as judo, Chinese boxing, lion dances, painting, pop music, social dances, etc. These are groups providing maximum opportunities for young people to share, to plan and to take part in decision-making, with
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