ENG-1974 — Page 240

RECREATION

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was arranged to appeal to residents of big housing estates and to young people, and the 1,000-odd functions were seen and enjoyed by more than 850,000 people.

Performances included variety shows, Chinese band concerts and operas, roller skating, film shows and band concerts. Other attractions included performances of Cantonese and Fukienese rod puppets, the Urban Council having encouraged a revival of interest in this traditional form of entertainment.

In the swimming season, swimming galas and 'swim-ins' were held at beaches and swimming pools. Also, the council arranged 11 free launch picnics for 3,000 under- privileged children from its 10 urban districts, and for about 280 orphans. Variety shows staged at beaches to publicise the 'Clean Our Beaches' drive drew many tens of thousands more visitors at weekends.

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To coincide with the Urban Council'exhibition from November 8 to 17, an in- tensified entertainment and recreation programme was organised. Additional variety shows, Cantonese operas, concerts, fun fairs, youth dances and martial arts demon- strations were presented and sports competitions in football, mini-soccer, basketball, volleyball, track and field events, bowling, cycling, table tennis and judo were arranged.

Urban Services Department's entertainment section was given wide assistance by other government departments, kaifong associations and rural committees, as well as many other public and private organisations.

Summer Youth Activities Programme

The Summer Youth Activities Programme, well established as an annual feature in Hong Kong, ended its sixth successful year. It attracted more than 1.5 million young people to take part in the activities and some 36,500 volunteers to assist in their planning and running.

The programme is an extensive community effort involving the close co-operation of youth and welfare bodies, schools, district groups, the Armed Forces and govern- ment departments. It provides a diverse range of interesting activities throughout the summer months to give young people organised recreation and enable them to develop qualities of leadership. The programme also aims at cultivating a sense of civic respon- sibility in young people and encouraging them to participate in community service.

The programme is not solely for the benefit of school children and special efforts are made to make opportunities available to young workers and other young people who are not members of any organised group. To ensure that the varied needs of young people from different walks of life are adequately met and to enable the programme to reach out to the widest cross-section of the community, district youth recreation co- ordinating committees work closely with the Social Welfare Department, and City and New Territories District Offices. These committees draw most of their members from welfare agencies and local organisations.

The overall co-ordination of planning, particularly the financing and publicity of the youth programme, is undertaken by a Central Co-ordinating Committee for Youth Recreation. This committee was formed in early 1969. It comprises representatives from

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