I EESCC>41PR/15 PARIS,.2C March 19149 UNITED NATIONS EDUOATIC:&L. SCIENTIFIC AND CUT TU2L ORGANIZATION 19 Avenue 716bor, Paris We ORGANIZERS OF INTERNATIONAL VOLUNTARY 7TCIN CAMPS Script of a talk by Mr. L. MEILINK Secretary-General of the International Youth Hostel Federation Duration: 0 minutes 30 seconds Mr. L. Meilink was elected Chairman of the Second Conference of the Organizers of International Voluntary Work Camps which was held recently at Unesco House. NOTE: This talk was recorded by Mr. Meilink at Uneco house. The record will be sent free of charge onrequec. Please apply for record No. 147B.
IPi?/15 page 3 28 March 19L.9 INTRODUCTION (not recorded) Since the war, 135 international voluntary work camps have helped in the reconstruction of Europe. Young men and women from all over the world have com to work together in camps from such countries as Jugoslavia, Bulgaria, France, Poland, Roumania, Sweden and Hungary0 There they have built roads, factories and railways perhaps you've heard of the Youth Railway in Jugoslavia2 that is one example. Others have erected schools, hospitals and houses, but plenty of work remains to be done in the devastated areas of Europe. So Unesco has just held a Conference of Organizers of International Voluntary Work Camps in Paris, and Mr. Meilinic a Dutchman, representing the International Youth Hostels Organization was elected Chairman. He is now going to tell you something of the work of the Conference.
MFR/15 page L. 28 March 1949 Pin going to give you a few impressions of a Conference which has just been held at Unesco House in Paris. Its the Conference of Organizers of International Work Camps. Some twenty different organizations from all over the world have sent delegates to sit round a table and exchange information and experiences and fona a common work plan. Young people who work in these camps come voluntarily and are dedicating their time and energy, very often during their holidays, to join hands in a common project of reconstruction. The main point is that these camps are work canipsg we are not just talking together but are working together. Then again work camps have a non-political character; they have a material as well as an educational aspect. We are doing a viork of reconstruction, mostly cultural reconstruction in countries devastated by war. But this material aspect is only one side of the picture, and the other aspect is just as important, that is the formative, educational character of the work oaznp. So far international co-operation has been too often the privilege of the few, partly because of language difficulties, because a knowledge of languages demands a certain standard of education. In an international work camp, however, the main thing is working together and not only talking together, and this is a fine and happy experience for many young people. The language of the hands is much more expressive and effective than the language of the mouth. This working together asks for the shouldering of a common responsibility for common work undertaken,
MPR/15 page 5 26 March 1949 We are living in a comunity, for these camps are one big family to vhich each individual has to contribute something and each has to adapt himself to family life. You might call it education by selfactivity, an education to world citizenship 'which encourages young people to share in the responsibility for maintaining and building lasting peace. Now, Pm not going to over-rate this work, but the mere fact that each year several thousands of young men and women assemble in large or small groups, voluntarily, spontaneously, willing to dedicate themselves and to co-operate on equal terms with other young people from other lands is an important contribution to the formation of a peace-loving, social-minded adult worlds nothing but good can come from such an experiment. I've been asked to tell you something of the kind of work we usually undertake. Of course, this varies greatly. Some organizations have large camps with thousands of volunteers, pooling their efforts for some important job the youth railway built in Jugoslavia is one example This method has been followed mainly in Eastern European countries, and there is no doubt that co-operation on a big scale is most stimulating. The smaller groups of 30 to 100 volunteers, working on a project of some months, with a rotating scheme for a greater number of volunteers who offer up to four weeks of their holidays, provide more numerous examples. Sometimes the work is in harvest-camps, to assist in harvesting
IIPR/15 page 6 28 March 19149 valuable crops in time when normal paid labour was not available. Other camps work on projects in the cultural field, such as schools, community centres, swimming=pools, playgrounds and so on. In Holland, for example, when we were occupied by the Germans they erected an Atlantic Wall to keep other people out of Europe. Today, this has been transformed, with the help of international work camps, into hospitable Youth Hostels,, open for the youth from all the corners of the earth, bringing a message of peace instead of war. I could give you many such examples but must now turn to the Conference which has just taken place at Unesco and give you a vague impression of what we have been doing. About 20 organizations, mostly international, were represented, and they in their turn reported on the work of some 150 international work camps. These camps were manned by some 50,000 volunteers during 19L8, The Conference had a business-like character, and we learned much from one another in exchanging experiences and information,. We dealt with problems of organization 9 finance, health and the general well-being of our volunteers also cultural education in the camps and how to make our work as effective as possible. We work in consultation with the International Labour Organization and with the trade unions, and our aim is never to compete with normal paid labour. We are just ready to assist when and wherever possible. We are planning now to join forces in a pilot project whereby all the organizations involved will participate in one enormous
r1pr/15 - page 7 28 March 19149 work camp in a particular area where help is most needed. The help of Unesco in this work is not only useful but essential. Unesco acts as a Clearing House, as a focal point, and facilitates the organization and exchange between international bodies. I sincerely hope that this Conference and its relationship to Unesco will further the idea of international work camps and will make an appeal to the youth of the world to join hands in an international work camp for peace. That is a job to do.