Recommendation 392
(1964)
- Author(s):
- Parliamentary Assembly
- Origin
- Assembly debate on
24th April 1964 (6th Sitting) (see Doc 1760, report of the Social Committee). Text adopted by the Assembly
on 24th April (6th Sitting).
- Thesaurus
The Assembly,
1. Considering that modern civilisation may in some
respects be called the civilisation of leisure, and that leisure,
which was once associated with the idea of privilege, is now shared
by the masses;
2. Considering that one of the most important problems for the
future of man is to determine how much a society can give every
individual the possibility to attain an optimum balance, freely
chosen, between the need for rest, amusement and participation in
social and cultural life;
3. Considering that the promotion of leisure for the masses essentially
represents the problem of the cultural development of our society
and is closely linked with the democratisation of culture;
4. Considering that a clarification of this vast and complex
problem as it appears in European countries is necessary, in order
to define a policy of leisure;
5. Considering that such a policy is becoming ever more urgent
in Europe;
6. Deeply concerned with the consequences of this increased leisure
on the public, private, family and social lives of working people;
7. Having defined a number of general principles by which Government
action should be guided;
8. Considering that a study of the relations between work and
leisure shows that each has equal value and equally great influence
on men's lives and the development of their personalities;
9. Considering that mass media could make a decisive contribution
towards an educational drive of dimensions that would have been
unthinkable only fifty years ago, but only if they are properly
used;
10. Considering that the problem of individual leisure varies
with environment : industrial, residential, rural, family, or remote
from the usual environment;
11. Considering that the problem should be approached with due
regard for the division of people into three categories – schoolchildren,
the working population and the retired – and also for the necessary
distinction between free time at the end of the day, at weekends,
and annual holidays;
12. Considering that individuals should be encouraged to exercise
creative activities during their free time;
13. Considering that it is necessary to resist the temptation
to over-organise leisure, thereby trespassing on individual liberty;
14. Considering that the development of the individual must take
place within a system of life-long education including school, out-of-school
and post school activities and all cultural activities, together
with physical education and sports;
15. Considering that leisure pursuits require a planned organisational
framework and that the creation of the necessary machinery requires
intervention by the State, local authorities and private initiative;
16. Having been informed of the problems facing some of the member
countries of the Council of Europe;
17. Having consulted a group of non-governmental experts;
18. Having identified certain trends, examined the practical difficulties
and put forward a number of suggestions;
19. Considering that an all-out effort is nevertheless imperative,
in the form of comparative and prospective research, to provide
the solid foundations needed for a policy of leisure;
20. Considering, moreover, that a policy of leisure can only be
carried out in close co-operation with organisations concerned with
future trends and long-range planning in the field of regional development;
21. Having heard the opinion of the Cultural Committee,
Recommends that the Committee of Ministers:
1 Transmit the report of the Social
Committee (
Doc. 1760) to the Council for Cultural Co-operation with the request
that it include in its programme the basic research required for
a policy of leisure on a European scale;
2 Request the Council for Cultural Co-operation to study
in particular the following aspects of the problem:
a leisure for young people,
b leisure in an industrial environment,
c leisure in a rural environment,
d the town-planning aspects of leisure,
e the relationship between trade unions and educators,
f the leisure problems of the retired,
g the training of leaders;
3 Transmit the report of the Social Committee to the Governmental
Social Committee with the request that they examine its social aspects;
4 Prepare an article on the problem of leisure, based on
the general principles set forth in this report, for inclusion in
the European Social Charter;
5 Transmit the report of the Social Committee to the Conference
of Local Authorities, inviting it to study the aspects of special
interest to local authorities, especially those concerned with town
planning and cultural facilities for small municipalities.
