ABSTRACT
Youth work has always provided recreational opportunities for young people through programmes of activities. Whatever its other purposes and concerns, the organisation of activities seems to be one of our most straightforward means of engaging young people in youth provision. In the creation of new youth projects, the nature of the activities to be provided is often a primary consideration. For example, concerned adults will sometimes organise a regular disco or a local football team. Their motivation is usually towards giving young people something to do, partly for the sake of the young people themselves, but also partly in order to bring them under the supervision of adults and away from the freedom and threat of the streets.
