Youth Organizations And Youth Groups : Germany

Young people in western Germany are far more apt to be members of a group than their counterparts in the east. This applies both to formal youth organizations and clubs and to cliques. 37 percent of adolescents and young adults in western Germany are members of a youth organization, in the east only 19 percent. The proportion of these who are members of sports clubs is 62 percent in both east and west. 68 percent of the young Germans interviewed in the west said they belonged to a clique, compared with only 31 percent in the east. This is partly due to the fact that there is still no adequate network of independent youth organizations in the new states, a situation which is compounded by an acute shortage of buildings, centers or sports facilities for spontaneous or organized youth contacts. The implications this has for leisure-time activities cannot be discounted. Recreational activities for young people in the east are limited by lack of money, lack of availability and lack of time. As a result, young people in the east are less likely to attend sporting events or rock and pop concerts, go to the movies or patronize trendy bars than their counterparts in the west. Reading and listening to music are the favorite leisure-time activities in both the old and new states.

In Germany there are about 80 supraregional youth organizations to which about a quarter of all young people under 18 belong. Most of the national associations are affiliated with the German Federal Youth Council, including the Young Protestants Association, the Federation of German Catholic Youth Associations, the trade union youth associations, the state youth associations and the German Boy Scouts Association. The one with the largest membership is the Federation of German Youth Sports Associations. There are also political youth organizations. Most of the parties in the German Bundestag have youth organizations under their wings. They belong to the Council of Political Youth Associations.