Government Policy : Germany

The upbringing of children is primarily the responsibility of parents or guardians. The state, however, also assists in their personal and social development so that they can be responsible for themselves and find their proper place at work and in society. It cares for young people by legislating for their protection and by providing them with social assistance and opportunities for voluntary activities. The campaign “Say No to Drugs”, initiated in 1990 and supported by top-notch athletes such as Steffi Graf and Lothar Matthaus, has also had a very positive effect.

As a rule, however, the state allows societies, associations, churches, foundations and other independent institutions to take the lead in providing services for children and young people. There thus emerges a wide range of services which reflect the currents of society and provide a genuine choice for young people and their parents. Germany’s federal system, by which responsibilities are delegated as largely as possible to local institutions close to the people, is also manifest in the area of child and youth services. The greater proportion of the funds required is provided by the state and local authorities.

The government’s main channel for implementing its youth policy and promoting youth work is the Federal Child and Youth Plan, under which DM 180 million a year is spent on out-of-school youth activities. This plan has existed for 40 years and is used to finance political, social and cultural youth work as well as international youth exchanges. Increasingly more funds are being provided to promote children’s activities outside the family. The bulk of these resources is used to finance youth associations.

Their work has concentrated in recent years on foreign children and young people. International youth contacts are a bridge of understanding. Consequently, more than 150,000 German and French young people take part in about 7,000 events every year sponsored by the Franco-German Youth Office. In the over 30 years since that organization was formed, more than five million young people have participated in 176,000 programs. The German-Polish Youth Office was founded in July 1992. Since the beginning of 1993 it has had its own fund for the promotion of German-Polish youth encounters which is fed by both governments.