Michel HELUWAERT

Thesis: Youth & Sports (1936–1986): A Government Agency from Activism to Administration: A Contribution to the Study of the Administrative Phenomenon

Edited by Michel Miaille

Summary:

The Ministry of Youth and Sports, a historic institution founded on the convergence of two complex areas (youth and sports), implemented public policies aimed at societal transformation between 1936 and 1986, driven by a group of civil servants most of whom had backgrounds in community activism. Through services that were closely connected to the public and local elected officials, it worked to develop the sports movement and pursued a proactive policy of creating sports and sociocultural facilities; it established physical education in secondary schools by creating thousands of physical education teacher positions, and subsequently initiated the reform of the primary school schedule. It has championed public policies in support of youth and community education, established principles for cultural intervention, and—while pursuing a policy of democratizing cultural and outdoor recreation—defined competency standards for sports educators and cultural facilitators. Conceived with a missionary mindset, it has, since decentralization, embraced a managerial approach leading to a reform of its structures and the roles of its staff, who, from promoters of societal experiments, must now become experts responsible for ensuring legality within their sphere of action. Throughout this sociopolitical essay, Michel Héluwaert has sought to demonstrate the importance of the human factor in the formation and achievements of this task force—considered by some to be “an administrative folly”—which saw the majority of its projects implemented between 1936 and 1986. Between these two dates, its members transitioned from the role of activists to that of civil servants. (Back cover)