This text is part of the special section Municipalities
Do we inherently take for granted the libraries, sports facilities and other entertainment offered free or at low cost by most municipalities? Like all industries, municipal leisure faces its share of challenges and must, like everywhere else, reinvent itself and adapt to new realities.
From May 22 to 24, the 102 will take placee Annual meetings of the Union of Municipalities of Quebec (UMQ), at the Palais des congrès de Montréal. Among the conferences proposed, one of them, led by Jean-Philippe Cipriani, will focus on the theme “Municipal leisure in danger? “. The panelists will include Jean-Marc Adjizian, professor in the Department of Leisure, Culture and Tourism Studies at the University of Quebec at Trois-Rivières (UQTR) and co-director of the Observatoire québécois du leisure. And also Janique Letellier, deputy director, Culture, Leisure, Sport and Social Development Department at the City of Laval, and president of the Association québécoise du Loisir Municipal. A few days before the event, some of the panelists take stock of local entertainment, which is no longer limited to “bread and circuses”.
“I don’t think municipal leisure is in danger, but it is changing,” says Mr. Adjizian. It needs to adapt and focus on the notion of accessibility that is dear to us in Quebec. This accessibility has always involved a co-production of services between municipal and associative circles, as much in the logic of programming activities as in the development of inclusive spaces, multi-use equipment, and equipment loans. »
A social and community role
Both Mr. Adjizian and Mr.me Letellier agrees to affirm that municipal leisure now includes a social responsibility which goes well beyond the recreational dimension, and that these new data lead to other requirements.
“One of the major concerns concerns social development, homelessness and vulnerable populations,” observes M.me Letellier. Previously, we thought that these challenges were limited to large centers, but now municipalities of all kinds are grappling with these social problems. We no longer just do leisure for leisure’s sake; we fall into a more community portion of the thing. For example, when we work with immigrant populations, integration largely involves leisure. »
“The leisure service has always been linked to community development, but we are now facing new challenges, with which several municipalities did not deal before. Challenges such as homelessness, immigration, emergency measures linked to climate change,” adds Mr. Adjizian. These days, he is working on the question of leisure as a vector for the integration of newcomers and people from immigrant backgrounds.
“We see how leisure plays an important role in integration processes. We talk a lot about francization and integration into the job market, but there are other keys that we could use, notably leisure. »
With the citizen
On a daily basis, the pitfalls of labor shortages and outdated infrastructure also make it difficult to implement leisure activities, as in many other fields of activity.
“It ranges from the instructor supervising a sports venue or day camp, to professionals specialized in their field, who work in our services. You have to have qualified employees to be able to manage the facilities and programs,” explains M.me Letellier on the subject of staff who are becoming scarce. At the same time, she points out the lack of volunteers, many of whom did not return after the forced break imposed by the pandemic.
How can the world of leisure equip itself to survive in the future? While Mme Letellier advocates the collaboration of municipalities on a regional scale and greater promotion of leisure by elected officials, Mr. Adjizian believes that one of the solutions comes from the population itself.
“Leisure must return to its basic model and put the citizen at the heart of its mandate. Quebec is founded on this. The municipality aims to encourage citizen initiatives. A return to this formula would allow municipal services to adapt and give some power back to citizens, so that they can take care of their leisure experience themselves. »
In this regard, the man cites the green alleys managed and developed by residents, with the support of the municipality. Local, informal, natural leisure spaces also carry their share of potential, he adds.
“The role of leisure is not valued enough and should be more so,” concludes M.. “It can have social, economic and individual impacts, both on a physical and psychological level. It is sometimes said that a doctor gives years to life, while a recreational therapist gives life to years. This image represents very well the social object that is leisure. »
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