History CP early 50s early 60s

Use All the Talents

We are trying through this material to give practical assistance to Branches in preparing the kind of Branch Night which is bright and interesting to young people and at the same time fulfils an educational role
We are sending the Branches the material a month in advance in order that Branch Committees may have time to devote a major part of one of their meetings to plan ning the Branch Night from different, angles, and the comrades responsible for the items have time to prepare themselves, The evening should include a well-prepared talk lasting not more than twenty minutes and seen as only one part of the evening. Discussions, readings, sketches, songs, records, a wall-newspaper, attractive decorations and congenial surroundings are equally im portant features. Larger Branches may also make use of films, film strips, dance groups and instrumentalists, as Hampstead have done very successfully.

It is true that the preparation of such a Branch Night is a big job for the average small YCL Branch. But we believe it is much better to hold one, or perhaps two, really well-prepared Branch Nights a month than four which suffer from inadequate preparation and put off new members and non-YCLers from coming again. The other weeks the comrades can meet to go out on various forms of activity.

We ask Party Districts and Branches to give practical assistance to the YCL. Branches to enable them to run the most effective Branch Nights.
Another aspect of the weakness in our educational work has been the absence of any consistent self-study by our members.

We have inadequately heeded Dimitrov’s call to YCLers to “study, study while you fight”. Conscious of this weakness, the 19th Congress of the League launched a special YCL. Reading Programme beginning in December. It comprises six books:

December: Serving My Time, by Harry Pollitt.
January: The British Road to Socialism.
February: Free Britain’s Youth, by John Moss. March:
March: The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists, by Robert -Tressall.
April: The Story of a Real Man, by Boris Polevoi.
May: Malenkov’s Report to CPSU Congress
or Towards Communism, by John Gollan.

It is aimed to got 1,000 YCL. members to carry through the course. A special Harry Pollitt Certificate will be presented to all comrades successfully complet ing the Programme. The success of the programme will depend largely on the enrolment of consultants to give individual atten tion to the comrades entrusted to them, and to call monhly group meetings. Monthly notes for consultants will be produced by YCL Centre.

If 1,000 YCLers are to complete, as well as enrol in, the study course, we must see that our leading comrades appreciate the importance of their taking part in the Programme as consultants. Also, we-have to convince comrades of the value of selecting a special night of the week to devote to study and sticking to it.

The Central Education Department of-the Party has asked Party organisations to assist in the following ways:
1. By helping to provide consultants.
2. By loaning books from Branch and personal libraries.
3. In those Districts where there is no functioning YCL, District Committee, to give special help to the YCL. Branches, and periodically check that the programme is being carried through.

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