Youth work actions

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Youth work actions (Serbo-Croatian: Omladinske radne akcije, often abbreviated to ORA , Slovenian Mladinske delovne akcije ) were organized voluntary labor activities of young people in Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. The actions were used to build public infrastructure (roads, railways, public buildings, etc.) as well as industrial infrastructure. Youth work actions were organized on local, republic and federal level by the youth socialist organizations, and participants were organized into youth work brigades, generally named after their town or a local National hero. Important projects built by youth work brigades include the Brčko-Banovići railway, the Šamac-Sarajevo railway, parts of New Belgrade, and parts of the Highway of Brotherhood and Unity, stretching from northern Slovenia to southern Macedonia.

Initial actions were organized during the Second World War in territories liberated by the partisans. After the war, actions were numerous and massive, and the youth brigades made significant contributions to the rebuilding of the country that was badly ravaged by war. In addition to cheap labor for the state, youth work actions provided a form of free holiday for teenagers.

As the country was rebuilt and economy stabilized, youth work actions went out of fashion, but were revived in late 1970s, in an effort to organize youth in political and cultural activities, as the work actions proved to have a large aspect in socialization.