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Initiatives to involve the youth in historic vehicles
International Youth Day is celebrated every year on 12 August. It aims to promote ways to get young people more actively involved in making a positive contribution to their communities. But this is in fact something we at PreWarCar.com and PostWarClassic.com try to do throughout the year by organising and sponsoring rallies, promoting educational programmes, organising driving experiences... to name but a few.
Over the last couple of months, we have introduced you to the next generation. Among them are: 17-year-old David Smutny, with his remarkable enthusiasm for all things with wings and wheels, and Hagen Kranz, who is particularly interested in pre-war race cars and alongside his study works for his father’s company. Baptiste Nicolosi, whose childhood was marked by Bugatti, the workshop and, of course, Retromobile, which his father founded, says: “I was born with a silver Bugatti in my mouth. And my only wish is that my children will have a chance to drive it.” Baptiste was an architect for ten years before he decided to quit his job and follow his passion for classic cars. Soon, we will also introduce you to 24-year-old Jeroen De Jong. Together with his father, Leon, he keeps the world’s oldest private car collection from the Louwman family running. Most of the automobiles in the Louwman Museum are not just there to be seen, but are also there to be used!
International Youth Day
The FIVA (the Fédération Internationale des Véhicules Anciens or international federation of historic vehicles) devised a creative competition for “youngsters and young-at-heart” to celebrate International Youth Day. “If there’s one positive message that we at FIVA can take away from the pandemic, it’s the precious gift of quality time. Time spent getting back to the garage, getting our hands dirty, sharing laughter and making memories. This year, restoration has taken many forms: not only the time spent restoring our historic vehicles but also the bonds we’ve rebuilt with the people we love." You were invited to share a photograph, a sketch/painting/illustration or a video of how you ‘Restored the Passion’ this year with your historic vehicle. You can find more info here.
Did you or your (car) club come up with an initiative specifically for youngsters or International Youth Day? We would love to hear from you! Please comment below or send an email to office@prewarcar.com.
Published:
Thursday August 12th, 2021
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Comments
Michael D.
13 August 2021, 10:08
It’s great to read about initiatives to get ‘the next generation’ (and those to follow) interested in vintage and classic vehicles. It has been one of my concerns for quite some time now as I too have seen the ‘community’ grow grey and older with not enough ‘fresh blood’ coming in to preserve the future of the mobile heritage. To my opinion, this is also a job cut out for the national FIVA-AFN’s like the FEHAC, BFOV, BFHVC, FFVE, ADAC e.V. Klassik, etcetera who are there to take care of the interests of the historic vehicle movement. I feel I have the right to speak my mind as I was a member of FEHAC legal commission from 1985 till 2003, member of the FEHAC board from 1999 till 2003 and have represented FEHAC on several occasions within FIVA back then when I was in my twenties till early fourties. Even though FIVA has a sorts of a youth program now (the FIVA Culture & Youth Commission and the Youth Working Group.. Why make it sound so formal and old fashioned? If I were in my twenties now the mere names would not appeal to me at all), the national Federations need to start working on this and not limit themselves to the preservation and recognition of older vehicles as being of historic cultural importance (‘Mobile Heritage’) and fuel issues. Of course they need to attend to that but if we do not get the next generations interested in and enthousiastic about all kinds of historic vehicles, we may within the next decades end up with a host of preserved vehicles that can be powered by special fuels but there will not be enough enthousiast to have, keep, preserve (sic !) and drive them. So the FIVA-ASN’s should not be sitting ad waiting but actually bring and present the historic vehicles to the younger generations. The younger the better. It’s something that has been well understood by a company that is selling hamburgers world wide; serve a meal that will make kids happy and they will be hooked for life.
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Guy Mahy
12 August 2021, 11:08
On september 25 & 26 our Royal Veteran Car club Belgium organises the ' Rallye des Génération' trying to involve young people. Actually hoping to have parents and kids or even grandchildren.
But we hope that 'friends of' will participate as well.
In your article you mention young people... they are 'son of' and of course if these guys do not take the torch , who will ??? although....
At the age of 10 I had no one in the family or amongst friends involved in Historic cars. I got interested in old cars only by seeing one in the street... a matter of seconds. Now 60 years later I'm still very involved and 'practising'.
But times are changing. We have to keep in mind that 'the car' has not longer the same good fame as it had in the past, even the general approach is different … nowadays having a car is considered going against the clear, read green, conscience. Young people no longer own 'automatically' a modern car, they no longer have a garage. If they have a historic car they often share the garage with their parents... and we all know it's so good to have our cars 'at home'.
Another fact is the idea that classic fuels will no longer be on the market...I can imagine young people doubt about the future of historic vehicles and chose to keep money and time for other purposes.
But I do not doubt there will always be a core or let's say a handful of fools keeping our automobiles on the road, just as it was a handful of fools starting the veteran car clubs so many years ago.
Read more
But we hope that 'friends of' will participate as well.
In your article you mention young people... they are 'son of' and of course if these guys do not take the torch , who will ??? although....
At the age of 10 I had no one in the family or amongst friends involved in Historic cars. I got interested in old cars only by seeing one in the street... a matter of seconds. Now 60 years later I'm still very involved and 'practising'.
But times are changing. We have to keep in mind that 'the car' has not longer the same good fame as it had in the past, even the general approach is different … nowadays having a car is considered going against the clear, read green, conscience. Young people no longer own 'automatically' a modern car, they no longer have a garage. If they have a historic car they often share the garage with their parents... and we all know it's so good to have our cars 'at home'.
Another fact is the idea that classic fuels will no longer be on the market...I can imagine young people doubt about the future of historic vehicles and chose to keep money and time for other purposes.
But I do not doubt there will always be a core or let's say a handful of fools keeping our automobiles on the road, just as it was a handful of fools starting the veteran car clubs so many years ago.