Youth work actions (Serbo-Croatian: Omladinske radne akcije, often abbreviated to

ORA, Slovenian Mladinske delovne akcije ) were organized voluntary labor activi
ties of young people in the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. The action
s were used to build public infrastructure such as roads, railways, and public b
uildings, as well as industrial infrastructure. The youth work actions were orga
nized on local, republic and federal levels by the Young Communist League of Yug
oslavia, and participants were organized into youth work brigades, generally nam
ed after their town or a local national hero. Important projects built by youth
work brigades include the Brko-Banovii railway, the amac-Sarajevo railway, parts of
New Belgrade, and parts of the Highway of Brotherhood and Unity, which stretche
s from northern Slovenia to southern Macedonia.
Initial actions were organized during the Second World War in territories libera
ted by the partisans. After the war, actions were numerous and massive and the y
outh brigades made significant contributions to the rebuilding of their country,
which 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 its economy stabilized, youth work actions went o
ut of fashion. However, they were revived in the late 1970s, in an effort to org
anize youth in political and cultural activities, as the work actions proved to
play a large role in the socialization of those involved.