Preventing a 'lockdown generation' in Europe and Central Asia
Building resilient societies with young people in the era of COVID-19
Highlights
Young people have been among those most socially affected by the COVID-19 pandemic but, at the same time, also the most prepared to cope with the quick shift towards virtual environments that the pandemic created.
For many young people in the Europe and Central Asia Region, COVID-19 interrupted their schooling, left them jobless, and has made it more difficult to integrate into the labour market. Facing school closures and uncertainty about their futures, young people say that they feel isolated and are dealing with levels of stress, anxiety and depression.
UNICEF and the European Training Foundation (ETF) have partnered to examine the challenges, opportunities and – most importantly – the sentiments and views of young people concerning their current and future prospects in the time of COVID-19. A jointly published report, Preventing a Lockdown Generation in Europe and Central Asia: Building resilient societies with young people in the era of COVID-19, builds on wide-ranging consultations with more than 15,000 adolescents and young people in the Region which covered their opinions on lockdown restrictions, access to and participation in education, learning outcomes and the quality of teaching, as well as their views on mobility, entrepreneurship and participation, among other issues.
When it comes to the future, the report captures young people’s hopes and fears about the profound socioeconomic changes, as well their aspirations and practical recommendations to re-imagine a more inclusive, equitable, peaceful, sustainable and prosperous future.
