COVID-19 is already challenging youth worldwide to test their resilience for the gloomy job market. The International Labour Organisation (ILO) reported that in the first quarter of 2020 ,when COVID-19 set to define the 21st century's mega-calamity, about 5.4% of global working hours, that is equivalent to 155 million full-time jobs, were lost relative to the fourth quarter of 2019.
Recent figures suggest that 600 million jobs would have to be created over the next 15 years to meet youth employment needs.
The proportion of young people not in employment, education, or training (the youth NEET rate) has remained stubbornly high over the past 15 years and now stands at 30% for young women and 13% for young men worldwide. Considering that the current decade is declared as 'Decade of Action' by the United Nations, one shudders to think from where such action would come if the future of youth signals gloom and doom early in the decade.
However, in the past youth have transformed such a crisis into an opportunity. There are number of examples that though COVID-19 affects all segments of the population, however, youth is playing a key role in the management of this outbreak and the recovery following the outbreak. Capacity Building of youth that would enable them to make their own decisions on health has been a key element of the World Programme of Action for Youth ( WPAY), established by the UN in 1995.In this context, two priorities for COVID-19 emerge. First, health education, and second public health promotion. For both evidence-based information are critical in combating the spread and effects of COVID-19, and challenges the spread of disinformation online. Youth themselves are also utilizing online technologies to spread authentic public health information in engaging ways, such as videos, to promote effective handwashing or explain how social distancing can save lives.
Young innovators are already responding to the virus through social impact innovation. Many youth-driven technology innovation hubs are supporting startups to develop effective solutions to address COVID-19. For example, CcHUB (an open living lab and pre-incubation space) in Nigeria is offering to provide financial, research, and design support for projects related to COVID-19. TERRE Policy Centre's Smart Campus Cloud Network of Higher Educational Institutes is active in further identifying the youth talents and promoting them through programs with fellowships in research
Rajendra Shende,
Chairman,TERRE Policy Centre
Former Director ,UNEP