Youth

As Researchers
Exploring the Impact of COVID-19 on Youth

GLOBAL POLICY BRIEF

1
Published in 2022 by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization,
7, place de Fontenoy, 75352 Paris 07 SP, France

© UNESCO 2022

This document is available in Open Access under the Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 IGO (CC-
BY-SA 3.0 IGO) license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/igo/). By using the
content of this document, the users accept to be bound by the terms of use of the UNESCO
Open Access Repository (http://www.unesco.org/open-access/terms-use-ccbysa-en).

The designations employed and the presentation of material throughout this document
do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of UNESCO concerning
the legal status of any country, territory, city or area or of its authorities, or concerning the
delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries.

The ideas and opinions expressed in this document are those of the authors; they are not
necessarily those of UNESCO and do not commit the Organization.

Cover photo: © iStock/xavierarnau

Graphic design, illustrations and typeset: UNESCO

Printed by UNESCO

Printed in France

SHS-2022/WS/1
Y
outh-led research is invaluable to complete scientific research
and render the production of knowledge more inclusive and
representative of the perspectives, viewpoints and experiences
of youth, in all their diversity. It is also a novel approach to
informing policy-making and enabling the design and implementation of
evidence-based policies and legislation affecting youth.

Youth-led research builds youth capacities and engages youth in producing

evidence – with and for other youth – that not only contributes to enriching
research agendas but can also have real-life application. Also, through the
skills and spaces it provides, it engages population groups that are rarely
considered as contributors in relevant scientific research, it increases the
visibility of youth perspectives and views, renders them accessible beyond
strictly youth communities, and eventually enhances their uptake by
decision-makers and development actors.

As such, in line with the Agenda 2030 call to “Leave No-One Behind”, youth-
led research opens the space for youth to engage in action, to voice their
perspectives on ongoing and emerging challenges and to inform policy- 1

making.

Launched at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, UNESCO’s “Youth As

Researchers on COVID-19” (YAR) is a signature global youth-led research
initiative that consolidates evidence from youth across the world on their
experiences of, and impactful action during, the global COVID-19 pandemic.
In addition to contributing with youth perspectives to inform policy
decisions, the goal of the initiative is to promote evidence-based policy-
making, and to counter disinformation.

Providing an overview of the initiative, this publication contains a summary

of its key findings and recommendations, globally and thematically, aimed
to inform youth-focused policy processes in the framework of post-COVID
recovery.
 FOREWORD

The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated the challenges that

youth face in a number of areas, including for their prospects
in life, educational and school-to-work pathways, access to
quality employment, mental health, identity building and
civic engagement. Added to these, the shrinking civic space
in some countries has been constraining youth-led action
and engagement in public affairs. Still, the crisis has revealed a
window of opportunity due to the positive (re)action of youth
to this unprecedented situation. Young people embody the
hope for better, innovative and more effective solutions.

In line with the UNESCO Recommendation on Science and

Scientific Researchers, the “Youth As Researchers (YAR) on
COVID-19” is UNESCO’s first ever global youth-led research initiative, designed and implemented
with youth, by the UNESCO Social and Human Sciences Sector and the UNESCO Chairs at the
National University of Ireland (Galway) and the Pennsylvania State University. It recognizes the
need for science-led responses to the pandemic that include young people and invests in better 3
understanding youth issues and channeling youth insights to post-pandemic recovery packages.

The work of the youth-led research teams is among the first original research that confirms
observations on trends arising from COVID-19. Covering five domains – learning, well-being,
rights, youth-led action, role of technology – this evidence enriches scientific knowledge, by
bringing in the youth perspectives which are not well captured in other sources. These suggest
that learning experiences and outcomes were perceived as “poor” and disruptions in education
were identified as the top stressor (65%) for youth. Even though mental health problems were
identified as a major challenge, close to 60% of respondents to the YAR’s survey were not aware
of the mental health programs in their country. At work, youth often faced the dual risk of
COVID-19 exposure and of losing their jobs due to the pandemic, and in addition young women
were challenged by increased childcare and other household responsibilities. As to young
entrepreneurs, they lacked financial support and digital literacy for online operations.  On the
role of technology, there was limited change in online behavior. 79.6% of respondents felt safe
online and while 73% reported receiving misinformation, only 4.2% could not identify it as such.
Yet, limits in digital literacy, language issues, internet access and costs prevented youth from
using technology for actions beyond simply accessing health-related information. This is quite
 compelling when compared with the high levels of civic activity (e.g., 74% of respondents in
South Asia, 65% of respondents in Brazil reported being active around relief projects). Such levels
of civic activity – in spite reported barriers – reveal the inventiveness and solidarity of youth, in
the face of adversity.

These insights point to key actions for post-pandemic recovery, such as prioritizing investment
in youth mental health; responding to youth needs through tailor-made education and
employment policies; addressing the gender divide; and supporting initiatives that leverage the
power of youth.

Through its access to policy institutions, UNESCO commits to walk the talk and work with
Member States and stakeholders to harness the power of youth. The first step in this direction
is the mobilization of a Global Coalition of actors to adapt policies, build capacities, generate
knowledge, and scale up youth-led solutions, notably through a Global Grant Scheme to fund
youth-led research and initiatives with social impact.

I am extremely grateful to each of the 270 young researchers who have voluntarily engaged
throughout the past 2 years, as well as to the UNESCO Chairs, the Steering Committee, the
coordinators and the entire UNESCO team behind this initiative. It is all of them, with their
hard work and commitment, that allowed the voices and insights of close to 10,000 young
people across the world to be reflected in this Global Policy Brief. I hope that the findings, and
4 recommendations presented here will serve as an inspiration for policy-makers and other actors
across the world to integrate youth perspectives, views and analyses in policy decisions – because
they matter. At UNESCO we are committed to ensure that this is the case.

Gabriela Ramos
UNESCO Assistant Director-General,
Social and Human Sciences Sector
WHAT IS YOUTH
AS RESEARCHERS?

The Youth As Researchers (YAR) initiative is a youth development programme, designed to ensure,
support, and advance youth voices. It provides training and mentoring that supports youth to
design and conduct social research, with a view to informing policy-making, programme design
and future research.

The initiative was first conceived by the UNESCO Chair on Children, Youth and Civic Engagement
(Ireland), as a model to engage vulnerable youth in re-designing their own futures. It is premised on
the belief that no-one knows better than young people themselves about their problems, and the
solutions that will work for them. It gained traction in the current context, as UNESCO’s Member States
are looking for innovative ways to address the challenges youth are facing. In engaging with the Social
and Human Science Sector, and with UNESCO’s field offices, the youth-led research agenda delivered
a strong message on the need to underpin policy decisions with scientific facts, and to ensure civil
society is consulted on the issues at hand.

Through gaining access to knowledge resources, as well as technical research/inquiry skills, data
analysis, and interpersonal skills such as critical thinking, strategic thinking, self-efficacy, youth 5
researchers are able to collect and analyze evidence to contribute to policy change and to solutions
that work best for their generation.

For settings where youth voices and insights are needed, the YAR initiative has proven exceptional.
It provides unique insight by youth into the issues, opportunities, and challenges that they face in
their home, communities and across society. Similarly, the initiative is particularly suitable when
seeking to build youth capacities, facilitate positive youth development, and advance efforts for
youth-driven participatory action research.

For organizations focused primarily on the conduct of rigorous scholarly research (widely
generalizable statistical findings, randomized control studies, large multilevel samples), the YAR
initiative should be seen only as a possible mechanism for gaining additional grassroots insights and
evidence that can be provided by youth. The initiative is not meant to substitute or contest scientific
scholar research work and should not be confused with a method where youth undertake research
that requires very high-level professional research skills, typically attained through postgraduate
education. Still, we hope that findings generated through the YAR initiative will inspire scholars to
undertake academic research in previously overlooked areas and, therefore, fill some gaps in the
literature.
 EXPLORING THE IMPACT
OF COVID-19 ON YOUTH

At the dawn of 2022, humanity and societies emerge from a devastating pandemic, while
remaining heavily challenged by ongoing crises (socio-economic, political, environmental),
conflicts and spread of disinformation.

For youth, in particular, the pandemic has further aggravated the challenges they face, leading
to 38% of young people globally being uncertain of their future prospects, with high uncertainty
in the jobs and education sectors. 60.5% of total enrolled learners – more than 1.5 billion
worldwide – have been affected by school and university closures. One in six young people who
were employed before the outbreak stopped working altogether. For those who kept their jobs,
working hours fell by nearly a quarter. Youth in lower-income countries are the most exposed,
while young women are reporting greater losses in productivity than young men. Young adults
(aged 18 to 29) have experienced high levels of distress since the onset of the pandemic. This
is particularly the case for youth from low socio-economic backgrounds, and for young women
who are identified as the more vulnerable group when it comes to violence since the pandemic.1
6 In spite of these challenges, youth have also been proving their resilience and inventiveness in
the face of adversity, by participating in social activism, with a global 31% volunteering, and 27%
making donations towards the pandemic response.2

YAR was conceived to give space, capacity and voice to young people to determine the issues
they are facing and to undertake research on these to inform local, national, regional or global
responses. Following a global survey, young respondents identified five core themes which the
YAR initiative would investigate in terms of the pandemic impact on youth:

LEARNING – Changes in education during the pandemic and how young people have
been impacted and have adapted
WELL-BEING – New social norms, anxiety about the pandemic and access to services
have made youth well-being a key concern
YOUTH-LED ACTION – Supporting their communities through the pandemic has
resulted in many young people leading volunteer efforts
ROLE OF TECHNOLOGY – With a strong shift to doing everything online, young people
have needed technical skills and innovation to adapt
RIGHTS – Balancing community protection and freedom has left young people across
the world unable to exercise their rights, with especially tough impacts on marginalized
youth
With over 6,000 applications, the YAR initiative has engaged approximately 270 young people,
from over 70 countries, as researchers, and close to 10,000 youth in support to the research teams.
Considering the sanitary restrictions imposed by the pandemic, YAR mechanisms and processes
were migrated entirely online from the training platform to virtual mentoring and online survey
tools for data collection. While working together online has been a challenge for young people
due to connectivity issues and differing time zones, it has also enabled them to meet and work
with people from other countries which resulted in rich cultural exchanges.

The work of these young people over the course of 18 months has uncovered valuable insights
on youth perspectives, but also important gaps that need to be further addressed. While
overwhelmingly recognizing the value of youth-led research as a means to channel youth voices
into decision-making, a majority of young respondents, also perceived that there are limited
avenues for youth engagement in public life and decision-making at all levels. Major gaps
identified by young respondents include the lack of data to understand the “double burden” of
the pandemic on young women; unavailability of mental health support, exacerbated by stigma;
insufficient technology education and training; as well as the limited funding and capacity-
building opportunities for young innovators, entrepreneurs and informal youth-led grassroots
initiatives. Young respondents also reported significant disruptions in education, poor quality of
learning experiences and outcomes, all of which combine to increase levels of stress and anxiety.

Beyond these challenges, YAR researchers also identified positive grounds on which to build.
7
Prime among these is the increased civic activity of young people, much of which has been
directly aimed at spreading awareness about COVID-19 and supporting community safety. In
addition, young respondents self-reported high digital literacy and a general feeling of on-line
safety and ability to identify misinformation.

Building on their findings, the work of the teams resulted in a set of key recommendations to be
taken up by decision-makers in the context of pandemic recovery efforts. The Global Policy Brief
provides the #Global10 interdisciplinary recommendations emerging from across all the youth-
led research teams (pages 7-8), as well as a more in-depth look at the theme-specific findings
and recommendations under each of the thematic areas addressed by the initiative (pages 9-17).
 The #GLOBAL10
YAR Recommendations addressed to Heads of State
and Government and concerned Ministers

1 Establish and sustain multi-stakeholder, intergenerational and inclusive partnerships

to address the impact of the pandemic on and with youth, notably for youth mental
health, learning, livelihoods and access to technology.
Focus on: Partnerships at national, regional and local level, bringing together educational institutions,
the private sector (particularly tech companies), the media, community organizations,
academics and other civil society actors.

2 Publicly commit to and strengthen the right to participation of young people in all
aspects of public life, particularly through formal, accessible, gender-sensitive, inclusive
and safe spaces that allow youth to engage and influence decision-making, legislation,
and public policies and programmes.
Focus on: inter alia, the establishment of youth advisory/policy positions/groups to Heads of
Government, relevant ministers and within Parliaments; tailored capacity development
8
opportunities for youth participation; and frameworks that support safe youth volunteerism.

3 Establish consistent and inclusive institutional frameworks and funding mechanisms

to build capacities, support, upscale and ensure the policy uptake of youth-led
research, as a means to guarantee inclusive policy-making and channel youth
perspectives in public debate.
Focus on: Ppportunities and spaces enabling young researchers to meaningfully engage with
parliamentarians and government representatives should be foreseen.

4 Prioritize targeted legislation and actions to recognize and address the exacerbated
challenges that young women have faced, often as caretakers and/or through giving
up their careers, in the face of the pandemic.
Focus on: Multi-institutional collaboration and community-based cultural support to raise awareness
about and identify relevant solutions.

5 Increase public and private investment in supporting and upscaling youth-led

innovation and entrepreneurship for post-pandemic recovery.
Focus on: Tailored legislation and policies supporting young innovators; financial support and
streamlining of access to credits and loans for young entrepreneurs; legal recognition
and registration of informal youth-led initiatives; tailored capacity-building for young
entrepreneurs; innovative partnerships with Internet Service Providers.
 The 10 key global recommendations (and their respective foci) have
emerged from the cross-section of the work of all youth-led research
teams, under the YAR Initiative. Theme-specific findings and cross-regional
recommendations, as well as the regional research foci are outlined in the
following pages.

6 Engage with young people to design, implement and monitor a hybrid educational
model that delivers high-quality innovative education accessible to all young
people.
Focus on: Provision of tools and training for educators to deliver quality online learning; media
campaigns encouraging guardians to support virtual learning; regular model assessments
and updates to cater to young people’s learning needs, particularly those of young women,
and to ensure maximum efficiency and accessibility.

7 Develop legal and institutional frameworks to ensure safe and low-cost access to
digital tools, provide financial support, and encourage public-private partnerships
and youth inclusion in policy-making, in order to mitigate future risks on the continuity
of education.
Focus on: Guarantee of affordable and easy-to-access internet connectivity for all young people;
financial support - through scholarships, awards and subsidies-for young people in rural and 9
marginalized communities to rent/purchase electronic devices and software for learning.

8 Mobilize and set-up multi-stakeholder alliances to invest in building digital literacy

and digital green skills on a universal and equal basis, and in collaboration with young
innovators, as a means to address the digital divide and promote digital equality.

9 Provide incentives to educational, particularly higher-education, institutions to establish

remote and in-person mental health counseling platforms and modalities.
Focus on: Students’ ability to interact online, informally and anonymously, with professors, educators,
counselors or medical specialists to discuss academic or psychological problems experienced
during online learning.

10 Agender-sensitive
dopt and implement legislative and policy measures that ensure the integration of
and rights-based education about sexual and reproductive
health in school curricula, with specific provisions for crisis situations.
Focus on: Development of contingency plans for the delivery of sexual and reproductive health
counselling/services during crises, as a means to understand and address related barriers
experienced during the pandemic.
 Topics

Learning Well-being Rights

Role of Technology Youth-led Action

10 Europe and
North America

North American Youth Team

North American Regional Team 1
North American Regional Team 2
Europe Youth Team
Europe Regional Team 1
Europe Regional Team 2

Latin America and the Caribbean

Haiti Team 1
Haiti Team 2
Africa
Brazil Team
Southern and Eastern Africa Team
Latin America Youth Team 1
Central Africa Team
Latin America Youth Team 2
Nigeria Team
Global SIDS Team
Global Evaluation Team Global
Global Gender Team Teams
Global Rights Team

Global Learning Team

Global Technology Team

Global Well-being Team

Global Youth Action Team

Asia and the Pacific

11
South Asia Team
Southeast Asia Team
East Asia Team
Viet Nam Team 1
Viet Nam Team 2
Philippines Team
Pakistan Team 1

Arab States Pakistan Team 2

Asia-Pacific Youth Team 1
Arab States Regional Team 1
Asia-Pacific Youth Team 2
Arab States Regional Team 2
Asia-Pacific Regional team

Disclaimer: The boundaries and names shown and the designations used on this map
do not imply official endorsement or acceptance by the United Nations.
 LEARNING

The scale of the education crisis created by COVID-19 is well known and has exacerbated existing
disparities in accessing quality education. 60.5% of total enrolled learners – more than 1.5 billion
worldwide – have been affected by school and university closures. It is expected that the number
of youth not in education, employment or training (NEET) will see an increase worldwide.
Online learning has grown, yet with important differences between regions of the world and
within societies (e.g. while, worldwide, 31% of total enrolled learners in primary and secondary
education are unable to access remote learning, this percentage rises to 49% in Eastern and
Southern Africa).3 Even those who are connected are showing signs of fatigue and sociological
impact due to lack of socialization with their peers, so important for youth development.4

Unsurprisingly, learning was identified as the number one challenge. As reported during the
YAR initiative, from total closure, to switching to online classes, students have had numerous
challenges to overcome, from internet access and family finances to quality of online teaching.
Teachers are also faced with the challenge of rapidly adapting to virtual classrooms, ensuring that
the learning outcomes are achieved with different resources and teaching styles. For students
approaching graduation, the transition from education to work is uncertain and many students
12 have experienced increased levels of stress and anxiety.

Key findings
Two global studies, one of which was composed of youth researchers from Small Island
Developing States (SIDS)5, focused on the perceptions of students and young teachers and on
how the changes have impacted their learning experiences. Sub-regional and national studies
in Africa, Asia and the Pacific, and Latin America and the Caribbean explored the effectiveness of
online learning and impacts on learning.

→ Access to stable and affordable internet and devices is an issue reported in all regions. The
majority of students and about half of the teachers’ respondents reported having an unstable
internet connection while 18.9% students and 24.5% teachers experienced power outages.
Class interruptions were also attributed to external conditions, such as background noise or
being asked for help with the housework approximately two to three times per week. Female
respondents also noted having difficulty concentrating at home due to increased household
tasks.
→ Poor quality of learning experiences and outcomes is a major concern. More than half of the
students reported that the quality of learning declined considerably since the start of the
 pandemic. In the Global YAR study on Learning, only 6.1% of the teachers respondents report
that all learning outcomes were attained.
→ Teacher-student relationships and student well-being have also been gravely affected.
Both students (43.6%) and teachers (53.1%) agree that their relationships worsened, while
students (44%) reported deterioration of student-student relationships as well. Many
students reported learning during the pandemic to be stressful and fatiguing, while levels of
optimism about the future remained medium to high among respondents.
→ In SIDS (per the SIDS study), the most frequently reported changes were decrease in teaching
time (students: 66.9%; teachers: 70.2%) and learning resources (students: 94.8%; teachers:
62.1%). 69.4% of teachers and 65.3% of students considered online education to have slightly
to moderately helped them achieve their teaching or learning goals, with flexibility of the
format and protection against COVID-19 as strengths, and insufficient motivation and poor
adaptation of courses as weaknesses.

Theme-specific cross-regional recommendations 13

1. Introduce schemes to support more affordable and reliable online access to learning
through loan schemes, financial subsidies and equipment banks, particularly benefiting
young women, as well as low income and vulnerable students.
2. Upskill students and teachers for better delivery of online, hybrid and alternative education.
This would include use of new technology but also pedagogical strategies for quality learning.
3. Strengthen cooperation with international organizations and NGOs to provide students with
tools needed for online learning (for example, tablets/laptops), particularly in countries of
ongoing conflict.
4. Develop student support systems by improving counselling and mentoring, and providing
online extracurricular spaces to encourage and build social networks amongst students.
 WELL-BEING

Amid growing concern that the COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in mental health and
psychosocial problems including depression, anxiety, loneliness, stress and poor sleep quality,
Nature reported significant changes in mental health status in a global study with 400,000
participants. Psychological distress was the most widely reported affecting 50% of participants.6
This is particularly true when it comes to youth, considering the close association between
positive youth development outcomes, socialization and (peer) social influence.7 Indeed, the
seclusion, lack of contact with peers, and for many, the loss of emotional and financial security,
disrupted not only their daily lives (e.g. their education) but also proper development processes
that take place during adolescence, such as reinforcing autonomy and building self-esteem. This
has resulted in youth facing an increased risk of suffering from depression, anxiety, and sleep
disorders, as well as an increase in the rates of youth suicide as they were unable to cope with
those various stressors.8 At the same time, data from 171 countries9 suggest a global shortfall in
investment in mental health and that the increased attention given to mental health in recent
years has yet to result in a scale-up of quality mental services that is aligned with needs.

Often intimately linked with young people’s studies and work lives, both of which have undergone
14 abrupt and significant disruptions, wellbeing (particularly mental wellbeing) was a key concern
for YAR teams from all regions. Critical concerns of the researchers included access to mental
health services, quality of these services, given restrictions in place and stigma experienced by
recipients.

Key findings
This thematic area yielded the most of studies under the YAR initiative (12 studies out of 34). A
global study focused on the impact of COVID-19 on youth well-being. Sub-regional and national
studies in Africa, Asia and the Pacific, Europe and North America, and Latin America and the
Caribbean explored a variety of wellbeing aspects, namely the impact on mental health created
by the transition to virtual learning, isolation, the media portrayal of youth and the variation of
information sources; the link between emotional wellbeing and use of social media; the impact
of the pandemic on life satisfaction; as well as habits and attitudes towards physical activities
pre- and post-pandemic.

→ Access to mental health services was hampered due to the pandemic, and stigma remained
a key barrier affecting young people’s decision to seek support. More than a quarter of the
respondents needed mental health support from the government (26.2%). However, close
to 60% of respondents were not aware of any national mental health policy in their country.
 60% of those who needed mental health support lived in a country where there was no such
policy in place as far as they knew.
→ In all regions, levels of stress and anxiety have risen since the start of the pandemic. Key
stressors relate to education (65.4%), mental health (64.4%) and social life (61.4%), followed
closely by income (nearly 50%) and financial stability. Specific issues such as gender-based
violence, lack of family support and online bullying have exacerbated these stressors for
some.
→ Social media and online communities have played an important role in youth social and
mental health, both positive and negative.

Theme-specific cross-regional recommendations

Access and quality of youth-focused mental health services were seen as critical needs to better
support youth including the following specific recommendations:
15
1. Integrate community-based interventions that promote services and reduce stigma into
government policies and programmes, as a means to increase mental health awareness,
address mental health illiteracy and break down cultural barriers.
2. Strengthen collaboration between Ministries of Health and Ministries of Education/
Universities to develop and implement low-cost, student-focused mental health services.
3. Introduce university online motivation and counselling sessions for students, including by
promoting peer-counseling and student engagement related to improving youth mental
health.
4. Expand access to information from trusted international/government bodies through
improved social media presence promoting mental wellness, exercise and social connection.
 YOUTH-LED ACTION

A silver lining in the pandemic has been the way that communities have banded together to
support those in need. In this context, young people have also been proving their resilience,
inventiveness and innovation in the face of adversity. Youth have been participating in social
activism, with a global 31% volunteering, and 27% making donations towards the pandemic
response. Youth-led action ranged from simply providing human contact in a world that has
isolated many, to provision of inaccessible services or protection from external risks. A meta-
analysis of impacts of the pandemic on youth found that youth have changed the way they
approach civic action through innovation and adaptation, especially in digital engagement.10
In addition, a number of storytelling and communication initiatives throughout the pandemic
have been showcasing how young people have been engaging, online and on site, to provide
responses to various challenges.

Key findings
This group of studies examines how youth have stepped up to be part of these solutions in their
16
communities and how this has played a part in coping with the pandemic, and in providing
sustainable solutions. A global study explored how youth-led community initiatives have been
(or not) able to address challenges of transitioning to online digital spaces for effective learning
and improved youth livelihood amidst the pandemic. Sub-regional and national studies in all
five regions of the world explored several areas relevant to youth civic action, namely, (1) the
transition to digital action (Arab-States); (2) the impact of the pandemic on young entrepreneurs
(Central Africa); (3) the responses provided by young leaders and young volunteers during the
pandemic (Asia-Pacific); (4) the perception of the social identity of youth as understood through
interactions in online versus physical space (Europe and North America); and (5) the online action
and strategies employed by youth in response to the crisis (Brazil).

→ Overall survey responses point to significant civic activity by young people, much of which
was directly aimed at spreading awareness about COVID-19 and supporting community
safety through provision of protective gear or relief materials. To state some examples, 73.5%.
of the respondents of the sub-regional study for South Asia and 65% of the respondents
of the national study in Brazil were engaged in social projects for COVID alleviation. In the
Arab States, motivations for civic action included altruism, desire to enhance their careers,
networking with like-minded young people, while also strengthening skills, such as critical
thinking and problem solving.
→ At the same time, funding resources and securing volunteers were the most needed
interventions to sustain the capacity for youth-led organizations to have impact. The critical
need for capacity building of youth organizations on digital literacy was also revealed.
→ In the Central Africa study, young entrepreneurs indicated that their businesses had declined
significantly, with some even closing down. 66% reported the impact of their livelihoods to
be severe, while 13% considered it catastrophic with limited to no additional support from
government and private institutions
→ On volunteer initiatives, the South Asia study reveals that while 83.2% of young volunteers
believe they have gained skills through volunteering, they identified as main barriers to
volunteering were remuneration and lack of safety and security measures, while 37% of
youth volunteers agreed to have experienced trauma during volunteering.
→ On ways to support and promote the work of youth-led initiatives, the necessity for more
learning opportunities that correspond to the operational needs of youth-led initiatives, was
highlighted, as well as the need for recognition and meaningful networking opportunities
with partners, government and funding agencies as a means to secure funding and win-win
partnerships. 17

Theme-specific cross-regional recommendations

1. Improve support to youth-led initiatives, enterprises, innovations and organizations, through
funding in the form of grants, scholarships or vouchers, as well as through novel financing
mechanisms, provision of technical advice and awareness-raising.
2. Strengthen recognition of youth-led initiatives, enterprises and actions through, inter alia,
formal registration, certificates, awards, grants and other incentives, so as to enable youth to
access related support mechanisms and other opportunities in the formal system.
3. Enhance avenues for young people to connect, network and partner with policy-makers,
government and funding agencies and relevant partners.
4. Create safe spaces and all-inclusive policies for youth volunteerism and provide psychological
counselling and psycho-social interventions for youth volunteers dealing with trauma.
 ROLE OF TECHNOLOGY

Young people were already keen users of technology before the COVID-19 pandemic. Yet,
the pandemic and subsequent stay-at-home mandates, online learning, and social distancing
requirements have increased reliance on digital media for most aspects of the lives of youth
(e.g., entertainment, socialization, education), with research suggesting a net increase in screen
time among youth during the pandemic.11 And although young people tend to be proficient in
technology, important gaps in capacity, access, and expectations for youth regarding technology
were revealed. This diverging level of digital literacy and related capacity amongst young people
hence affected differentially (facilitated or hampered) their transition to virtual modalities in many
ways. At the same time, the systems in place were not designed for a world with social isolation
and using technology revealed to have both positive and negative outcomes. Notably, recent
research has revealed the association between pandemic-related stressors and psychopathology,
with reduced stressors for youths with limited passive screen time and with lower news media
consumption related to the pandemic.12

Key findings
18

A global study explored the insights that the global youth responses to the pandemic provide
in terms of how to harness technologies for enhanced resilience to systemic crises. Global, sub-
regional and national studies addressing other thematic areas (learning, civic action, well-being)
have also discussed the role of technology, the digital divide and the access to verified information,
as well as how digital solutions have developed in a range of areas such as agriculture, education,
health and business.

→ Youth accessed COVID-19 information largely through social media (65.3%) and several times
a week. 51.9% of respondents used technology in order to access health-related information.
→ Self-reported digital literacy amongst youth is high (62.5%) though 70.3% asserted that
better technology education and training is needed.
→ Respondents particularly reported that internet access and costs (44.4%), the ability to
understand and use technology (33.3%) and language (22.2%) were among the key barriers
that prevented young people from leveraging the potential of technology for actions or
services that go beyond simply accessing health-related information.
Findings overall demonstrated limited change in online behavior during the pandemic, with
79.6% indicating they felt completely or moderately safe. Although 72.9% reported receiving
misinformation, only 4.2% indicated they could not identify it as such.

Theme-specific cross-regional recommendations

1. Increase support and investment in national policies that target youth digital skills
development.
2. Further encourage, including through targeted funding, technology education and training
through accessible online courses and local skills programmes.
3. Explore options to lower the cost of technology, particularly for young innovators, including
lease-to-own and subscription options.
4. Collaborate with media organizations and youth to combat disinformation and fake news.

19
 RIGHTS

Management of a global pandemic requires a very delicate balance between restricting rights
to protect the population whilst ensuring that all measures taken are respectful of human
dignity, non-discriminatory and of limited duration. After education, health and employment,
limitations on individual rights and access to information were significant concerns for youth,
with around 30% of those surveyed in 2020 expressing this concern.13 Freedom of expression,
freedom of movement and the rights to work and to quality health care are areas that have been
more significantly restricted.14 Employment and the right to work are also considered an area of
particular risk, placing young people, often with lower skills and less experience, the first to have
their livelihoods impacted.

In addition, exploring the intersectionality of gender and youth reveals particular challenges
created for those whose voices need to be heard in these times of crisis. The gendered impact
on the right to work during the pandemic is not sufficiently explored. Also, as governments and
international organizations focus on their COVID-19 crisis decision-making within dramatically
changing global and national health governance contexts, the social and political determinants
of Sexual and Reproductive Health Rights (SRHR) are also changing. SRHR are among the most
20 complex, sensitive, controversial, but important issues in human rights law and the obstacles
preventing individuals from achieving sexual and reproductive health are often interrelated and
entrenched.

Key findings
The studies were quite diverse under this topic. A global study on the impact of COVID-19 focused
on how young people exercise their SRHR. Sub-regional and national studies in Asia (Pakistan)
and North America explored the gendered impact of COVID-19 in terms of the right to work:

Sexual and reproductive health (global)

→ 36.16% of young respondents did not receive any information on Sexual and Reproductive
Health (SRH) during the pandemic.
→ The services which young people could only access with significant delays (greater than
75% of the cases) were related to abortion care, antenatal, childbirth and postnatal care,
and contraception. More than 50% of respondents also experienced delays with accessing
treatment and antiretroviral medication for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and sexually
 transmitted infections (STIs) during the pandemic, as well as prevention and management of
reproductive cancers.
→ Five key barriers were identified in accessing SRHR information or services during the
pandemic: dissemination of poor-quality information, not based on evidence; closure of
SRH clinics frequented by youth; internet restrictions limiting the information flow among
youth; prevailing stigma surrounding SRHR; limited economic flexibility of youth to access
SRH services.

Impact on women’s right to work

→ In spite of the limited sample size, one study in North America reveals that a majority of
women respondents (81%) worked in jobs that were medium to high risk of COVID-19
exposure. Women were also overrepresented in high risk and medium risk sectors of the
employment force, which were more likely to experience closures related to Covid-19.
Therefore, women both faced higher risks of being exposed to the virus and losing their jobs
during the Covid-19 pandemic. 21

→ Of those who had childcare responsibilities, the majority indicated that these increased from
6-10+ hours, with three respondents indicating 16-21+ extra hours per week. The qualitative
results from those who had childcare increases demonstrate the significant impacts for
women within a household.
→ The respondents also demonstrate the cumulative impact of having virtual schooling, and
how public health restrictions and guidelines have increased unpaid labor responsibilities of
women within the home.
→ As the Pakistan national study reveals, a significant number of women in Pakistan who turned
to working from home during the pandemic experienced benefits such as increased family
time, but also increased stress from irregular working hours and lack of ICTs resources.
 Theme-specific cross-regional recommendations

Sexual and reproductive health (global)

1. Improve access, including virtual access to sexual and reproductive health services and
information to strengthen understanding of sexual and reproductive health.
2. Adapt contingency plans for health emergencies to ensure that they do not significantly
impact the essential services of SRH by allocating budgetary resources to SRH clinical service
delivery.
3. Invest in training healthcare providers on youth/adolescent SRHR to combat related taboos
and stigma.

Impact on women’s right to work

1. Develop regulations for, and institute protection of, workers in the workplace, particularly
with a view to preventing undue burden and risk to women or caregivers, as well as gender-
based harassment.
22 2. Invest in ensuring digital infrastructure for youth, particularly young women, working from
home through provision of affordable equipment and services.
Endnotes – ILO. 2020. “Youth & COVID-19: Impacts on jobs,
education, rights and mental well-being.” https://
www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/---ed_emp/
documents/publication/wcms_753026.pdf
5 The Small Island Developing States (SIDS) include
1 All data and projections are sourced from the the following states: Antigua and Barbuda; Bahamas;
following sources: Bahrain; Barbados; Belize; Cabo Verde; Comoros; Cuba;
– UNESCO. 2021. “Education: From disruption Dominica; Dominican Republic; Fiji; Grenada; Guinea-
to recovery.” https://en.unesco.org/covid19/ Bissau; Guyana; Haiti; Jamaica; Kiribati; Maldives;
educationresponse Marshall Islands; Federated States of Micronesia;
– United Nations. 2020. “UN Policy Brief: COVID-19 Mauritius; Nauru; Palau; Papua New Guinea; Samoa;
and the Need for Action on Mental Health.” https:// São Tomé and Príncipe; Singapore; St. Kitts and Nevis;
unsdg.un.org/resources/policy-brief-covid-19-and- St. Lucia; St. Vincent and the Grenadines; Seychelles;
need-action-mental-health Solomon Islands; Suriname; Timor-Leste; Tonga;
– OECD. 2020. “Youth and COVID-19: Response, Trinidad and Tobago; Tuvalu; Vanuatu. United Nations.
recovery and resilience.” https://www.oecd.org/ 2022. “List of SIDS.” https://www.un.org/ohrlls/
coronavirus/policy-responses/youth-and-covid-19- content/list-sids
response-recovery-and-resilience-c40e61c6/ 6 Nature. May 2021, https://link.springer.com/
– OECD. 2020. “Learning remotely when schools article/10.1007/s11126-020-09744-3
close: How well are students and schools prepared? 7 Telzer, Eva H. et al. 2018. “Social Influence on Positive
Insights from PISA.” https://www.oecd.org/ Youth Development: A Developmental Neuroscience
coronavirus/policy-responses/learning-remotely- Perspective”. Advances in Child Development and
when-schools-close-how-well-are-students-and- Behavior 54: 215-258.
schools-prepared-insights-from-pisa-3bfda1f7/
8 Murthy, Padmini and Amy Ansehl. 2021. “COVID-19
– ILO. 2020. “Youth & COVID-19: Impacts on jobs, Crisis and Mental Health Challenges Among
education, rights and mental well-being.” https:// Youth: An Opinion Piece.” https://www.un.org/en/
www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/---ed_emp/ academic-impact/covid-19-crisis-and-mental-health-
documents/publication/wcms_753026.pdf challenges-among-youth-opinion-piece 25
– ILO. 2022. “Youth Not in Education, Employment, or
9 WHO. 2021. “WHO report highlights global shortfall in
Training (NEET).” https://www.decentjobsforyouth.
investment in mental health.” https://www.who.int/
org/data
news/item/08-10-2021-who-report-highlights-global-
– UN Women. 2021. “Measuring the shadow shortfall-in-investment-in-mental-health
pandemic – Violence against women during
10 EU & COE. 2020. “Meta-analysis of research on the
COVID-19.” https://data.unwomen.org/sites/default/
impact of Covid-19 on the youth sector.” https://
files/documents/Publications/Measuring-shadow-
pjp-eu.coe.int/documents/42128013/72351197/
pandemic.pdf
Meta-analysis-of-research-on-the-Impact-of-Covid-
2 ILO. 2020. “Youth & COVID-19: Impacts on jobs, 19-on-the-youth-sector.pdf/b174580e-4efb-8d02-
education, rights and mental well-being.” https:// 5be2-c793d7f40b56
www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/---ed_emp/
11 Nagata, Jason M. et al. 2021. “Screen Time Use Among
documents/publication/wcms_753026.pdf
US Adolescents During the COVID-19 Pandemic.
3 UNICEF. 2020. “COVID-19: Are children able to Findings From the Adolescent Brain Cognitive
continue learning during school closures?” https:// Development (ABCD) Study.” JAMA Pediatr 176 (no
data.unicef.org/resources/remote-learning- 1):94-96.
reachability-factsheet/
12 Rosen, Maya L. et al. 2021. “Promoting youth mental
4 Data and projections are sourced from the following health during the COVID19 pandemic: A longitudinal
sources: study.” PLOS ONE 16 (no 8).
– UNESCO. 2021. “Education: From disruption 13 OECD. 2020. “Youth and COVID-19: Response,
to recovery.” https://en.unesco.org/covid19/ recovery and resilience.” https://www.oecd.org/
educationresponse coronavirus/policy-responses/youth-and-covid-19-
– OECD. 2020. “Learning remotely when schools response-recovery-and-resilience-c40e61c6/
close: How well are students and schools prepared? 14 OHCHR Rights and COVID-19, https://www.ohchr.org/
Insights from PISA.” https://www.oecd.org/ EN/NewsEvents/Pages/Youth_and_COVID-19.aspx
coronavirus/policy-responses/learning-remotely-
when-schools-close-how-well-are-students-and-
schools-prepared-insights-from-pisa-3bfda1f7/
Social and Human Sciences Sector
7, place de Fontenoy
75352 Paris 07 SP France
[email protected]

https://en.unesco.org/youth

Follow us

@UNESCO

@UNESCOyouth