Dixya Poudel

It is said that the future of any country depends upon the youth. However, they are at a disadvantage since the global struggle with the coronavirus pandemic. The young people make up two-thirds of the planet's poor. And today the young age group from 15 to 24 years are coming of age at a very precarious climate. It isn’t just their growth and educational prospects that are at a risk.
They also have to face the challenges of living in an age of global recession. Even before the pandemic, there had been a high number of unemployment rates among youth since the financial crisis of 2008. Thus, the youth have had to face yet another global crisis in their lifetimes on a span of little more than a decade.
The pandemic has had repercussions on the economic, educational, health and technology sectors. And the brunt of the consequences has fallen on the very youth who are the forerunners of the planet. Social disparities have become acute with divisions in social class and economy. Unemployment, youth disillusionment and digital divides are widening that has in turn affected the world adversely.
As companies made their employees redundant, young people were the first ones to lose their jobs to the pandemic. By the end of 2020, the global unemployment rate was as high as 5.42 per cent. While e-commerce may have boomed along with remote work and virtual education, the rifts in the poor and the rich have increased at an alarming rate. The upcoming generation will have to grow up in the rubbles that the pandemic has shed. And it will be them who shall have to implement the work of stitching back the wounds that the past year has inflicted globally.
Alarmingly, an increasing number of the youth have admitted to having mental health problems. Adding to it are the threats of climate change, cyber insecurity, debt crises, low income jobs and financial instability. This has led to a sort of disillusionment among the youth leading to a term "lost generation." It isn’t just a case of underdeveloped nations as the developed countries too are seeing the youth at a critical point.
Thus, the focus should be on empowering the youth with 21st century skills. Technical and vocational education must be encouraged. And the digital divide must be bridged so that the less privileged can have access to equal education as well. Experts have predicted further advancement in science and technology in the future. As such, the young students throughout the world must be equipped with educational tools that comply with the rapidly evolving technology. It includes supporting the young students in their psychological health. And it isn’t all bleak since one of the remarkable abilities of the youth is creativity. Turn to any social media and you can see the young minds occupied at artistic, innovative and creative endeavours. They are reaching out to their audiences through platforms such as social and virtual media.
Such creative minded youth aren't deterred from contributing to their communities despite the ongoing crisis. They are steadily working on their fields of passions such as the arts and humanities along with science and technology. Thus, while the older generations shift their responsibilities to the youth, the world must remain optimistic.