Young people for change
The youth are faced by a fragile world of high living costs, pandemic disruptions, climate crises and rising conflict.
On International Youth Day 2023 (12 August), the world’s largest survey of young people reported that 40% of more than 700 000 respondents identify education, skills and employment as pathways to future security.The project collects the voices of 1 million+ young people, informing a global “Agenda for Action for Adolescents”, launching at a global forum for adolescents in October 2023
“What Young People Want”, a massive survey project undertaken by PMNCH – a global alliance for the health and well-being of women, children and adolescents, hosted by the World Health Organisation – reported interim results through a public dashboard launched on the eve of UN International Youth Day.
The survey asked young people, aged 10-24, to express in their own words, what they want most for their own well-being, giving voice to many of those who have simply never been asked, including in fragile and low-resource settings.
Among the respondents, the top interest expressed by young people (40.5%) is for learning, competency, education, skills and employability (40.5%), reflecting a strong interest in job stability, financial and material security and independence.
This result was reflected across all age groups, particularly among those aged 15-19 (47.2%) and among adolescent girls (49.2%), who frequently cited the need for “learning opportunities” and “quality education”.
In 2022, in low- and middle-income countries, learning losses to school closures due to Covid-19 left up to 70 % of 10-year-olds unable to read or understand a simple text – up from 53 % pre-pandemic.
In parallel, rising conflicts around the world have left many young people unable to engage in the job market, including as a result of low levels of education, physical and psychological conditions, and scarcity of educational and vocational training.
Climate change too presents a looming challenge to economic well-being, with an estimated 60% of young people around the world currently lacking the necessary skills to support the “green transition”.
PMNCH aims to obtain responses from at least one million young people by October 2023, when it will convene the Global Forum for Adolescents – a virtual gathering and the world’s largest event to date focused on adolescent well-being, powering the 1.8 Young People for Change campaign, launched in October 2022.