Youth from Europe and Central Asia share their views on the Impact of Covid-19 on youth mobility

Youth from 13 countries in Europe and Central Asia joined a regional consultation on the Impact of Covid-19 on youth participation. COVID-19 is a global pandemic affecting all countries and people all over the world. 

COVID-19 brought an unprecedented crisis. Many people have been infected and many more are worried about their health. Authorities introduced measures to prevent the spread of the virus (like: handwashing, physical distancing, face masks, closing of shops, schools, building hospitals etc.). Soon we realised that the Covid-19 crisis is not just a health crisis, but also an economic and social crisis. The virtual consultation organised by UNICEF and GEYC explored more in detail these issues. 

What word(s) come into your mind when you think about mobility?

”Virtually, people feel that they are not part of the experience"

 

Key insights from the discussion:

• It is harder to keep up with virtual mobility programmes.

• The fact that many offline events became online increased the accessibility of the events.

• The development of railway networks could support youth mobility in an environmental friendly way.

• The youth believe that the states should cooperate more in order to facilitate youth mobility as a symbol of international solidarity and cooperation.

We would like the following participants for their active engagement and great insights:

• Abdimalik kyzy Meerim from Kyrgyzstan, Insan Leilek, UNICEF

• Abutab Abbasova from Azerbaijan, Azerbaijan Science Association

• Alikhan Kusherbayev from Kazakhstan, Движение “Modern Qazaqstan”

• Begüm Merve Demirsoy from Turkey, ANKA Youth Association

• Borna Štiglec from Croatia, UNICEF Junior Ambassadors for the Rights of the Children and Young People

• Daniel Gurguta from Romania, GEYC

• Ilya Barkovskiy from Belarus, http://eyp.by/. https://www.belau.info/ https://www.unicef.by/

• Isaac Mustopulo from Kazakhstan

• Iulia Brezeanu from Romania, Euroactive NGO

• Maria Alexandrova from Bulgaria
  

• Maria Chatzidionysiou from Greece

• Matej Milosievski from Republic of North Macedonia

• Milica Zugic from Montenegro, Mladiinfo Montenegro

• Nikolija Pehchevska from Republic of North Macedonia, Youth Educational Forum, OrceTalks, GirlUp Skopje

• Sofija Bozic from Serbia, BBE - Bourgogne Balkans Express

• Sultonbek Abdulloev from Tajikistan

We would also like to acknowledge the efforts and support of the UNICEF Country Offices in ECA for identifying and mobilizing the youth delegates.

About the consultations

GEYC is partnering with the UNICEF Regional Office for Europe and Central Asia (ECARO) to conduct a series of youth consultations in the context of the Covid-19 crisis. 

 

Four (4) online consultations took place on the 7th and 9th of July. During these consultations, young people from the Europe and Central Asia region were invited to share their views on issues of education, employment, mobility, participation, youth experiences and sentiments related to Covid-19, and how to build back better with young people. 

The consultations are being conducted in the context of a joint project by the UNICEF Regional Office for Europe and Central Asia (UNICEF ECARO) and the European Training Foundation (ETF), aimed at understanding the impact of Covid-19 on the lives of young people in Europe and Central Asia Region, as well as identifying ways in which young people can be engaged to build resilient, sustainable and digital economies and societies in the post-COVID-19 scenario.