(Europe) The European Youth Forum, a platform representing over 100 youth organizations and advocating for the rights of young people in Europe, has pledged a new commitment to the Global Initiative on Decent Jobs for Youth. The commitment aims to provide evidence-based policy recommendations to ensure an intersectional youth-inclusive COVID-19 recovery. To achieve this outcome, research will be conducted to determine the pandemic’s impacts on young Europeans since March 2020 and effects of policy responses targeting young people. Importantly, to identify the specific challenges that vulnerable and marginalised youth face.

The commitment is centred on development of a report on COVID-19’s impacts on youth and policy recommendations in collaboration with youth organizations, and knowledge sharing on the report through a webinar and/or a blog in collaboration with the Global Initiative on Decent Jobs for Youth. The report will be included and featured on the YouthForesight knowledge platform.

"More than a year into the pandemic, some still struggle to acknowledge the disproportionate impact this crisis has on young people and other marginalized groups, including rising inequalities with devastating impacts on employment, social rights, and mental health. With this commitment, we aim to provide a greater insight into these challenges, while reflecting on the quality of governments' actions to respond to those needs. This is a crucial process that can help us to build back better, with a recovery that is inclusive of youth and future generations, and leaving nobody behind." - Panagiotis Chatzimichail, Board Member of European Youth Forum

The Global Initiative on Decent Jobs for Youth and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development

Decent Jobs for Youth was launched in 2016 as a UN system-wide effort, focusing on the youth employment challenge that is central to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. It has now become a global, multi-stakeholder initiative that brings together governments, social partners, the private sector, youth and civil society organizations, and other key stakeholders in an effort to scale up action and impact on youth employment. They work together to share knowledge, leverage resources and take action at country and regional level, with current commitments aimed at supporting more than 18 million young people in accessing decent work and productive employment worldwide.

The commitment by European Youth Forum will contribute to action around rights and voices of youth, which is of critical importance for a sustainable recovery from the crisis. Read the Global Report – Youth & COVID-19: Impacts on jobs, education, rights and mental well-being, by Decent Jobs for Youth partners including European Youth Forum

For more information about the commitment, please contact:

• Ms Nikita Sanaullah, Policy Officer – Social and Economic Inclusion, sanaullah@youthforum.org


• Global Initiative on Decent Jobs for Youth I decentjobsforyouth@ilo.org