Reimagining the Future: COVID-19's Impact on Youth's Jobs and Livelihoods Aspirations
In 2020, ADB Youth for Asia1 (YfA) launched research, in partnership with the International Labor Organization (ILO), that unpacks how the coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19) impacted the jobs and livelihood prospects of young people in Asia and the Pacific.2 This provides an early view of how the pandemic creates challenges for youth through three transmission channels: job disruptions, impeded school-to-work transition, and education and training challenges. The research recommends promoting social dialogue between youth and non-youth actors to "facilitate the design of credible, effective and well-contextualized solutions informed by in-depth knowledge of vulnerable young workers and young entrepreneurs."
The online YfA Partner Deep Dive Workshop at SEADS 2021 held last March 18, co-designed by youth and non-youth partners, is a platform for intergenerational social dialogue to discuss the groundbreaking study's key findings to further understand the shifting labor market prospects of young people and how they have coped throughout the crisis. The Futures Triangle method was used to facilitate discussions, identify a preferred future, unpack the present's pushes, the past weights, and map a path forward.3 A total of 92 participants (23% are youth) from 27 countries joined the workshop which included five deep-dive breakout rooms facilitated by youth.
Participants took home insights from a diverse range of perspectives across generations and geographies on youth economic empowerment in Southeast Asia and the vital importance of meaningful youth engagement in solving these challenges. Insights gathered from the session directly inform ADB YfA's strategy to lobby for more inclusive, intergenerational, and participatory mechanisms mainstreamed within ADB and its DMC (developing member countries) partners' youth economic empowerment projects.
Below is the graphic recording that summarizes these insights:
1 ADB Youth for Asia (YfA) is the youth-led initiative helping the Asian Development Bank (ADB) realize its goals of a more prosperous, inclusive, resilient, and sustainable in Asia and the Pacific. Established in 2013 under the NGO and Civil Society Center of the ADB, YfA supports youth-led actions and partnerships between governments and local young leaders contributing to the addressing of development issues throughout the Asia and Pacific region. It also aims to serve as the Knowledge Center for Meaningful Youth Engagement (MYE) by engaging young people in each step in the project development cycle.
2 International Labour Organization and Asian Development Bank. 2020. Tackling the COVID-19 youth employment crisis in Asia and the Pacific. Bangkok: ILO, and Manila: ADB.
3 Asian Development Bank. 2020. Futures Thinking in Asia and the Pacific: Why Foresight Matters for Policy Makers. Manila: Asian Development Bank.
| Date | Session / Activity | Presentation Material | Speaker(s) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 18 Mar 2021 | Key findings and themes from the 2020 ILO-ADB report on COVID-19 and youth employment |
ADB-ILO Joint Research in Impacts of COVID-19 on Youth Employment in Asia and the Pacific In this presentation, ADB Youth for Asia shared significant findings as well as provided a common ground for the workshop participants from the report... |
Helen Osborne, Joaquim Sanvictores |