Asian youth, hard hit by the coronavirus pandemic, should have a voice to decide their future

Young people are struggling with online schooling, a volatile job market and mental health challenges

Some have chosen to speak up to help their communities. This should be encouraged by giving youth opportunities to engage in policymaking

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Young people wait for a ride at a public transport stop in Quezon City, the Philippines, on November 10, 2020. Youth unemployment in the country hit 22 per cent last year. Photo: EPA-EFE

Laura GuayandDavid B. Young

Published: 6:45am, 9 Oct 2021Updated: 7:40am, 9 Oct 2021

Like many of her generation, Pauline Mandrilla, a 23-year-old civil engineer from Manila, suddenly found herself jobless when the Covid-19 pandemic hit. Mandrilla felt like a statistic, as she joined the ranks of some 22 per cent of unemployed Philippine youth affected by the pandemic’s economic fallout.

“During the onset of the pandemic, we were placed in a no-work, no-pay situation,” Mandrilla recalled. “My previous job heavily relied on my being physically present on a construction site, but because of the quarantine restrictions, which halted public transportation in my region, I couldn’t go to work.”

Mandrilla’s story is familiar to many youth throughout East and Southeast Asia. Often regarded as the most “connected” generation in history – a reference to their ability to partake of global developments through the internet – young people in the region aged 15 to 30 are nonetheless grappling with a “new normal” amid the pandemic.

While those without internet access have been left behind during the shift to online learning, others have found self-directed learning a huge challenge.