International Youth Day: Opportunity to Pay Tribute to Young People's Response to Covid-19

11 August 2020 Printable Version

Rabat - Morocco celebrates on August 12th the International Youth Day, which this year represents an opportunity to pay tribute to the actions and initiatives undertaken by youth in their response to the crisis of the new coronavirus.

This year's theme, "Youth engagement for global action", aims, according to the United Nations, to highlight how youth engagement at local, national and global levels enriches national and multilateral institutions and processes as well as to draw lessons on how to improve their representation and engagement in formal institutional policy.

Furthermore, according to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and the World Health Organization (WHO), this year's celebration is an opportunity to praise young people around the world who have demonstrated "resilience", "collective action" and "creativity" in their response to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Since mid-March, a large number of young Moroccans belonging to different socio-professional categories, or simply volunteers, have mobilized their active powers in a unifying effort to fight the spread of the pandemic of the coronavirus.

Indeed, the population of Morocco, with almost 36 million inhabitants, is relatively young, with an average age of 31.9 years and only 7.4% of the population aged 65 and over, said the High Commission for Planning last July.

On the other hand, the International Labour Organization (ILO) recently noted that globally, more than one in six young people have stopped working since the beginning of the Covid-19. Moreover, those who have kept their jobs have seen their working hours reduced by 23%.

According to the same organization, young people are much more affected by the pandemic. Furthermore, the sharp and rapid rise of youth unemployment since last February has affected young women more than young men.

According to the ILO, the pandemic is therefore causing a triple "shock" to young people, pointing out that "not only is it destroying their employment, but it is also disrupting education and training, and placing major obstacles in the way of those seeking to enter the labour market or to move between jobs".

Similarly, the parallel youth government had urged, in a memorandum presented to the head of government, the need to give priority to employment, professional integration and the revival of the national economy in the post-Covid-19 period.