By the EESC Workers' Group

Youth has always been a complicated period to navigate, including studying, entering the workforce, and becoming independent. These challenges, shared across generations, have long made young people more vulnerable in the face of economic and societal instability. 

However, the accumulation of unresolved crises has created a perfect storm. The financial crash, the climate emergency, the pandemic, the development of AI and ongoing geopolitical tensions have not come in isolation, they have overlapped and  reinforced one another. For many young people, crisis is no longer an exception but just their normal daily life. 

As a result, the traditional milestones of adulthood, including stable employment, affordable housing, and financial security, are increasingly out of reach. Precarious work replaces long-term careers, rent consumes most of the income, and the promise that each generation will live better than the last feels broken.

This situation has profound societal consequences. This is why we need to support young people and create a youth friendly society where they can thrive. Delivering quality jobs, and affordable housing and cost of living is the only way we can give our youth their future back. A society where our bodies age, but our lives are stuck in temporary contracts, where life milestones remain unachievable, and where young people get old without being allowed to transition to adulthood, is not viable.