Being a teen during the COVID-19 pandemic has been, well, not great.
While our time stuck inside has given us plenty of zoom cast reunions from Teen Wolf to Victorious, it’s also catastrophically impacted our mental health and left many of us stressed about the future.
How do we plan and prepare for a life after high school when so few opportunities are available to us? When we can’t travel? And, as the Earth keeps getting hotter and hotter every year and we’re increasingly being told the weight of the world is being put on our young shoulders 😔
WATCH: Victorious cast reunite to celebrate ten year anniversary
But don’t worry, a new study aimed at young people wants to help. Foundations For Tomorrow has prepared a major survey calling on Australians under 30 to voice their opinions on climate change, community inclusion, social injustice for First Nations Australians, and the future of technology and work in a post-COVID-19 world.
As 26-year-old Managing Director for Foundations for Tomorrow, Taylor Hawkins, explained, this is an opportunity for young people to co-design what the future of Australia should look like, and hold our leaders to account.
“COVID-19 has had a significant impact on our economies and on the wellbeing of our communities and we want youth to be directly involved in the recovery discussion,” Hawkins said.
WATCH: Why Greta Thunberg thinks climate change is important to young people.
“We will capture data from 10,000 Australians under the age of 30 and publish a report in May 2021, feeding into a Global Recovery Plan developed by the World Economic Forum to be tabled at the Special Annual Meeting in Davos, [Switzerland].”
And, honestly, it isn’t that surprising to see a survey calling for our opinion on what we want and need from a future Australia, especially given how we’ve had to put our political and activist hats on a lot lately.
Earlier this week, young girls around the country said enough was enough and came together to protest against the gendered and sexual violence against women in the government and everyday society.
WATCH: Chanel Contos gives an important message for International Women’s Day 2021
Elsewhere, former Kambala school girl and trailblazer Chanel Contos called for schools to teach us consent, sparking a national conversation about rape culture and harassment towards girls from all-boys school students.
“This will provide a tool for us to understand what the next generation wants key leaders to focus on now, and open up a space to have a meaningful dialogue about the world we want to inherit.”
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