Study: Generation of crisis! – Top channel

Summer vacation in Glivice, Poland. Aleksandra Piasecka, Lena Kubisa and Kinga Zuvala have gone to the Baltic Sea for vacation, in Gdansk. A plan that the three friends had been preparing for a year, that is, before the war in Ukraine, which has also changed their lives. “Sometimes I think about the war, and I get a panic attack because it’s so close. I have the feeling that this fear will not disappear as long as the war continues”, says Kinga. While Lena’s family also has a Ukrainian family living in her grandmother’s apartment, which luckily was empty. “Of course it’s a big change. But of course for this family the difference is even greater.” Aleksandra, Kinga and Lena are about 18 years old and will graduate next year. They are not the only ones who think about the future in times of war.

The three friends on vacation, Kinga Zuwala, Lena Kubisa and Aleksandra Piasecka

More Conference on the reconstruction of Ukraine more than 60% of young Europeans perceive the war in Ukraine as a turning point. This is shown by a representative study “New Europe” of the TUI Foundation. The information institute YouGov asked about this in April 2022 more than 6,200 young people between the ages of 16-26 in Germany, Great Britain, France, Spain, Italy, Greece and Poland.

Especially in Germany, Greece and Poland, young people consider the start of the war in Ukraine as a personal threat. And young people also show great solidarity, like Lena’s family. 68% of young people are ready to help refugees. “Before, before the war, the older people said, you young people have it so easy, but now I have the feeling that they have more empathy for us, that we have to learn in these difficult conditions, with so many stress factors .”

The war in Ukraine is not the only crisis that preoccupies the youth. The biggest threat to the youth remains climate change.

Climate change main topic

“Climate change is something that affects all of us humans. So I hope everyone wakes up and really starts doing something more.” Javier Fabra Rodriguez is 25 years old and has a master’s degree in history, he lives in the Spanish city of Cadiz. He describes himself as an optimistic man, and first thinks he is European, then Spanish. But if he sits in a bar with his friends, the first thing that comes up is the fear of not being able to find a job. And more and more often they also talk about the climate crisis. “We’ve always blamed big businesses that don’t care about the climate, or that the government should do more. But one day we were all of the same opinion, that we ourselves should do more, for example stop eating meat, recycle, and not use vehicles so much.”

Climate change – the main concern

Indeed climate change is what would make many young Europeans change their lifestyles. More than 60% of young people are ready to limit their standard of living. 69% see a great individual responsibility in the fight against climate change. A majority, 58%, expects more taxes, regulations and restrictions from the state. Almost every second young person interviewed is of the opinion that EU countries should prioritize climate change over energy independence.

The role of the EU

“For me, Europe is the place where I can reveal my personality and fulfill my good dreams. And to have rights is important, especially with my background”, says Daniela Cappuccio, who lives in the north of Italy. She is half-Colombian and has realized how many rights and freedoms the European passport offers her. The 25-year-old has just finished her law studies, is working and preparing for the license exams as a lawyer. For years, she has been committed to explaining EU institutions to young people in schools.

For the majority of young people, 69% who were asked in the TUI study, the EU is first and foremost an economic union, and a space with open borders, where you can work and live freely. 62% are of the opinion that Europe is also an alliance for ensuring peace. In Spain and Italy there are many young people who want a greater integration of the member states in the EU. We expect the EU to solve the big problems, says Daniela, “but at the same time, we don’t want to hand over national powers.”

The generation of compromise

In the way of solving challenges, young people in Europe are pragmatic. 71% are of the opinion that compromises must be made to succeed in climate protection. 66% understand today’s measures as securing future freedom. Political measures such as sending weapons to Ukraine or economic sanctions find great support. “The results of the study show a generation that is realistic in analysis and constructive and pragmatic when it comes to shaping the future,” says Thomas Ellerbeck, head of the board of the TUI foundation on the results of the study.

During the pandemic, many young people showed signs of depression. More than three out of five respondents in the study said that the pandemic has endangered their psychological health. The current crises have affected the sense of optimism of the youth. According to the study, it has reached a new point of decline. Kausar Vahaazzidi, a 16-year-old from Hamburg, who confesses that during the pandemic she knew many people who had problems with depression, is today engaged in the youth group of the Social Democratic Party on the issues of refugees, education and climate. “We young people don’t have someone there who says, this is how young people feel. I have the feeling that more assumptions are made in politics, and how young people should feel, decisions are made without us.”

The EU seems to have realized that there is a problem with youth engagement and has announced 2022 as the European Year of Youth./ DW

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