Global Youth Events: Lockdown Live
“If one is not infected, then one is affected”.
(Samuel Bosire, The Youth Café, Kenya)
A new series of events aimed at bringing together students situated on two different continents is set to begin next month, with the aim of discussing the current Covid-19 global crisis.
‘Lockdown Live’ will bring together members of Sussex Writes at the University of Sussex and members of The Youth Café, Kenya, to discuss what impact the pandemic has had on learning, mental health and health literacy, use of technology and (dis)information, civic space and participation, safety and protection issues, and the immediate future of the global economy.
The series will feature an exchange of experiences, problems, ideas and youth-led solutions to the Covid crisis both now and in the immediate future.
Damilola Adeduro considers that:
“This COVID-19 pandemic has hit us all by overwhelming surprise, put the entire world at a halt and caused changes to so many systems. However, amidst all the crisis, the youth have been more involved than ever in positively contributing to the situation. This is why the world has to know how they are coping during these unprecedented times, and what they are doing to make the world a better place”.
The first session, ‘Learning in Lockdown’ will take place on Friday June 12th and focuses on what challenges students have faced whilst in studying in lockdown and what ideas they might have for those managing in an education system that could be vastly different to the one that they knew.
They will also aim to discuss how people in different countries – in both urban and rural settings - are learning from home; what the impact is on an individual’s access to technology, and ways to resolve barriers to learning in a world now relying on remote access as the primary means of education.
Esperance Chantal from The Youth Café is interested in the effects on learning:
“Covid-19 has taken a toll on the lives of many across the globe. For this reason, the modes of learning have been adversely stricken with the most overwhelmed being us, the youth. The Lockdown Live series gives youth a platform to share, interact and learn from each other while giving viable solutions on coping with the New Normal of Learning in Lockdown that amplifies the voice of the youth thus instigating change and preparing the youth for post-Covid futures”.
Katie Fretwell (Sussex Writes) shares Esperance’s concerns about how learning has been impacted:
“Through listening and learning, our team at Sussex Writes and The Youth Cafe aim to create a global classroom. Generating group conversation is essential in the educational and emotional development of young people. I hope that universities and educational institutions recognise conversations like these in their approaches to dealing with the pandemic response.”
It is expected that due to the number of students involved and the range of experiences discussed, this will become a hugely useful resource for educators around the world.
Dr Emma Newport, lecturer in English Literature and co-creator of the Lockdown Live series, said:
“The world has spent the last few weeks scrambling to adjust to and manage the pandemic. Young people today will carry the legacy of this crisis forward. We hope to ensure that this legacy is not merely a burden but a chance to do things differently. Global crises need collective solutions that are generated by the young people who will lead us into the next phase of the Anthropocene”.
Mr. Willice Onyango, the Executive Director of The Youth Café and co-creator of the Lockdown Live series, said:
"From the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, one of the defining messages has been that older persons are more affected. Yet health and non- health impacts on young people are proving to be significant. A common understanding of these impacts and the role young people are playing in driving solutions is essential to the pandemic response. The repercussions of COVID-19 will extend beyond health and the pandemic time frame. The global crisis is exacerbating existing vulnerabilities and inequalities. All these impacts are further amplified in humanitarian contexts where fragility, conflict, and emergencies have undermined institutional capacity and limited access to services. I am excited that Lockdown Live is giving a space for young people to work on solutions and share best practices to address this pandemic".
The event itself has the potential reach of the 50,000-member The Youth Café, a Pan-African network that includes countries such as Cameroon, Gambia, Nigeria, Rwanda, South Africa and Kenya, amongst others.
Its mission is to model, inform, and advance youth-led approaches to sustainable development, environmental stewardship, social equity, democratic governance, and economic viability by utilizing innovative research, media, policy, advocacy, as well as cross-cultural and intergenerational partnerships. To date, they have reached 1.6 million young people across Africa.
Faridah Abdallah, SOS Children’s Village Nairobi, who mentors and advocates for youth empowerment for the less advantaged, said about the Live series:
“With 65 percent of the global population under the of age 35, it is important that different stakeholders come up with a youth centred approach to ensure that young people are; priotised engaged and encouraged to be part of both the response to the pandemic and problem solving processes. While youth are at the highest risk, young people around the world have made great contributions in the fight against the pandemic through; technology and social media”.
Sussex Writes, on the other hand, gives students at the University of Sussex a space to explore their talents, with the aim of sharing a love of literacy and creativity, with the ultimate aim of widening participation into higher education.
Abbie O’Connell, a team leader for Sussex Writes, believes that the Lockdown Live series is:
“A way of hearing the voices of those who will live with the consequences the longest and, on a practical level, demonstrates the utility and importance of effective technology-based communications. The Lockdown Live series allows for interesting collaborations on experiences, solutions and memories of this unique time in human history”.
This project will bring these two groups together at an uncertain time for the world. Issues such as mental health, safety and protection issues, civic participation, access to education and inequality were all present before Covid-19 struck, but it is more important than ever then that they are discussed and debated now. We look forward to you joining us on Friday 12th June 2020 for the first event in this important series.
“A conversation with the young people, for the young people”.
(Antony Karanja, The Youth Café, Kenya)