Political youth organisations appeal: think of young people during lockdown

Call to outgoing cabinet: think of young people during lockdown

CDJA, SGPJ, DWARS, Young Democrats, Opposition and PINK are concerned about the mental resilience of young people during the corona crisis. After three lockdowns and a vaccination campaign, the strain on the young generation has worn off. From the beginning of the corona crisis, the expectation was that vaccination would be the way out of the corona crisis. Most of the youth have heeded this call by the OMT and the Cabinet by getting vaccinated in large numbers.

Despite this high vaccination rate, a new lockdown is imminent due to high infection rates. As far as we are concerned, measures are inevitable considering the current pressure on healthcare. However, half of young people suffered depression during the previous lockdowns. The CDJA, SGPJ, DWARS, Young Democrats, Opposition and PINK are worried that this number will be even higher when there will be another lockdown, forcing young people to sit at home once again. Vaccination was supposed to be the way out of the crisis. Now that this is proving to be different, there is no more dot on the horizon for young people and we worry about the mental health of young people.

We therefore call on the cabinet:

1. No closure of education. Despite the high infection rate among children, we advocate keeping all forms of education open. The closure of education further delays young people's studies and prevents them from meeting classmates, which increases loneliness among young people.
2. No closure of sports facilities. Sport keeps young people physically healthy and also provides relaxation and socialising. We therefore advocate keeping sports facilities such as gyms and workouts open as much as possible.
3. Postponing the BSA. In our opinion, the Binding Study Advice should once again be revised downwards. Due to the corona crisis, young people have to attend and study online much more. This does not benefit the student's results. We ask for understanding for this and therefore advocate postponing the Binding Study Advice for first-year students.
4. Again, make more funding available at national and local level for young people's mental health. Young people who feel less mentally because of a new lockdown must have a place to express themselves. Politicians should facilitate this opportunity at national and local levels.
5. Give young people a dot on the horizon. The rack is out and perspective must be offered to young people to ensure that, thanks to the lockdown, not half of them get depressed again. Therefore, offer young people perspective and come up with a clear roadmap, based on infections, which the government will also stick to this time. This will make it clear to everyone when and which measures will be introduced or abandoned.