ViacomCBS Networks International, parent company of MTV, Nickelodeon, Paramount and Comedy Central, and EU40, the Network of young Members of the European Parliament, in partnership with Euractiv, launch digital event Beyond 2020: Global Youth – Voices & Futures, a virtual event set to present the findings of the ViacomCBS Global Insights Research Study ‘Beyond 2020: Global Youth – Voices & Futures’, tackling them by bringing together a variety of high-level speakers.

Moderated by MTV VJ Aminata Belli, the 1-hour event will feature Christian Kurz, Senior Vice President Global Insights, who will present ViacomCBS Global Research Study and its results. Kurz will be joined by Virginijus Sinkevicius, European Commissioner for the Environment, Eva KAILI, Greek Member of the European Parliament, and young activist Anna Masiello, who will represent the voice of youth, providing insights into the impact of 2020 events on young people, and how are they responding to these dramatic events.

Christian Kurz, Senior Vice President, Global Insights, ViacomCBS, commented: “I am really glad that our global research study Beyond 2020: Global Youth – Voices & Futures is now the starting point for an open discussion with young leaders, activists, policy makers and active citizens. This event is a valuable moment not only to explore our key findings, but also to exchange experiences and understand concrete next steps, with the aim to inspire and drive collective action.”

“One out of three citizens in the European Union is 30 years of age or less, it is pivotal to include their perspective for the future.’’ said Alessandro Da Rold, Managing Director at EU40. “By bridging the gap between the civil society, different organizations and the young politicians of our network, we hope not only to inspire young people to speak up and change their realities, but also gain insights and learn about the numerous virtuous success stories that the youth put together, in times of need”.

Beyond 2020: Global Youth – Voices & Futures is the first global study to explore how the events of 2020 are shaping young people’s plans, beliefs and attitudes for the future. In a global survey of more than 8,000 young people aged 16-24 across 15 countries (Argentina, Australia, Brazil, China, France, Germany, Italy, Mexico, Netherlands, Portugal, Singapore, South Africa, Spain, UK, USA), young adults were asked about many different topics from health, climate change, politics and social issues, to travel, finance and relationships.

The study discovered an active generation who felt deeply impacted by the events of 2020, compelling them to value stability and security more than ever before, while it unearthed some fascinating insights on their resilience, and their strong will to change the future for the better, which will be the focus of the event’s discussions.

Some of the key results of the study, which will inspire conversation during the event, are:

• Youth are ready to take action towards a promising future
• Young people feel a strong sense of responsibility to contribute to the solution and society’s recovery. 55% of global youth saying that they are hopeful about seeing positive changes in the way we live over the next 10 years.
• They also demonstrated a strong sense of realism and consciousness that positive change does not come easy: 70% of respondents felt uncertain about their future, but 76% felt positive about it and 72% believe they “feel prepared to deal with whatever life throws at me”.
• 84% agreed their generation has the potential to change the world for the better.
• Climate change should be high on the world agenda
• A key priority for young people was unsurprisingly the environment and the impact of climate change: the environment was top of the list of the most important priorities for society to work on in the next 10 years for our global 16-24s.
• 72% agree “people will be more likely to choose environmentally friendly vacations”, while 39% agree, “I won’t fly due to the impact on the environment”
• Society needs to increase support for mental health
• Young people believe health in general will experience the most long-lasting impact, with 75% of 16-24s globally agreeing that in particular “Mental health will be a major problem for society”.
• 83% agree, there will be more openness and acceptance of mental health issues. Our youth acknowledge the significant and highly serious impact of mental health on individual and collective wellbeing.

Aware of the significant work to be and increasing vulnerability of today’s youth without concrete support systems, ViacomCBS and EU40 remain dedicated to taking forward the important work carried out and, through multi-stakeholder collaboration, to driving positive long term action for the next generations.

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