The COVID-19 pandemic has had unequal and devastating impacts on young people, made worse by pre-existing vulnerabilities such as government instability, uneven economic transition into 21st century work, a lack of transportation and digital infrastructure, and a scarcity of formal social safety nets. It is well documented that young people face specific and additional constraints in the labour market, and are worse affected than older adults by the social and economic stresses of the COVID-19 pandemic.

To deepen understanding of the youth experience in Indonesia and Nepal, the Youth Specific Livelihood Impacts and Responses to COVID-19 project worked with cohorts of disadvantaged young people. This innovative, youth-led, diary-based research pilot was led by Restless Development in partnership with Rutgers WPF Indonesia, the University of Cambridge and the Asian Development Bank (ADB).

The aim of the project was to assess the livelihood impacts and responses of young people during COVID-19, and learn more about pandemic-safe, qualitative research — captured through four months of diary entries written by young people (age 15-29) across Indonesia and Nepal.