Y20 Indonesia: Achieving Diversity and Inclusion through Inclusive Education and Creative Economy

On June 17-19, 2022, the fourth pre-summit of Y20 Indonesia 2022 will be held in Manokwari, West Papua. The discussion among Y20 delegates and observers during this pre-summit will revolve around “Diversity and Inclusion”.

Y20 is the official engagement group at the G20 for youth. This year’s Y20 brings together 80 official delegates representing 20 economies of the G20, and additional 20 official observers representing the World Bank, WTO, ADB, IsDB, as well as representatives of vulnerable and historically underrepresented youth groups, including people with disabilities, Indigenous People and Local Communities (IPLC), and refugees.

Each year, the Y20 negotiated a policy recommendation, called the “Y20 Communique”, and hand it over to the Head of State or Government of respective G20 presidency at that given year. This policy recommendation will provide the G20 with youth’s perspective in preparing for the G20 Leaders’ Declaration that will be adopted during the G20 Summit later in November.

This year, the delegates and observers in the “Diversity and Inclusion” Track at the Y20 will push the agenda through two main topics, Inclusive Education, and Creative Economy.

Y20 Indonesia also conducted a survey with over 5,700 respondents across G20 economies to gather their sentiments on each of Y20’s priority issues. To ensure inclusiveness and representation, the respondents are of 50:50 balance between male and female, and of 50:50 balance between those who live in urban and rural areas, all of them are young people aged 18-30.

Our survey finds that 75% of young people across the G20 believe that having a diverse and inclusive society is important, especially in the context of achieving a sustainable COVID-19 recovery.

At the fourth pre-summit of Y20 Indonesia, which will serve as the last formal negotiation among Y20 delegates prior to the Y20 Summit, it is hoped that the delegates can agree on key policy recommendations for the G20 to act bolder on Inclusive Education and Creative Economy as a means to support a more diverse, equitable, and inclusive societies across the G20.

Inclusive Education

It is interesting to see that 58% of young people across the G20 find that inequity in access to education is a major cause of inequalities in the world today. Furthermore, 33% of young people we surveyed find that the provision of universal access to quality education is key in empowering inclusion in the education system.

The pandemic gives an additional pressure to young people across the G20, especially those who live in rural areas and who come from vulnerable communities, as during the pandemic, mobility was strictly limited. School closure during the pandemic forced students who have access to the internet to learn virtually. However, this is not the case for young people who have limited access to the internet. Most of the time, they are forced to be disconnected from their learning during the pandemic. But not only the internet, young people without access to enabling technologies, like laptops and computers, are left behind in the learning.

In March 2021, UNICEF found that as many as 168 million children globally have been affected by schools closure for almost a full year. In September 2021, UNICEF further wrote that nearly 77 million students are still affected by schools closure 18 months into the pandemic.

According to the World Bank (2022), by the end of 2021, school days lost were well above two hundred. That is about a school year and a half.

The World Bank estimated that a 7-month absence from schools would increase the share of students in ‘learning poverty’ from 53 to 63 percent. The World Bank further argues that unless swift and bold action is taken, learning poverty can reach 70%.

Providing equal and universal access to young people to education across the G20 should be a priority, as it serves as a prerequisite when governments across the G20 are thinking to improve the quality of the education itself.

This has been a priority for the Education Working Group under the G20, and the Y20 will continue pushing this agenda through concrete policy recommendations that the delegates will finalize in the next few months.

Creative Economy

During the COVID-19 pandemic, creative workers have been hit hard. This is unfortunate, because the creative economy has served as an important pillar in pushing diversity and inclusion in the society. Our survey finds that 51% of young people across the G20 believe that the creative economy allows freedom of expression, which helps create a more inclusive society. In addition, 45% of young people we surveyed believe that the creative economy allows the promotion of different cultures, while 42% find that the creative economy provides an option for employment or entrepreneurship for marginalized communities, both of which are important propellers for a more inclusive society.

UNESCO found that in 2020, 10 million people who worked in creative industries lost their job due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The pandemic also caused a $750 billion loss of value in the global cultural and creative industries. According to UNESCO, the cultural and creative sectors account for 3.1% of global GDP and 6.2% of global employment, making this sector vital to the global economy.

Ensuring that creative workers are protected during shocks is of importance for economies across the G20.

Creative economy has been discussed and is of a priority under the G20 Tourism Working Group. The Y20 will provide concrete policy recommendations to the G20 Tourism Working Group as the group is finalizing the communique in the coming months.

The Way Forward

The voices of young people, encapsulated in the Y20 Communique, should provide an input for relevant G20 working groups such as the Education Working Group and Tourism Working Group on young people’s perspective on Inclusive Education and Creative Economy, both of which are of importance in achieving diversity and inclusion in the G20.

Recovering together and stronger will require governments across the G20 to provide young people with what they need the most – be it in having universal access to education, or to contribute through creative economy.

The time to act is now.