Ad hoc recommendation of the Ethics Council: Better protect the younger generation in crises

We will have more crises, war, inflation, the energy crisis and, above all, the climate crisis, says the Chair of the Ethics Council, it is simply not possible to overlook how burdened the younger generation is.

tagesschau.de: The Ethics Council dealt with the young generation for the first time in March 2020, then again in the summer of 2021 and in April 2022 and has now made an ad hoc recommendation entitled: “Attention, assistance and support for children and young people and young adults in and after social crises.” Why?

Alena Buyx: We went into a critical self-reflection: Although we repeatedly pointed out the situation of the younger generation, we never really focused on it. Our autumn conference in September of this year was the initial spark. We spoke to 350 schoolchildren who told us about their experiences during the pandemic.

This gave rise to the impulse for us to clearly point out the most urgent issue, the deteriorating mental health in these generations, and also to write concrete recommendations for action. And that’s what we presented today.

tagesschau.de: What did the young people tell you?

Buyx: That was very impressive. They told us what the experts from the literature, from the studies, from the data then confirmed to us. They told us there were two problems. One was the restrictive measures, the restriction of freedom, that so many things were not possible. But what was incredibly tormenting for everyone – even for those who managed quite well – was the experience of the crisis itself.

It’s the pandemic and it’s the measures. It’s not just one or just the other. And that’s something you see in other countries, some of which had completely different measures for the younger generation. The young people told us that very creatively, very impressively, very honestly, in very different ways, with films, with small sketches, with poetry slams. And that really impressed us.

tagesschau.de: In many cases, the adults weren’t that much of a help either, because they were helpless too and didn’t know what would happen when we think about the beginning of the pandemic. Did the children and young people have any form of support at all?

Buyx: You don’t even have to think about the beginning – it’s something that has carried through. There were reports and studies showing that there were certain groups that were particularly stressed, where there was particularly little internal structure in the family. People who are already disadvantaged or children, adolescents, young adults who have previously had mental stress. But actually everyone had this deep insecurity.

However, it must also be said that this was presented in a very ambivalent manner. There have also been many who have succeeded in filling this new everyday life with structure. There were also great examples at this conference of how much creativity and resilience the students reacted to.

But it is very clear that it was a very, very challenging time and that is also a major reason why we, the Ethics Council, formulated the recommendation. We continue to have crises and we will still have a very crisis-ridden time – war, inflation, the energy crisis and above all, of course, the climate crisis. There’s a lot coming our way. It’s just not possible to overlook, continue to overlook, how burdened the younger generation is.

focus on mental health

tagesschau.de: What recommendations does the Ethics Council have now? Which solutions?

Buyx: I want to say quite frankly that this is nothing fundamentally new, because there are already many recommendations, even before the pandemic. Attention to the mental health of children, adolescents and young adults has long been insufficient. That means we’re building on a lot. You need a lot of prevention. This has to start at school, but also in leisure facilities. There must be training for people who work with children, adolescents and young adults.

It’s also about the healthcare system. There are many offers, but they have to be better equipped – more staff, more therapy places, more concrete preventive care. And then the whole thing has to be linked. It is not just a health policy issue, but extends to various other areas of society. You have to think of it as a network, that’s very important.

We also underlined – that was important to us personally – that you have to listen to the younger ones, that you have to get involved, to interact, in order to pick up on what the particularly heavy burdens are. Of course, we also pointed out that there is more research out there. And last sentence, if I may underline that: we actually have a recommendation that is not a recommendation at all, but in which we, as the Ethics Council, also call and do so ourselves, to thank the younger generation for their enormous solidarity contribution and respect to pay tribute This appreciation and recognition of what happened there, also with a view to the future. That sounds a bit pathetic and it isn’t much, but it comes from the heart.

Don’t put so much strain on the boys again

tagesschau.de: So who is your recommendation aimed at?

Buyx: This goes primarily to politics and very intensively to the Ministry of Health. It is very important to think about this in a cross-departmental way, that education and school policy also plays a role, that there is strengthening in the area of ​​leisure time and family policy. We have a whole series of specific recommendations. I very much hope that they will make it into politics.

However, we are all called upon as a society. In principle, the younger generations are becoming minorities in our society. And making sure that the current and future crises do not place so much of a burden on young people is something for which we all bear responsibility. And that is also the reason why we have said something again and so clearly about the situation of the younger ones.

There was no moment to take a deep breath

tagesschau.de: Is it perhaps time for all of us to take a look at the measures taken during the pandemic that were right, effective or perhaps even wrong?

Buyx: Above all, I believe that it is important to take responsibility for the negative consequences of actions, even if the actions themselves were not wrong but legitimate. You really have to think ahead now. It is hopefully a very constructive contribution. It’s not just about looking back, it’s really about looking ahead.

One thing that I think is a pity is that as a society we missed a phase in which the pandemic was over and we could all heal a little together, work things up a bit, so we can breathe deeply. That wasn’t possible at all, but then came the war and then many other crises. And so there is an urgency now.

I want to say quite frankly: The most important things are the things that have to be done concretely. That has to happen in politics. But social attention to the generation that will be dealing with all these crises much longer and more intensely than the older generation is also very important to us.

Obstacles have to be removed

tagesschau.de: You have already mentioned the other crises that concern us. What could be done really quickly now to help the younger generation?

Buyx: This is precisely why the focus is on mental health. Because you can and must act really quickly. There are major problems recruiting specialist staff in this area, and there are real hurdles that have to be and could be removed. They are well known, we didn’t come up with them, many experts have already said that before us.

Then this networking of existing offers. It’s not that there isn’t anything. It’s not that there aren’t many good things, but they don’t mesh well enough. Then you have to see where there is a real undersupply. There are very different regional situations, so you have to top up.

There are many other more detailed recommendations as to what can be done. And we just wanted to give the whole thing, I want to say that quite frankly, a bit of “bang” and also use our platform to draw even more attention to it. I hope that works out a bit.

The conversation was led by Anja Martini, tagesschau.de