Austerity kids: what is it like growing up in Europe today?

For the first time, a United Nations fact-finding team will land in Greece today aiming to measure how the country’s financial crisis is affecting human rights.

UN expert Cephas Lumina said: “The economic crisis in Greece and the austerity measures…have contributed to an unprecedented rise in unemployment, particularly of the younger generation, and reports point to increased levels of poverty as well as reduced access to basic social services such as healthcare, education and social security.”

But it’s not just Greece which is suffering in the eurozone crisis.

The economic crisis in Greece and the austerity measures…have contributed to an unprecedented rise in unemployment, particularly of the younger generation. Cephas Lumina, United Nations

Schoolchildren are protesting on the streets of Cyprus; more than half of the entire population of Spain aged between 16-24 is unemployed; and in the UK, there are warnings that an entire generation is being “sidelined” by the government’s austerity agenda.

The eurozone crisis is causing pain across the region. But it seems to be hitting children and young people the hardest.

Last month, Catholic charity Caritas warned that austerity measures on the continent, particularly in the bailed-out nations, could be “a recipe not just for one lost generation in Europe, but for several lost generations”.

Channel 4 News wants to know what it is like on the ground – and we need your help.

- Are you aged between 15-25? 

- Do you live in Spain, Greece, Italy, Ireland, Portugal, Cyprus, Romania, the UK, Germany or France?

- Has your life been hit by austerity Europe? For example, you or someone in your family might have lost your job; you may have had to turn to food banks to help feed your family; or you might have taken part in or even organised anti-austerity protests. 

- Are you up for telling us your story over the next few months in text, film, pictures and audio?

Get in touch: email us on austeritykids@itn.co.uk, tweet us @austeritykids or with the hashtag #austeritykids, or post on our Facebook or Google+ pages.