On this page, you can find examples of participatory tools and democracy education concepts that are already implemented in Finland.
The Week of Politics is a national theme week arranged by FYCS once a year. Any youth group, class, student body, youth council, scout troop or hobby team can participate in the theme week. The aim is to learn different ways to make an impact on society and to learn about politics from the local to the global level . Participating groups are offered high-quality learning material that is created together with the partners.
The youth elections are arranged in comprehensive schools, upper secondary schools and vocational schools. They are always organised in connection with actual national elections with the same candidates. The youth elections are a learning and teaching event for the youth: young people get the opportunity to familiarise themselves with elections, parties and candidates as well as receive practical experience in voting.
The Youth Election Compass is an application where one can compare candidates and parties based on their opinions, parties and other data. This election compass and its questions are specifically designed for young people.
Cooperation between youth and the government
Youth Delegates are all young people aged 18 to 30 who are nominated by the national youth council, FYCS, to represent the voice of their generation in the UN, EU and other international organisations. Youth delegates have a long history of working together with the Finnish government.
The Agenda2030 Youth Group and Youth Group for Climate and Nature work under the Prime Minister’s Office. The first group supports the work of the Finnish National Commission on Sustainable Development while the second one supports ministries on planning, implementing and assessing youth participation.
The Network on Youth, Peace and Security is the contact point between the Finnish Government, especially the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the youth sector. The network contributes to the implementation and assessment of the UNSCR2250 and the Finnish National Action Plan on Youth, Peace and Security. Read more.
The Youth Parliament operations comprise regular activities arranged by the Parliament and Opinkirjo. In school parliament clubs, children familiarise themselves with society through topical themes and learn how young people can influence and participate. The Youth Parliament culminates in a plenary session in the Parliament arranged once every two years.
In Digiraati (Digital Panel), an online service of the Ministry of Justice, people under the age of 29 are given an opportunity to make their voices heard in societal issues. Ministries, municipalities, wellbeing counties and other authorities can set a topic that will be debated in writing under a pseudonym in the service’s own, closed net forum. The aim is to create a final statement on the discussed topic, which will be forwarded to the decision-makers and published in the service.
Youth and student councils are statutory in Finland
According to Finnish law, all municipalities and well-being counties must have a youth council or a youth influencer group. Youth councils are tasked to make the youth’s voice heard, take a stand on topical issues as well as bring forward initiatives and issue statements. Youth councils may have a right to speak and be present in boards, the municipal council and, at best, even in the municipal government.
Upper secondary schools and vocational colleges must also have a student council. In addition, the education provider must also otherwise ensure that the students have a possibility to influence the activities and development of the institution and participate in making or preparing decisions concerning students and their status in the institution. For example, some student councils can attend the school board, arrange events and make the students’ voices heard in the decision-making processes.
Voting in church elections and making a resident’s initiative is possible for a minor
A local resident’s initiative is a local resident’s right to make an initiative for their municipality concerning its operations. A local resident’s initiative can also be made by a minor. All initiatives made in a municipality are processed without undue delay.
The voting age for the evangelical-lutheran and orthodox church elections was lowered to 16. The voting age in churches was lowered at the legislation level starting from the 2010 election. In addition, each church must have a youth influencer group.