the youth report and youth participation models in helsinki · work in helsinki 1. universal...

The Youth report and

youth participation

models in Helsinki

- tools for building up a better youth policy

Stina Högnabba & Pirjo Mattila

Europe@DJHT 2017

28.3.2016

The presentation

The youth report in Helsinki

Involving youth in the information production

Knowledgebased management and the use of multi-

source information to improwe young peoples´s wellbeing

Youth participation models in Helsinki

City of Helsinki, Urban Facts & Youth Department: 28.3.2017

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Culture

sub-

commit-

tee

Sports

sub-

commit-

tee

Boards:

• Service Centre municipal enterprise

• Financial Management Services

municipal enterprise

• Occupational Health Centre municipal

enterprise

City Council Audit Committee

• Education

• Basic education

• General upper

secondary and

vocational education

• Services in Swedish

• Culture

• Sports

• Youth • Family and social services

• Health and substance

abuse services

• Hospital, rehabilitation

and care services

• Land use and city

structure

• Buildings and public

areas

• Services and permits

Rescue committee

Board of the City Transport

municipal enterprise

Central Administration

City Board

Economic Development Sub-committee

City Group Sub-committee

The city organisation 1.6.2017

Social services and health

care committee

City environment committee

Finnish

sub-

committee

Swedish

sub-

committee

Education committee

Environment

and permits

sub-

committee

Culture and leisure

committee

Sub-committee

Youth

sub-

commit-

tee

Buildings

and public

works sub-

committee

Education City environment Culture and leisure Social services and health care

Our vision for good youth policy

A comprehensive model looking at all services, has genuine participation of young

people and clear metrics for performance

Goals for Youth

Policy and youth

work in Helsinki

1. Universal services for all young people:

the entire city is a nice place for young people.

2. Young people have influence on their

neighbourhoods. Instead of a youth council´s

the goal is that every teenager has a

democratic experience through participatory

budgeting and activist groups.

3. Every child has a hobby.

4. Tackling inequalities between individuals

and neighbourhoods. More work with those

individuals and neighbourhoods, which need

more.


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The Youth report in Helsinki

www.nuortenhyvinvointikertomus.fi


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http://www.nuortenhyvinvointikertomus.fi/

Why do we need a youth report?

For the purpose of developing relevant public services and of giving policy-makers the information they need, the Finnish Youth Act (7 a§) mentions an obligation for municipalities to produce knowledge about various aspects of wellbeing among young people.

For developing good participation models we need knowledge about and from young people

The work is guided by a network with central stakeholders of youth policy and youth work in Helsinki, the chair is the assistant city manager. The members are leaders of different city departments, the police, young peoples representants and voluntary organizations.


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What is the youth report?


Website www.nuortenhyvinvointikertomus.fi with a connecting database www.hyvinvointitilastot.fi

A workbook for collecting experience-based data from youth groups www.nuortenkokemustieto.munstadi.fi/materiaalit/

The work follows an open data principle, meaning that the database behind the website can be accessed by anyone and it is updated constantly

The knowledge used and combined:

Statistics / indicators

Research

Experience knowledge of young people

Experience knowledge from workers

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http://www.nuortenhyvinvointikertomus.fi/

http://www.hyvinvointitilastot.fi/

http://www.nuortenkokemustieto.munstadi.fi/materiaalit/

The Capability approach as a way of

thinking about knowledge production

EU Youth monitor

•Education and training

•Employment and entrepreneurship

•Health and wellbeing

•Social inclusion

•Culture and creativity

•Youth participation

•Voluntary activities

•Youth & the world

The Helsinki Capability approach

•Life and health

•Self development

•Managing the future

•Security

•Emotions and interaction

•Active citizenship

•Equality

•Nature and sustainability

Martha Nussbaum´s Capability approach

•Life

•Bodily health

•Senses, imagination and thought

•Emotions

•Practical reason

•Affiliation

•Other species

•Play

•Control over one´s environment


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Example: Emotions and Interaction

Young people are capable of empathy, love, sorrow, longing, happiness, hatred and fury. They are able to express and process emotions, and they receive support if needed. Young people understand the significance of feelings in social intercourse and society. Their social identity and self-image are strengthened, their feelings of loneliness decreases, and their relationship to their parents works. http://www.nuortenhyvinvointikertomus.fi/briefly-english

Indicators:

• Family status

• Youth living with a single parent

• Youth living alternatively with parents

• Child protection

• Relationships to parents

• Friends

• Togetherness in school

• Affinity to peer groups


Experience knowledge

from experts – blogs

and workshops

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http://www.nuortenhyvinvointikertomus.fi/briefly-english



Young peoples own experiences – an

important part of the Web page


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The process of using information


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The yearly research summarys


The youth welfare report 2016 is also in english http://www.nuortenhyvinvointikertomus.fi/sites/

default/files/files/page/youthwelfarereportinhe

lsinki.pdf

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http://www.nuortenhyvinvointikertomus.fi/sites/default/files/files/page/youthwelfarereportinhelsinki.pdf



The information leeds to action proposals for

developing youth services and better youth

policy

Based on the different knowledge on the website the chosen

main topics for 2016-2018 are:

Improving interaction between young people and professionals

Racism and attitudes

Young people´s independence (education, work, housing)

At the moment plans for these topics are under construction.


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Youth participation models

http://ruuti.munstadi.fi/en/


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”Traditional” youth participation in Finland

• Youth councils in municipalities

• Often elected among young people that are already active

• Youth councils directly represent the youth in that municipality

+ Easier to understand and adopt for decision-makers

+ Easier for youth workers to maintain

- Narrower scope of positive experiences for fewer young people

- Tends to favor already active young people and discourage immigrants etc.


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Structures to co-create Helsinki together

with young people ”Ruuti”

Support Activism

•Young peoples’ direct initiatives via www.ruuti.net

•Providing support & services for all active youth groups to bring their ideas and voice into local decision making

Participatory budgeting and deliberative negoatiation

•Annual participative budget cycle shifts local decision making power towards youth

•Ruutimoney in schools

•Influence inside schools

Representative action

•Core group

•Schools student board

Happenings

•Annual City Hall Gathering / Event “Ruutiexpo”

•Annual meeting with the decision makers “Päättäjämiitti”

•Annual school student board meetings to discuss and improve school life


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Decision-makers meeting – ”Päättäjämiitti”

Over 80 young people and ~40 municipal

representatives and officials / workers (2016)

Themes discussed are chosen by young

people, discussions are on their terms

Officials put forward discussed action plans in

their own name – not as an organisation

Examples: gender-neutral school sports activities, better biking in Helsinki, more

trashcans, outlets in public transportation,

better e-learning platforms for schools

All action plans can be followed online


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RuutiExpo – the bigest event of the year at

the City Hall

• Aims to showcase different avenues of participation via municipal offices (Youth work, libraries, office of sports etc.), NGOs and other organisations

• ~3000 young people and ~60 different offices / organisations (2015)

• Also a venue for direct participation

• Challenge: How to ”package” the event so teachers can incorporate the event in their classes? How to layout the fragmented program so visitors can find things most relevant for them?


The board of youth affairs annually holds an

open board meeting in RuutiExpo.

The meeting is streamed

live and topics can be discussed online.

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. RuutiExpo 2015:

The wall of dreams

Young people attending the event

had a chance to write on a huge

blackboard their hopes and dreams

for the future.

As with other forms of participation,

this again showed that young people

in Helsinki have a profound sense of

social justice; many themes revolved

around equality, acceptance, ending

racism, equal opportunities for

everyone etc.


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What is the core group?

• Consists of 20 annually elected

young people

• Their task is to work together with the

youth department to ensure that

Ruuti works properly

• The group also has multiple agendas

on what they want to improve in

Helsinki

• The group agrees on their own

operating culture and rules

• Frequent meetings with the director

of youth services, politicians, city

councilmen etc.

• A high emphasis on learning within

the group; it is up to the youth worker

to ensure that every member can

fuction in the group

Ruuti core group for 2016

IN 2016 OVER 12 000 YOUNG PEOPLE PARTICIPATED IN

THE PARTICIPATORY BUDGETING PROCESS IN HELSINKI

Safer and nicer

public spaces, parks

for all

Affordable hobbies, useful

courses and training for job

seeking

Information on youth houses

for all young people, longer opening hours on weekends

Accessible public

places for all (people

with disabilities)

Airsoft equipments & gaming possibilites

Ice hockey World Cup screenings in

the local culture center

Multicultural festivals in the local

culture center

Better sport facilities,

articial turf

Cheaper bus tickets!

Later school mornings on

mondays!

Breakfast and snacks to

school & better school food

1. RuBuFest, gathering of

data and ideas: size

approx. 200 young

people/district.

2. Workshops to elaborate

ideas into proposals.

Approx. 20 young ppl

per district.

3. Voting on the

proposals. Around

500 young people

per district.

4. Advisory board of 5-10

young people, local youth

work district officials +

members of coregroup

ratifies the voting results

5. The most highly voted

proposals / action plans are

implemented during the next

budget cycle (ie. Calendar

year)

Challenges in the Ruuti-participation model


How to document participation activities that have

been done

How to gain more candidates / voters in the core group

election

How to lower the treshold of participation

How to strengthen dialogue between officials and

young people in general

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Ruuti core group achievment; Summer job

voucher for all 15-year olds in Helsinki


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Thank you!

Contact information:

Pirjo Mattila, planner,

City of Helsinki, Youth department

[email protected]

Stina Högnabba, senior researcher,

City of Helsinki, Urban Facts, research department

[email protected]


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mailto:[email protected]

mailto:[email protected]

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