Article categories: Archive News
New youth council elected
Published: 15.11.2022
A new youth council has been elected in Vaasa to bring out the voice of young people in decision-making. Elections were held on 1-2 November 2022 and every Vaasa resident between the ages of 13 and 20 had the right to vote.
The new youth council will start its operations on 1 January, 2023. A total of 22 regular members and ten substitutes were elected to the youth council.
The new full members of the Youth Council are:
- Aaro Helo, Merenkurkun koulu
- Emmi Schlöbcke, Onkilahden yhtenäiskoulu
- Jaakko Hirvonen, Savilahden yhtenäiskoulu
- Simon Hellbom, Vasa övningsskolas gym
- Hanna Illman, Vasa övningsskola
- Oskari Koskimäki, Variskan koulu
- Sofia Lintala, Vamia
- Mustafa Salih, Vaasan lyseon lukio
- Isaqh Abdullahi-aden, Onkilahden yhtenäiskoulu
- Sauli Syri, Savilahden yhtenäiskoulu
- Yara Abdul Menem, Onkilahden yhtenäiskoulu
- Seela Pasanen , Vaasan lyseon lukio
- Niko Lehtinen, Variskan koulu
- Taleen Saeed, Vasa övningsskola
- Alor Ashak, Variskan koulu
- Tiki Torrkulla, Vasa övningsskola
- Ian Mittilä, Vamia
- Noomi Pasanen, Merenkurkun koulu
- Abolfazl Ghulamzada, Vasa övningsskola
- Olli Svenfelt, Variskan koulu
- Saara Valkama, Savilahden yhtenäiskoulu
- Matilda Mattson, Vasa övningsskola
1,331 votes cast
A total of 1,331 votes were cast, and the voting percentage was 33. Youth affairs Coordinator Ari Kupari says that the voting percentage decreased compared to the previous elections, but the voting was still lively and there was a fierce battle for the youth council seats.
-Especially for the final places, the differences between the candidates regarding the number of votes were very small. You can say that every vote really mattered, explains Kupari.
Elections held electronically for second time
According to Kupari, good experience was again gained from electronically organised elections, and it can be concluded that this is a good way to arrange youth council elections.
– In electronic voting, the threshold to vote is low. It has been nice to hear that the elections have been a topic of conversation among young people and that the youth council is attracting interest, says Kupari happily.
Youth council elections are held every two years.
The right to also attend and speak at city council meetings
A representative of the youth council has the right to attend and speak at city board meetings. The members’ task is to make the voice of young people heard, take a stand on current issues and make initiatives and statements.
In the future, the voice of young people will be heard more and more strongly in decision-making, because from the beginning of next year, the youth council will also have the right to attend and speak at city council meetings.