the youth report and youth participation models in helsinki · work in helsinki 1. universal...
TRANSCRIPT
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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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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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?
City of Helsinki, Urban Facts & Youth Department: 28.3.2017
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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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
City of Helsinki, Urban Facts & Youth Department: 28.3.2017
Experience knowledge
from experts – blogs
and workshops
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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
City of Helsinki, Urban Facts & Youth Department: 28.3.2017
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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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?
City of Helsinki, Urban Facts & Youth Department: 28.3.2017
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
City of Helsinki, Urban Facts & Youth Department: 28.3.2017
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
Stina Högnabba, senior researcher,
City of Helsinki, Urban Facts, research department
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