Maaranen, Miro

Introduction

I have acted as a member of the Helsinki Youth Council and as a representative on the Urban Environment committee. We have already achieved a lot, but much remains to be done. I want to focus on urban environment matters to create a better urban space for all of us.

Defending a better urban space: who else would do it?

Munkkiniemen yhteiskoulu

 

Answers to the election machine

Schools should have more days during which they only serve vegetarian food.

Vegetarian days would be perfectly acceptable if young people were allowed to leave their school freely to buy their preferred food from a store. This is not the case, however. As long as young people are not allowed to leave the school to purchase their own food, the food offered at schools must be varied, taking both vegetarians and mixed eaters into account.

 

Schools should focus on grouping more extensively than now.

Group cohesion is very important in preventing bullying and creating a better team spirit. It is important for schools to focus on it.

 

Distance learning needs to be established as a permanent learning method in addition to contact teaching.

The COVID-19 pandemic has definitely demonstrated that large-scale distance learning is not desirable. However, distance learning courses have been a good way of completing courses not offered at school since before the pandemic.

 

The competitiveness of young people’s sports activities should be reduced.

The Youth Council has no way of influencing the competitiveness of sports activities. The sports activities offered in Helsinki are not competitive in nature.

 

The City of Helsinki should primarily offer summer jobs to those young people who do not yet have work experience.

There are very many young people who are unable to find a summer job. This can be contributed to by employers’ prejudices and simply bad luck. The summer job experience offered by the City is very beneficial when seeking work later.

 

The public spaces in Helsinki should maintain the division between women’s and men’s toilets.

The division of toilets into men and women’s toilets is groundless. Providing stalls for everyone would improve privacy.

 

Helsinki should start offering free public transport to those under 18.

Tallinn has a free public transport system, and the experiences of it have been good. Free public transport encourages young people to travel sustainably and saves money for other needs.

 

It would be better if there were no e-scooters in Helsinki.

E-scooters are convenient and facilitate travel in the city. It is unfortunate that accidents happen, but they are the riders’ own fault. I stress the riders’ responsibility for following traffic rules.

 

For a member of the Youth Council, pushing their own goals through is a more important quality than agreeing on compromises.

Making compromises is good, certainly, but consider why you are voting for a particular candidate. Of course, it is because the candidate has the ability to promote your views. Do you want your views to be ignored?

 

On which topics would you like the Youth Council to focus, in particular? Select the three that are the most important to you.

Young people’s influencing opportunities; Urban environment and transport; Healthcare and mental health