Rönkkö, Väinö

Introduction

I take a lot of initiative and am a happy, empathetic, outgoing and determined person. I am also a well-versed speaker and happy to defend issues and values that are important to me and my friends, although I am also willing to compromise.
Things that are important to me that I would like to promote and develop are education, climate change prevention and equality (improving the position of sexual and gender minorities and immigrants, antiracism and the position between women and men). Improving mental health services is another very important issue. Access to mental health services remains all too difficult in Helsinki, and, for example, waiting lists for therapy are way too long. Effort should be made to make Helsinki the safest city in Finland for young people and free public transport should be granted for all people under the age of 18.

Hobbies: I go to the gym 5-6 times a week and I work in a restaurant. In my spare time, I like to spend time with my friends and do school work.

Alppilan lukio

 

Answers to the election machine

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

I think that it is good for schools to offer vegetarian food, but I personally lean towards the option that schools should offer both vegetarian food and normal school food. Then pupils could decide for themselves which food to eat.

 

Schools should focus on grouping more extensively than now.

Yes, absolutely! Young people should be grouped up more at schools, so that no one is left alone. This would help young people network more with each other at school, and everyone would have at least some kinds of friendships.

 

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

Distance learning has its own benefits, but I still think that the downsides outnumber the benefits. Distance learning contributes to young people’s social exclusion and loneliness. Many young people also find it more difficult to learn through distance learning than through contact teaching.

 

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

I think that the competitiveness of young people’s recreational activities should neither be reduced nor increased. Young people’s recreational activities should not be limited, as there are separate activities that involve competition and other ones that do not involve competition. Every young person gets to decide for themselves whether they want to compete or not.

 

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

Young people who do not yet have work experience should definitely be prioritised when offering summer jobs. This would provide every young person with at least some experience of what work is like before they reach adulthood. It would also make it easier for young people to find work in the future.

 

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

Absolutely not. All toilets in Helsinki should absolutely be unisex! Then no one would have to show that they are a man or a woman, and everyone could be themselves.

 

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

Helsinki should absolutely offer free public transport for all young people! This would make it easy for all young people to get around in the city, and their mobility would not depend on their family’s income, for example.

 

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

E-scooters facilitate easy mobility among young people and make it easier to get around in the city centre, for example. E-scooters pose their own hazards, but I think that the user should bear personal responsibility for the hazards involved.

 

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

Every Youth Council member must be prepared to make compromises in order for as many perspectives to be brought up in decision-making as possible. Of course every decision-maker must push their own goals and be determined, but they must be able to make compromises.

 

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

Climate change and nature conservation; Equal opportunities and equality; Healthcare and mental health

I think that these matters represent my values and also highlight matters that have received a lot of public attention. Helsinki must ensure a safe and good future for every young person, with equal opportunities.