Ruponen, Julia

Introduction

I’m a 16-year-old teen from Helsinki. I am currently studying at the Helsinki School of Natural Sciences. My interests include society, politics, sports and animals. I am running for the Youth Council because I believe that the voice of young people must be heard even more than it currently is and that all young people are entitled to a safe living environment. I also want to promote equality and equal opportunities to all.

Hobbies: Reading books, listening to music and playing sports.

Helsingin Luonnontiedelukio

 

Answers to the election machine

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

Vegetarian food is healthier, fresher and more environmentally friendly than meat.

 

Schools should focus on grouping more extensively than now.

Creating team spirit is important, and mutual trust is its cornerstone. Grouping also prevents people from being excluded and even prevents bullying. Grouping also makes the group members feel safer when interacting with each other and gives them courage to be themselves.

 

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

I know many young people whose distance learning periods during the pandemic went down the toilet, and many young people have even become socially excluded because of distance learning, which is a strong reason why distance learning should not be continued.

 

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

I think that there should continue to be teams with competitive members and teams with members who only want to play without goals. A little competition is always good though.

 

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

Those who do not yet have much work experience should be taken into account in summer job searches, because without work experience you cannot really get a job anywhere else than with the City or youth centres.

 

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

I think there should be both gender-neutral and men’s and women’s toilets, because then there would be toilets for those who do not identify with any gender and those who know where they want to belong. Some people may feel uncomfortable sharing a toilet with the opposite gender and should not be forced to do so against their will.

 

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

The current extension of basic education up to the age of 18 allows students in upper secondary education to receive Kela’s school transport subsidy, and comprehensive school pupils also receive a bus card or a ride to school from the school if they live around 3–5 km from the school, so making public transport free would take taxpayers’ money away from other things.

 

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

E-scooters are a convenient mode of transport, but some people go overboard with them. People have thrown e-scooters in the sea or exceeded speed limits. If e-scooters are used in an appropriate manner, they are not a problem.

 

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

It is good to make your own goals heard, but just like in Parliament, you have to be able to compromise and make joint decisions in the Youth Council.

 

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

Equal opportunities and equality; Safety; Healthcare and mental health

Equality and non-discrimination are very important to make everyone feel like they belong. Gender equality also needs to be improved. There has been a worrying increase in mental health problems among young people, and this needs to change.