Salminen, Nella
Introduction
“Vote for Salminen, vote for a better tomorrow” Helsinki is the capital city of Finland and this should also be reflected in its development. At the moment, however, this does not seem to be the case. A lot remains to be done in the areas of mental health services, safety, equality and sustainability, among other things. During my second term at the Helsinki Youth Council, I would like to promote all these issues. I am not afraid to voice my opinions to the decision-makers; on the contrary. It is a commonly known that upper secondary school students are not very well represented at the Helsinki Youth Council, and if I were to be elected, I would also bring the perspective of upper secondary school students to the decision-making in Helsinki.
Hobbies: I play tennis, play the piano, and make a difference in matters that are important to me.
Ressun lukio
Answers to the election machine
Schools should have more days during which they only serve vegetarian food.
I think there could be somewhat more days with vegetarian meals, but I think it’s more important that young people themselves have the desire to eat vegetarian food. No one can be forced to do anything, and it would be more important that young people themselves learn the importance of eating vegetarian food through school subjects, for example.
Schools should focus on grouping more extensively than now.
I believe that, especially at the beginning of lower secondary school and general upper secondary school, and as the groups’ makeup changes, grouping plays a key role in creating a safe and comfortable learning environment. However, for grouping to really work, it should be planned by students based on their ideas. If teachers plan the grouping events, they may not serve the young people’s needs.
Distance learning needs to be established as a permanent learning method in addition to contact teaching.
I think distance learning could also be used in the future, when necessary. For example, if the studies for a course are more independent, it might be nice to be able to do them from home and ask the teacher for help when necessary. Distance learning could also be used when someone is ill. However, it is important to remember that pupils need varying levels of support, and distance learning is not a suitable teaching method for everyone; these people need to be taken into account when planning new methods.
The competitiveness of young people’s sports activities should be reduced.
Personally, I’ve played basketball for a long time, and now I play tennis. One of the points of the sport is that you can compete and progress in your competitive career. So I believe the current kind of competition should not be reduced since many enjoy competing, but various sports should also offer opportunities to join in, e.g. once a week, without competing, if the idea is just to get exercise; for this, there are basketball teams at various levels and various tennis coaching groups, for example.
The City of Helsinki should primarily offer summer jobs to those young people who do not yet have work experience.
Getting that first work experience is vital, since the longer you wait to jump into working life, the harder it gets. However, determination is also important in working life. I think people who have some work experience but send a brilliant application letter should not be sidelined in the application process. In other words, experience could be one of the criteria to be considered in the process, but it must not be the only criterion.
The public spaces in Helsinki should maintain the division between women’s and men’s toilets.
People who are non-binary or agender also deserve an equal right to access toilets. Then again, differences between genders and sexual harassment in shared toilets may cause distress for some. I believe the ideal situation would be that there were men’s toilet facilities, women’s toilet facilities and general toilet facilities side-by-side, but if this is not possible, neutral shared toilets may be the best solution.
Helsinki should start offering free public transport to those under 18.
The climate emissions from traffic are shocking. Public transport is an eco-friendly way of travelling. Young people travel around Helsinki daily, and if public transport was free of charge, travelling by car may be reduced. Free public transport would promote equality since not everyone can afford to use it at the current price level. If making it free is not an option, the fees could at least be lowered.
It would be better if there were no e-scooters in Helsinki.
E-scooters are an eco-friendly and easy way of moving about, and they have created a brand new field of competition that will contribute to Finland’s economy and development. However, the number of traffic accidents has increased. I believe specific rules and limits could be set for the use of e-scooters to make them safer. Then again, wearing a helmet is mandatory and there are age limits on the e-scooters, so individuals themselves are also responsible for the use.
For a member of the Youth Council, pushing their own goals through is a more important quality than agreeing on compromises.
Even though your own goals are important and they shouldn’t be forgotten, the members of the Youth Council have common cause in promoting the wellbeing of young people in Helsinki. If we want to achieve anything at all, we need flexibility, open and constructive exchange of opinions, and, above all, compromise. Everyone should be able to meet others halfway when making decisions in order to achieve the best possible result.
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; Schools and education; Healthcare and mental health
1) Each individual and group should be treated equally. Unfortunately, this is not the case in all situations, which is why it is important to bring up the topic.
2) Schools are a large part of young people’s lives, which is why they should be comfortable for everyone. Psychologists and welfare officers are overworked, and young people are often unable to access schools’ healthcare services.
3) Due to the COVID-19 pandemic in particular, young people are faring worse than ever. Everyone has the right to receive timely help