Helsinki Youth Council
Helsinki Youth Council is a youth lobbying body required by the Local Government Act, influencing matters important for young people in Helsinki.
It is a biannually elected influencer group consisting of thirty young people aged 13–17 from Helsinki. Their task is to ensure that the voice of young people is heard in decision-making and in the planning, implementation and monitoring of the activities of the city’s various divisions. For the first time, five deputy members were elected to the Youth Council in the 2023 elections.
The Youth Council is part of the young people’s influencing system of Helsinki.
Helsinki Youth Council is democratically elected
Members to the Youth Council are elected There were 92 candidates from different parts of Helsinki in the 2023 election, an all time record, and 30 + 5 representatives were elected to the Youth Council for the two-year term 2024-2025.
In total, 31,585 young people were eligible to vote and 11,107 votes were cast. The turnout percentage was 35.2%, compared to 38.1% in the previous election in 2021.
The next election will be held in autumn 2025.
Helsinki Youth Council has a limited right to speak and be present at the City Council’s meetings as well as in the City’s committees, the steering group of the Finnish Model for Leisure Activities, the Consultative Committee for Young People of the Central Union for Child Welfare, UNICEF’s Child-Friendly Municipality Coordination Group and the participation and interaction advisory board.
Helsinki Youth Council issues comments and statements on matters concerning young people to bring up the voice of young people in the City’s decision-making.
Helsinki Youth Council meets with the mayor and deputy mayors of Helsinki at least twice a year. It also meets with the City’s division managers, experts and officials, employees of the City’s different divisions, and various non-governmental organisations.
The Youth Council holds regular meetings once a month
The Youth Council can be contacted via the Chair or by e-mail at nuorisoneuvosto@hel.fi
You can also find the Youth Council on Facebook and Instagram.
Board of Helsinki Youth Council 2023:
Rosa Kumar Saarinen, Chair of the Youth Council
nuorisoneuvosto@hel.fi, tel. 040 627 3758
- Ehan Wadud, 1st Vice Chair of the Youth Council
- Aisha Mahmood, 2nd Vice Chair of the Youth Council
- Shyreen Joarder, Secretary of the Youth Councils Board
- Fia Hirvonen, Member of the Board
- Harry Fogelholm, Member of the Board
- Kerem Eren, Member of the Board
- Emilia Huikko, Member of the Board
The Youth Council represents
City Council representatives
- Aaro Ekman, representative
- Marcus Anttila, representative
- Jing Le Xu, representative
- Rokey Sabally, representative
- Emma Rautaoja, representative
- Nancy Li, representative
The Education Committee
- Lilja Hyppölä, committee member
- Emilia Huikko, committee member
- Rosa Kumar Saarinen, committee member
The Urban Environment committee
- Harry Fogelholm, committee member
- Marcus Anttila, committee member
- Ehan Wadud, committee member
Culture and leisure committee
- Oona Laine, committee member
- Jasmine Lam, committee member
- Veikko Valovirta, committee member
Social Services, Health Care and Rescue Services Committee
- Eino Missi, committee member
- Lukas Savinen, committee member
- Kerem Eren, committee member
Representatives of Helsinki Youth Council for the term 2024-2025:
Number of votes shown in brackets
Jasmine Lam (813)
Lassi Biström (332)
Kerem Eren (331)
Veikko Valovirta (314)
Ehan Wadud (296)
Abigail Suer (263)
Danil Denisov (257)
Aisha Mahmood (255)
Emma Rautaoja (254)
Kerttu Arnkil (252)
Rosa Kumar Saarinen (241)
Marcus Anttila (222)
Nikolai Kovalenko (214)
Lazima Rahman (214)
Rokey Sabally (209)
Shyreen Joarder (191)
Maggie Mattson (191)
Emilia Huikko (183)
Oona Laine (182)
Jing Le Xu (178)
Mark Ikonen (171)
Lukas Savinen (169)
Eino Missi (166)
Aamir Mohamed (155)
Fia Hirvonen (153)
Harry Fogelholm (152)
Karl-Fredrik Spolander (150)
Aaro Ekman (147)
Nancy Li (135)
Lilja Hyppölä (134)
Deputy Members for the term 2024-2025:
Chloé Mboyo (131)
Wiida Jawadi (128)
Anna Tulkki (127)
Diana Åkerlund (125
Artem Sergeyev (119)
Helsinki Youth Council counsellors:
Henna Vasara, henna.vasara@hel.fi, 040 481 1084
Tuomas Mikkola, tuomas.mikkola@hel.fi, 040 125 7859