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 116 candidates from different parts of Helsinki in the 2025 election, an all time record, and 30 + 5 representatives were elected to the Youth Council for the two-year term 2026-2027.
In total, 33 736 young people were eligible to vote and 15 098 votes were cast. The turnout percentage was 44,8%, compared to 35,2% in the previous election in 2023.
A new Youth Council has been elected in the autumn 2025 elections!
The election concerned young Helsinki residents born between 2008 and 2012. The voting period was from 3 November to 28 November 2025. The results of the 2025 election were published at the Youth Gala at Tiivistämö. EXPLORE the gala article and results HERE. You can also find the members of the Youth Council for 2026–2027 elected in the election on this page, as well as the vote counts of those elected at the bottom of the page.
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 2025:
Ehan Wadud, Chair of the Youth Council
nuorisoneuvosto@hel.fi, tel. 040 627 3758
- Fia Hirvonen, 1st Vice Chair of the Youth Council
- Emilia Huikko, 2nd Vice Chair of the Youth Council
- Shyreen Joarder, Secretary of the Youth Councils Board
- Rosa Kumar Saarinen, Member of the Board
- Maggie Mattson, Member of the Board
- Emma Rautaoja, Member of the Board
- Aisha Mahmood, Member of the Board
The Youth Council represents
City Council representatives
- Ehan Wadud, representative
- Kerttu Arnkil, representative
- Rosa Kumar Saarinen, representative
- Rokey Sabally, representative
- Aisha Mahmood, representative
- Maggie Mattson, representative
The Education Committee
- Emma Rautaoja, committee member
- Rokey Sabally, committee member
- Ehan Wadud, committee member
The Urban Environment committee
- Oona Laine, committee member
- Marcus Anttila, committee member
- Rosa Kumar Saarinen, committee member
Culture and leisure committee
- Jing Le Leena Xu, committee member
- Jasmine Lam, committee member
- Lilja Hyppölä, committee member
Social Services, Health Care and Rescue Services Committee
- Emlia Huikko, committee member
- Lukas Savinen, committee member
- Kerem Eren, committee member
Representatives of Helsinki Youth Council for the term 2026-2027:
Number of votes shown in brackets
Järvinen Kasimir (2527)
Lilleberg Myrsky (712)
Nwagu Daniel (568)
Taipale Lauri (430)
Ikonen Mark (370)
Tuerdi Turkina (338)
Huikko Emilia (315)
Farah Hooda (297)
Naeemi Hamza (292)
Lam Jasmine (261)
Abdi Maida (260)
Umer Ammar (242)
Arhio Oliver Veli (241)
Kandi Krishna Kartheek Reddy (231)
Kuivalainen Kasper (222)
Kuusisto Eris (222)
Sabally Isatou (220)
Hirvonen Fia (195)
Relander Tobias (185)
Kovalenko Nikolai (167)
Valkama Elsa (163)
Amamoo Kow (143)
Sergeyev Artem (142)
Denisov Danil (138)
Xu Jing Le Leena (127)
Suero Abigail (123)
Massamba Naita (121)
Laaksonen Leo (121)
Spolander Karl-Fredrik (118)
Lilleberg Fiona (117)
Deputy Members for the term 2026-2027:
Kaski Juho (115)
Maila Valle (114)
Moro Aisha (110)
Hyppölä Lilja (110)
Wadud Ehan (109)
Helsinki Youth Council counsellors:
Henna Vasara, henna.vasara@hel.fi, 040 481 1084
Tuomas Mikkola, tuomas.mikkola@hel.fi, 040 125 7859