Young people’s initiatives

Young people’s power of initiative is a benefit provided by the City of Helsinki to its young residents to help young people be heard in the City’s decision-making!

The power of initiative is every young Helsinki resident’s right

Submitting an initiative is one of many ways to make a difference! An initiative means that you describe an issue or grievance you have and want to fix, or an idea that you would like to have implemented. Occasionally, initiatives can also lead to concrete actions if the matter is not yet being promoted by the City organisation. 

How the initiative system works:

  1. Submitting an initiative 
    Any Helsinki resident aged13−17 can submit an initiative concerning a matter covered by the City’s operations.  Submit an initiative.
  2. Processing of the initiative 
     Initiatives are forwarded to the City’s divisions for processing. A draftsperson of a division may contact the author of an initiative to discuss how the initiative would be implemented or potential alternative ways to promote the matters mentioned in the initiative.This also ensures that a reply is being prepared to the right question. 
  3. Reply to the initiative 
    The author of the initiative will receive a reply from the mayor or deputy mayor by e-mail. The reply will detail any procedures carried out due to the initiative.The reply will also be published on the nuorten.hel.fi  website.  
  4. Processing by the City Council 
    The City Council processes young people’s initiatives twice a year. You can monitor the processing of initiatives via the Helsinki Channel