5.8 Raising political awareness among young people
On this page
On this page
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Information providers / counselling structures
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Youth-targeted information campaigns about democratic rights and democratic values
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Promoting the intercultural dialogue among young people
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Promoting transparent and youth-tailored public communication
Information providers / counselling structures
In Finland, the Ministry of Justice can be regarded as one of the main providers of information aimed at raising the political awareness of young people. The Ministry of Justice provides information and guidelines for youth participation in decision-making on the Suomi.fi website. According to the guidelines, municipalities, schools, and associations support the political awareness and inclusion of young people. In addition, various online channels are highlighted as useful platforms for engaging young people (see also 5.9 E-participation).
The Advisory Board on Civil Society Policy (KANE) has emphasised the need to promote youth inclusion from the perspective of minorities. KANE has called for stronger involvement of young people in electoral decisions. In addition, the Ministry of Justice has examined obstacles to participation among immigrant and multilingual young people (Lundell & Hanski 2022: 4-8). As coordinators of the Council of Europe Youth Campaign in Finland, the Finnish National Youth Council and Youth Sector (FYCS) also provides information on models for democracy education and participation.
Youth-targeted information campaigns about democratic rights and democratic values
The Ministry of Justice, in co-operation with the Finnish National Youth Council and Youth Sector and Ministry of Education and Culture send a letter to young people voting for the first time. In the future, there will be some video-material available, with the aim of improving the turnout of young people which will distributed to schools and educational institutions.
Promoting the intercultural dialogue among young people
At the national level, societal and intercultural dialogue between citizens is promoted, for example, through the National Dialogues model. The government also appointed an Advisory Board for Ethnic Relations (ETNO) for the period 2020–2024. ETNO has, for instance, published a report (in Finnish) on youth dialogues concerning racism and discrimination. According to the Ministry of Justice’s press release (in Finnish), the report also includes suggestions from young people themselves on concrete ways to address racism and foster mutual understanding.
Promoting transparent and youth-tailored public communication
The Ministry of Justice, as part of the Open Government Finland and the forthcoming National Programme to Promote Democracy and Participation is organising events and producing information material aiming to increase citizen participation and voting. Social media (Facebook and Twitter) is also used in contacting young people. A special target group of information sharing includes immigrant youth.
The Division of Youth Work and Youth Policy of the Ministry of Education and Culture is also on Facebook and Twitter, where it is sharing information and fostering dialogue with young people on youth policy issues.