Tuusula’s first digital council for children and young people is boosting participation in a new way

The aim of Digiraadi was to provide young people with an accessible channel to influence the proposals put forward for participatory budgeting and to highlight young people’s perspectives in the preparation of these proposals. Sixteen young people signed up for the panel through an open call, and a wealth of discussions took place over the course of four days. The discussions were concentrated in the evenings.

– Young people found the Digiraati an easy and positive way to get involved, says Community Manager Katja Repo. Some felt that influencing matters online reinforced the sense that young people’s opinions matter.

– The digital panel is a quick way to gather young people’s views on broader social issues and, for example, matters currently being prepared by the municipality, Repo continues.
  
 The Digiraati’s final statement serves as a summary of young people’s perspectives for municipal officials and decision-makers. The results will be taken into account in the further development of participatory budgeting and, more broadly, in the planning of youth services and events. 

The key messages from young people to the local council 

The discussions highlighted the strong need among young people for easily accessible, low-threshold services, such as counselling and support services. Young people emphasised the importance of privacy and safety, as well as the availability of services in the evenings and at weekends.  

Young people considered various low-threshold community events to be important, as well as activities that allow them to take part without significant costs and to try out new hobbies in a safe and supervised environment. Equal opportunities for participation were considered important. For example, transport from other municipal centres to joint events was requested. Young people felt that improving the flow of information was important: more multi-channel communication tailored to young people’s everyday lives would reach them more effectively than before.
   
The Digiraati statement can be viewed on the Digiraati website:

Further information:
Community Manager Katja Repo, 040 314 3048, katja.repo@tuusula.fi

Opportunities for children and young people to have a say are being developed as part of the ‘Child-Friendly Municipality’ initiative. 
Digiraati is an online service maintained by the Ministry of Justice where users can join discussions on various topical issues. The aim of the service is to offer all children and young people under the age of 29 an equal opportunity to have their voices heard on social issues. 

This content has been translated using AI