A short story about my journey from the grassroots to the world!
Who am I?
My journey to the world
Local youth council and student advocacy 2009-2015
My engagement begun in 2009 when I got active in my student body at my middle school. I was also elected to my local youth council for the first time that year. These activities continued through the year 2015, when I graduated high school and also served my third and final term in the youth council.
First big elections 2015
In 2015 I ran for Finnish parliament. I was one of the youngest candidates in the country at just over 20 years old. My platform was built strongly around youth engagement, education, climate and sustainable transport in cities. I wasn’t elected, but the long campaign was a space to grow and also evaluate my personal values.
FSS and OBESSU 2015-2017
After many years of student advocacy in my school, I was elected president of my secondary school student Union FSS in 2015. FSS is a small organization, with a lot of responsibility for the president. This included some engagement in OBESSU, and resulted in me serving on the Monitoring Committee from 2016 to 2017.
My first years in Allianssi 2016-2019
As the years progressed, I wanted to engage on a bigger arena. I served on the board of Allianssi from 2016 to 2019, and in the International Committee from 2019 to 2022. My time in Allianssi was mainly focused on restructuring and building a new foundation. This really changed my mindset to a more strategic approach.
The Nordic Youth Council 2018-2020
In 2018 I elevated my political engagement to the Nordic level. The Nordic Youth Council gathers all party-political youth organizations from left to right together to influence and create common Nordic policy. I focused on sustainability and was part of a team creating a toolkit for youth engagement within biodiversity. I served as president of the Nordic Youth Council in 2020.
Introducing: the EU Youth Dialogue 2019-2022
I was first involved in the EU Youth Dialogue in the 7th cycle during the Romanian EU presidency. Going from a rookie youth delegate to panelist by my third conference, I really learned to appreciate the value of this process. The pandemic and online conferences were tough, but when we finally got back in-person in 2022, I was more ready than ever to further develop this concept.
The European Youth Forum 2023-
After multiple years of online and in-person engagement in the YFJ, I received the highest honor to serve on the board of the biggest youth platform in the world. During the mandate, I’ve worked on youth participation particularly in the EU. The mandate has been a success, with advocacy wins: the EU youth test, the platform work directive, involving non-EU countries and INGYOs in the Youth Dialogue and many more!