History of EYP Finland, 2012-2021

History book

European Youth Parliament Finland 2012–2021

In loving memory of Juho Nikko We had a friend. His name was Juho Nikko. He was an active member of EYP Finland. He started in 2008 and he presided over his last event in 2018. He died due to COVID-19 in 2021. In dedicating this history book to him, we want to acknowledge the contributions that Juho made over the years to improve EYP Finland and the network, in addition to the fact that he was simply a great person.

Juho began the process of growing EYP Turku from an obligated board of 4-8 people to events that gathered over

60 people several times a year, just in Turku. His emphasis in expanding EYP Finland resulted in the creation of EYP Northern Finland and EYP Eastern Finland, which allowed us to build a truly nation-wide organisation. His personal recruitment of event organisers and participants resulted in EYP Finland holding two consecutive events in Oulu at a time when our activities were still concentrated in the South.

Juho served as the first board member of EYP Finland who had a sole focus on fundraising. Juho created the first guidebook on fundraising for EYP Finland, parts of which remain in use today. He set EYP Finland on the course for long-term partnerships that enabled the growth of the organisation.

Juho was on the board of EYP Finland in 2012-2013. Before that he had pushed EYP Turku forward. His bread and butter in the organisation was school tours and befriending people. He was a passionate emailer and exceptionally good at it. He was also hired as the first official project worker for EYP Finland in 2014 and re-hired in 2015.

Juho was a personal person. He took the organisation forward through personal connections. There are hundreds of people all over Europe who miss him.

He was a great ear, a great dancer, and a great friend.

This is for you, Juho, because we want to remember you.

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Contents In loving memory of Juho Nikko 3 Foreword 5 2001–2011 - The First 10 Years 6 2012 - Building Partnerships, Making Plans 8 2013 - Open Door to the Office 10 2014 - Strategy for Growth 12 2015 - Pushing Limits, Breaking Records 14 Tampere 2015 – 79th ­International Session ­of the ­European Youth Parliament

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2016 - Welcoming the Secretary General 18 2017 - Working Hard, Planning Ahead 20 2018 - Project Management and Networking 22 2019 - Bold Plans and Big Visions

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2020 - When Everything Went Digital 26 2021 - Life Under New Circumstances 28 Sessions of EYP Finland 2012–2021 30 Organisational ­Development: Office and the Secretary ­General

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Local and Fun: The Role of Regions

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Promoting Active Citizenship: Projects of EYP Finland

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Told by You: Memories 40

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The Decade in Numbers: Statistics and Visualisations

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A Look Forward: Heading to the Future

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Foreword “Today, the meaning of ‘community’ can be ambiguous.

But true communities are simply groups of people who keep coming together over what they care about. “

many of us volunteers, EYP is not just a hobby, but a true lifestyle. This publication is dedicated to all of us that have worked to make EYP Finland what it is today.

Bailey Richardson, Kevin Huynh; Kai Elmer Sotto

Let us look forward to 20 more years of growth, love and community.

The European Youth Parliament Finland A unique place where many feel they can be themselves, a place where people can learn, develop and challenge themselves, a place people call home. A community.

European Youth Parliament Finland – EYP Finland ry was founded in its modern form in 2001. As EYP Finland turns 20 years old this year, we want to highlight how far we have come. With this anniversary publication we take a look back at the last ten years, while paying our respects to the first anniversary publication, released in 2011. Thank you to all the contributors of this publication. Without you this would not have been possible.

The last decade has brought a lot of changes to EYP Finland. The organisation has grown both in scale and outreach. Just as originally intended. While a session in 2021 and 2001 might look very different from the outside, EYP Finland’s core values have remained the same. People return to our events from around Finland and Europe to experience what we call the "EYP spirit".

With love,

Yannika Rönnqvist President 2021

Alexandra Salo Coordinator for EYPFI 20

European Youth Parliament Finland - EYP Finland ry 2012-2021 / Published for the 20th anniversary of EYP Finland / EYP Finland is the National Committee of the European Youth Parliament in Finland Design by Christina Lax Text and photos by Alexandra Salo, Henri Haapanala, Marja Pentikäinen, Alexander Proctor, Jari Marjelund, Robert Torvelainen, Alma Vänttinen, Laura Uusitalo, Amir Abdelamir, Pilvi Kilpeläinen, Yannika Rönnqvist and various others

EYP Finland is where it is today thanks to the countless hours our dedicated volunteers have put into the organisation. As mentioned in the first publication, for 5

2The0First0 101Years – 2011

While the roots of EYP Finland go back to the 1990s, the modern organisation was established in 2001 – on 15 June, specifically – by a small group of committed volunteers. EYP Finland, the international EYP network, and indeed the world were all quite different 20 years ago. EYP Finland’s starting capital, for example, was €60; the EYP as a whole was still a much smaller, more school-centred project; and the world had not yet experienced 9/11, the prolonged financial crises, or the emergence of many of the technologies today’s EYPers take for granted.

For the first few years, EYP Finland’s activities revolved around the annual National Session and a number of training events, training becoming one of EYP Finland’s strengths early on. Some organisational practices may now 6

seem quaint. For example, National Sessions were originally organised by one of the two school delegations selected to attend an International Session, whereas the other delegation edited EYP Spirit, EYP Finland’s membership magazine. (EYP Spirit was discontinued in 2009; EYP spirit

lives on.) The first Regional Sessions, now a hallmark of EYP Finland’s annual event calendar, were organised in 2008.

Internationally, EYP Finland has always been well known.

The 1st Baltic Sea Regional Forum, organised in Tampere in 2006, was followed by Helsinki 2009, the 62nd International Session of the EYP – a true culmination of EYP Finland’s development up to that point. (As an anecdote made more interesting by the past two years, the swine flu pandemic caused some issues for the session.) In 2010, EYP Finland also hosted the first Training for EYP Trainers.

In its first 10 years, EYP Finland grew and was developed through the efforts of exceptionally committed volunteers. For many, EYP became more than just a hobby. This is something that has not changed. In 2011, we believed the next 10 years promised to be at least as bright as the first 10. The following pages show that we were right.

2001–2011 are covered in more detail in “History of European Youth Parliament Finland, 2001–2011”, published for the organisation’s 10th anniversary.

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2012

Building Partnerships, Making Plans board members: Jari Marjelund (president), Lars Melakoski (vice-president), Sini Ventelä (today: Männistö, vice-president), Tim Backhaus, Jan Bubienczyk, Sini Hyytiäinen, Juuso Kurokallio, Juho Nikko, Marjuska Pennanen (today: Ouramo), Alexander Proctor

After the previous year’s anniversary celebrations, EYP Finland again focused on developing its core activities in 2012. The school tour reached Oulu for the first time, and the year’s Regional Sessions – in Tampere, Salo and Kauniainen – gathered a record number of participants from Finland and abroad. At the start of the year, for the 18th National Session, head-organised by Valpuri Kaarninen and Pauliina Paloviita, we returned to Tampere

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for a highly successful event (including hotel accommodation) amid freezing cold January temperatures.

To further develop EYP Finland’s delegate selection process, a new delegate evaluation form was created by Juho Nikko, Alexander Proctor and Hammu Varjonen.

The new form aimed to incorporate more objective and directly comparable criteria, and it accompanied

the Your European Citizenship Campaign and the National Session, with leading Finnish researchers supporting our participants in some of their discussions. Another important national partnership was formed with EF – Education First.

the board’s decision to start selecting individual delegates – rather than school delegations – to International Sessions from the 2012 session cycle onward.

Both forming new and developing existing partnerships was one of the successes in 2012 – and an essential stepping stone to further successes. EYP Finland had started its cooperation with the Academy of Finland, the leading funding body for scientific research in Finland, in 2011, and in 2012 the Academy became a national partner of

EYP Finland remained an organisation with a wide range of activities but relatively limited resources. Thus, in addition to forming significant partnerships, we focused on further developing our long-term capabilities by decreasing the size of the national board to allow more strategic board work, and committing to establishing a central office the following year. Internationally, the year concluded with the European Youth Parliament celebrating its 25th anniversary at its birthplace in Fontainebleau, France, with a number of Finns in attendance.

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2013

Open Door to the Office board members: Jari Marjelund (president), Lars Melakoski (vice-president), Juho Nikko, Marja Pentikäinen, Alexander Proctor, Hammu Varjonen, Sofia Westerlund

In 2013, EYP Finland took two important steps forward: we established a central office in Helsinki and increased the reach of our activities by founding our fifth Regional Committee in Northern Finland. Establishing an office and hiring permanent staff to support the incredible work done by the volunteers of EYP Finland had been long-term strategic goals, and the first office – at Uudenmaankatu 15, Helsinki, officially opened in May with a minor celebration – was a first step in this professionalisation. (For one, former and incumbent presidents and other volunteers were 10

happy to no longer store EYP Finland’s possessions in their – or their parents’ – apartments.)

Extending our activities to Finland’s northern regions was another significant improvement.

Though the majority of our participants and active volunteers would still live in the south, the new Regional Committee provided the necessary framework for more structured participation in the region. The 19th National Session was also the easternmost event in the history of EYP Finland, head-organised by Saga Eriksson and Tim Backhaus in Joensuu.

The core activities of EYP Finland also remained of high quality and reached a record number of participants. The number of three-day Regional Sessions increased to four – organised in Kuopio, Turku, Tampere and Oulu – with participants from 65 schools attending. Prime Minister of Finland Jyrki Katainen visited the National Session in Joensuu.

The Finnish delegation to the International Session in Munich was the first to consist of individually selected dele-

gates rather than delegations from 1–2 schools. In addition to a record 130 participations in events abroad, there were three other notable international achievements.

Former president Krista Simberg succeeded (another former president) Ville Vasaramäki as the Executive Director of the EYP, and Jari Marjelund presided over the 74th International Session in Tbilisi, Georgia. Most significantly, EYP Finland was granted the opportunity to host the 79th International Session of the EYP in Tampere in 2015.

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2014 Strategy for Growth board members: Alexander Proctor (president), Marja Pentikäinen (vice-president), Sofia Westerlund (vice-president), Ada Aadeli, Säde Kanervisto, Riikka Nieminen, Jenni Röynä

2014 was an important year for EYP Finland in building sustainable organisational operating models. EYP Finland focused on routinely organising top quality events, raising funds for activities, the professionalisation of the organisation’s governance, and strategic development. The celebratory 20th National Session took place in Vantaa, and for the second time we organised four Regional Sessions in Helsinki, Savonlinna, Salo and Oulu.

The board of EYP Finland held a training for the Head Organisers of

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the year’s events for the first time and began using a guidebook created to direct and support event organisation. All this with good effect: EYP Finland had never had as equally successful events as in 2014. The training of 12 Head Organisers for a period of 10 months in combination with the effective guidebook was widely adopted in the organisation, and it has become the model for organising events by every subsequent board.

Different partnerships with public and private actors had become more

and more crucial for the expansion and professionalisation of the organisation. EYP Finland was still operating with a limited amount of funding and its volunteers were stretched to a limit. Further growth and establishment required more funding. In 2014 EYP Finland fundraised a record amount of money which enabled us to hire two project workers towards the end of the year. However, the organisation needed a full-time Secretary General in order to be able to focus on future development.

In 2014 eyes were truly set on the future. In the spring, we established a working group to form the first long-term strategy for the organisation. The result of the working group was EYP Finland’s Strategy 2015-2017. With the help of the strategy, EYP Finland could commit to long-term goals which would take the our activities forward and further advocate organisational development with a broad set of concrete and measurable success indicators and guidelines.

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2015 Pushing Limits, Breaking Records

board members: Marja Pentikäinen (president), Laura Uusitalo (vice-president), Jenni Röynä (vice-president), Tim Backhaus, Iina Lappalainen, Iida Lyly, Viktor Salenius

In 2015, EYP Finland’s goal was to be more professional, visible and versatile. As a result, a record number of events were held, including the National Session in Turku, four Regional Sessions in Kauniainen, Kangasala, Kuopio and Kaarina, an extensive school tour together with Regional Committees, 23 parliamentary simulations in schools, Head Organisers’, Journalists’ and Chairs’ Trainings, and the first-ever Development Days (Järjestöpäivät).

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In addition, several other events were organised together with the Regional Committees, including Summer Days, Alumni Weekend and Annual Ball.

EYP Finland was also active in several projects related to the Finnish Parliament elections, and participated in Suomi Areena in cooperation with the Ministry for Foreign Affairs. All in all, we were represented in over 30 external events. However, the biggest push and event of the year was Tampere 2015 – 79th International Session of the European Youth Parliament.

As in 2014, we were able to hire a part-time Project Manager. Despite this, the biggest challenge of the year were resources. It became clear that EYP Finland could not grow or even stay in its current state without more funding and employees. To address the issue, in addition to active fundraising, we moved to a more affordable office in Lauttasaari, kept ongoing discussions with the Ministry of Education and Culture, and the board and other active members even raked a farm to raise more funds for the end of the year. The goal was to ensure that in 2016 we would have the financial resources to hire a Secretary General. Another goal was to ensure that EYP stays as a nice hobby which would not take too much resources from its volunteers.

As usual, we were also active internationally, with members attending sessions abroad as delegates and officials over 120 times. EYP Finland also had representatives in EYP Summer Academy and Training for EYP Trainers (T4ET). In the autumn meeting, our official name and rules were updated: the name changed from “EYP-Finland ry” to “European Youth Parliament Finland – EYP Finland ry”.

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2015

Tampere 2015 – 79th ­International Session ­of the ­European Youth Parlia 2015 held another big milestone for EYP Finland as we organised our second International Session (IS) in the modern era, six years after the first, Helsinki 2009. Under the theme “Ideas Change Minds. People the World”, the summer session (organised 24 July – 2 August) brought together almost 250 participants in Tampere after two years of preparations.

The first seeds of the project had already been sown in late 2009 after the Helsinki IS. However, the time was not quite right so soon after and it was unclear if there would be a team and two Head Organisers to make everything happen. Both in its inception and inspiration, and in its choice of location, Tampere 2015 reflected the strong foundations EYP Finland and its past leaders and members had built; there was confidence that an IS could be organised thanks to the positive example of the successful Helsinki session, and throughout the years 16

Tampere had been a great city for sessions with many active members coming from the city as well.

The road to Tampere 2015 was not the easiest one. Fundraising fell short and there were fewer participants than usually in a summer IS. On the positive side, the session trialled a new innovation: besides traditional resolutions, the participants were encouraged to think how they could personally contribute to the issues discussed at the session either in their own communities or on a more international level. This linked to the theme of “Ideas Change Minds. People the World”. The experiments and learnings were gathered into a

ament session innovation report for further use afterwards.

Tampere 2015 IS was head-organised by past president Robert Torvelainen, with a very strong supporting core team composed of Marja Pentikäinen, Jooel Friman and Melissa Forss who carried much of the practical management and leadership of the project. The official patrons of the IS were Mayor of Tampere Anna-Kaisa Ikonen and Vice-President of the European Commission Jyrki Katainen. Furthermore, the session’s honorary board included former Prime Ministers of Finland Esko Aho, Matti Vanhanen and Paavo Lipponen, and former commissioners Erkki Liikanen and Olli Rehn.

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2016 Welcoming the Secretary General

board members: Laura Uusitalo (president), Iida Lyly (vice-president), Juuli Salonen (vice-president), Lotta Moisala (today: Moisala-Julkunen), Philippa Rytkönen, Alma Vänttinen, Teemu Weckström

Year 2016 was the second year of the strategy to develop EYP Finland to be more professionally run, to have more varied activities and to be more well-known. Many years of hard work towards professionalisation culminated as we were finally able to hire a full-time Secretary General. This would give EYP Finland new opportunities to develop and lighten the heavy workload of the volunteers. We also hired a project coordinator and had the financial statements officially audited for the first time. Even though we had more funding, the financial situation was still quite tight, which meant that we paid a lot of attention to fundraising applications.

One of the main goals for our activities was to reach more young people from all parts of Finland and different backgrounds. We organised the National Session in Lahti, four Regional Sessions in Lempäälä, Naantali, Järvenpää and Kempele, a school tour, 75 parliamentary simulations in schools, Head Organisers’, Journalists’ and Chairs’ Trainings, Members’ 18

Weekend, Development Days, Summer Days, Annual Ball and an Alumni event. Some of the events were organised together with our five Regional Committees who also organised several local events. We tried to keep participation fees low so that as many young people as possible were able to attend the events.

Our members represented EYP Finland internationally in sessions abroad over 130 times. Board members attended the EYP Summer Academy and Board of National Committees meetings in Berlin, and the Training for EYP Trainers in

Aghveran, Armenia. We also coordinated the trip of all Finnish participants to the European Youth Event in Strasbourg.

We worked to make EYP Finland more well-known by increasing cooperation with third and public sector organisations. We represented EYP Finland in several national events such as Suomi Areena, Linnaseminaari, RuutiExpo youth event and an EU Stage panel discussion with members of the European Parliament.

Also, we developed our communications further and started preparing an Outreach and Inclusion strategy.

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2017 Working Hard, Planning Ahead

board members: Juuli Salonen (president), Iida Kalliokoski (today: Mikonmaa, vice-president), Alma Vänttinen (vice-president), Susanna Ahonen, Roosa Eskola, Henri Haapanala, Emmi Ilmanen

2017 was the concluding year for the first long-term strategy of EYP Finland. The board assembled a working group tasked with reviewing the main accomplishments and writing a new strategy for the upcoming three years, based on the status quo and the preferences of members. Strategy talks were held on the Development Days, Summer Days and during the Regional Sessions. In addition, members’ views were collected with a member survey written in Finnish, Swedish and English.

The National Session took place in Tampere and Regional Sessions in Jyväskylä, Joensuu, Porvoo and Salo. Salo was our first session with 20

a jury team in charge of delegate evaluations. Other firsts included a Support Fund for members attending sessions abroad. We also became one of the first youth organisations in Finland to have an Outreach and Inclusion strategy, detailing our methods for organising discrimination-fee, accessible and safe events. President Juuli Salonen shared this knowledge and best practices with other National Committees in her role as trainer at the Summer Academy in Porto, Portugal.

The office of EYP Finland moved from Lauttasaari to Allianssi-talo in Pasila. Since our Secretary General works alone in the office for most of the year, it was a welcome change to move into an office building where it’s possible to see other people working on similar topics!

For the first time, we also hired a summer worker from the 9th grade of primary school with a kesätyöseteli. For the busy autumn period we again hired a university student to work as a communications intern.

For the board, this year was extremely busy but also rewarding. The best example is from just before the Summer Days which were organised in Oulu. When planning our travels, the thought emerged: why let a long train ride go to waste? So we booked a four-passenger cabin, fit all six attending board members there, and held a meeting during the journey from Tampere to Oulu.

The meeting lasted the full 4 hours of the train ride, which not only made the distance feel shorter than ever, but was also the shortest board meeting of the year!

Charlemagne Youth Prize The Charlemagne Youth Prize has been awarded since 2008 by the European Parliament and the Foundation of the International Charlemagne Youth Prize of Aachen. This contest is open for projects organised by young people aged between 16 and 30 in all EU Member States. Winning projects should "promote European and international understanding; foster the development of a shared sense of European identity and integration; and provide role models for young people living in Europe and offer practical examples of Europeans living together as one community".

EYP Finland has entered the competition in several years with the Your European Citizenship project which includes the Regional Sessions and school tour. Additionally, we won the national prize for Finland in 2009 with the Helsinki International Session. The Your European Citizenship project won the national prize in 2010, 2017, 2018 and 2021, and in 2019 it finished in second place in the EU-wide competition. We are thankful to all our volunteers and participants over the decade who have made this possible. These awards go to all of you.

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2018 Project Management and Networking board members: Iida Kalliokoski (today: Mikonmaa, president), Amir Abdelamir (vice-president), Tuomas Alm, Ida Eerola, Aleksanteri Kekonen, Matti Lötjönen, Anni Niemelä, Paula Närvänen

This year was again busy at home and abroad. Many board members spent at least some part of the year studying or working outside of Finland, which also meant some changes in portfolios and deputy members taking over to become full board members. The Secretary General also changed for the first time, as Maiju Tuomainen left the role after two years.

We successfully organised the National Session in Turku, and Regional Sessions in Salo, Kuopio, Tampere and, for the first time ever, in Vaasa. EYP Finland also took

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over the role of lead coordinator in the long-standing parliamentary simulations project, Nuorten Eurooppa, organised in collaboration with the European Parliament Information Office in Finland.

Countless people have had their first contact with EYP through these school visits organised in primary and upper secondary schools.

EYP Finland again sent a delegation to the European Youth Event in Strasbourg, coordinated by the board member for international affairs Ida Eerola. Ida also represented us in Aachen, where we cele-

brated our second consecutive national win of the Charlemagne Youth Prize awarded by the European Parliament.

We took part in this competition with the Your European Citizenship project consisting of the Regional Sessions and the school tour. The EYP Summer Academy took place in Niš, Serbia, where we were represented by Amir Abdelamir and Ville Jaara as trainees and Henri Haapanala as trainer.

Back in Finland, we organised a discussion panel on Youth and the Future of the EU together with Allianssi and the European Parliament Information Office. This event gathered 90 participants who got to present their ideas to Com-

mission Vice-President Jyrki Katainen and three MEPs. We also participated in Turun Eurooppa-foorumi with volunteers from EYP Turku. For the second year running we attended Linnaseminaari, which is the annual summer event of Young European Federalists in Finland (Eurooppanuoret). Making connections with other youth organisations and EU professionals was one key objective in the new strategy and annual action plan.

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2019 Bold Plans and Big Visions

board members: Matti Lötjönen (president), Ida Eerola (vice-president), Henri Haapanala (vice-president), Amir Abdelamir, Venla Ala-Rämi, Ville Jaara, Yannika Rönnqvist

This year, many entirely new projects took place. After the National Session in Lahti, in February we organised a Project Coordinators’ Training in St Petersburg in collaboration with EYP Russia. And in December, we organised the Leadership Training in Levi and Rovaniemi, our first event north of the Arctic Circle. The training concept, covering session leadership roles for more experienced EYPers, was a first in the EYP network and fulfilled a real need according to the trainees.

Additionally, we started preparations for Lapland 2020 – the 1st International Forum of EYP Finland, head-organised by Anthony Fedorov and Marylyn Rosenqvist. The ambitious vision and comprehensive plans 24

helped to secure a large amount of funding, including grants from Erasmus and several Nordic organisations, for our largest event after Tampere IS. At the end of the year, everything was well on track for the session, due to take place in Rovaniemi in April 2020.

EYP Finland continued coordinating school tours for the Nuorten Eurooppa project, with volunteers supported by a project worker. In addition, we partnered with Nuorten Akatemia to create Tunne Eurooppa, a mobile game on European affairs. The game was designed for social studies lessons, and teachers could order a school visitor from EYP to host the lesson. This project received good feedback from participating schools and enabled us to reach more volunteers and participants from different backgrounds.

The Regional Sessions were held in Helsinki, Lahti, Nokia and Oulu – returning to the capital after five years. Board representatives at sessions took on a new role as Safe Person. While a board member or designated organiser was in charge of welfare in previous years, the role of Safe Person standardised the welfare duties across all National Committees. After the successful trial in 2017, jury teams were introduced to all Finnish sessions, with Milla Lehtimäki being the first Head of Jury at the Lahti National Session. Both jury teams and delegates were reminded that our sessions are non-competitive, and academic performance is not the only or most important criterion for selection to upcoming sessions.

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2020

When Everything Went Digital board members: Matti Lötjönen (president), Aarni Rantanen (vice-president), Amanda Häkkinen, Maisa Kankkunen, Yannika Rönnqvist, Alexandra Salo, Martin Örn

This year, the novel coronavirus changed everything. Things were still normal in January when we held the National Session in Tampere, with hotel and hostel accommodation for all participants!

The session was under the patronage of Tarja Halonen, Heidi Hautala and Iiris Suomela, all of whom joined to give speeches at our opening and closing ceremonies. During a short coffee break, president Halonen stressed the importance of activating and keeping in touch with our alumni.

Our first International Forum, Lapland 2020, was supposed to take place in early April. However, as COVID-19 was declared a pandemic in March, we had to postpone the session with only two weeks’ notice. Fortunately, our 26

sponsors and partners supported us with the decision, and we did not suffer any major financial consequences.

As the world locked down, sessions quickly moved online to compensate for all the cancelled events around Europe. Our first Digital Session, head-organised by Juliana Wong, took place in August. This 3-day event unknowingly prepared the organisation for the year to come.

The Regional Sessions, named by their planned locations Turku, Kuopio, Jyväskylä and Oulu, took place online using Zoom and Discord. Our main objective was not to lose the essence of Finnish sessions, so we put together online sauna parties and game nights. Some organisers of Turku RS were able to gather in an Airbnb, but aside from that, all delegates and officials were online. The digital sessions were an overall success and proof of our ability to overcome any challenge. Nearly all board meetings were also held on Zoom, as many board members lived abroad and travel inside Finland was discouraged.

The lighter pandemic restrictions during summer allowed for some in-person activities such as a picnic in Kaisaniemi park. We also attended Turun Eurooppa-foorumi where we organised an EU speed-dating event with Turun Eurooppanuoret. The participants got to meet EU employees including our former president Laura Uusitalo who worked as a Blue Book trainee at the European Commission. Finally, the Officials’ Training gathered 23 trainees to Ruissalo in Turku. This was a “hybrid” training, as Lika Abramishvili from the Governing Body delivered her module from Georgia via Zoom.

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2021 Life Under New Circumstances

board members: Yannika Rönnqvist (president), Amanda Häkkinen (vice-president), Laura Barry, Maxine Buchert, Pilvi Kilpeläinen, Essi Lievetmursu, Alexandra Salo, Aarni Rantanen, Monica Ratinen

The biggest challenge of the year was the ongoing pandemic which affected the organisation as a whole. It made planning and executing the original plans for events difficult, not to forget about challenges in engaging new participants. For example, the Vantaa National Session was first postponed to summer, in hopes that the session could take place in person, and was ultimately held online as it was not possible to hold such a large event physically.

After years of discussion, we decided to split the Regional Sessions into two held in spring and two in autumn. This was done to even out the workload of the board during the year, and to make the autumn less busy for the board members and Secretary General.

The spring sessions, Lempäälä and Helsinki, were held digitally. Finally, after one and a half years of digital ses28

sions, the autumn sessions in Porvoo and Mikkeli warmly welcomed delegates and officials back in-person.

A new cohort of “digital EYPers” emerged during the pandemic. The most active members were able to quickly rise to leadership positions and experience many National Committees by attending back-to-back digital sessions, or sometimes even two sessions at once. However, digital sessions struggled to attract Finnish delegates, which is a worrying concern for the future of active members of EYP Finland. In the autumn we therefore concentrated on renewing the school tour and strengthening teacher and school relationships with the help of an intern.

The pandemic definitely showed the importance of meeting prospective delegates face-to-face in schools and or-

ganising in-person sessions. Even though digital sessions capture a lot of the EYP spirit, there is no replacement for the physical session experience. Therefore we postponed Lapland IF again to ensure that participants from as many countries as possible can

gather safely in Rovaniemi with minimum travel restrictions.

The event is due to take place in April 2022 under the same leadership. In the summer, we also organised our first-ever event in Åland, as the Officials’ Training took place physically in Mariehamn.

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Sessions of EYP Finland 2012–2021 Tampere 2012 – 18th National Session of EYP Finland • Head Organisers: Valpuri Kaarninen & Pauliina Paloviita • President: Andris Šuvajevs (LV) • Editors: Sophie Hall (CH) & Ben English (IE) Tampere 2012 RS • Head Organisers: Marja Pentikäinen & Henriikka Hannula • President: Alexandre Narayanin (FR) • Editor: Saga Eriksson (FI) Salo 2012 RS • Head Organisers: Katharine Shelby & Riikka Koskinen • President: Jan Bubienczyk (FI) • Editor: Elisa Martinelli (IT) Kauniainen 2012 RS • Head Organisers: Anni Marttinen & Waltter Roslin • President: Franziska Maier (DE) • Editor: Giada Benfatto (FR) Joensuu 2013 – 19th National Session of EYP Finland • Head Organisers: Tim Backhaus & Saga Eriksson

• President: Hanna Ollinen (FI) • Editor: Robert Torvelainen (FI) Kuopio 2013 RS • Head Organisers: Tuusa Eriksson, Rebecca Kiiski & Veera Verkasalo • President: Hans Maes (BE) • Editor: Olivier Rostang (FR)

Vantaa 2014 – 20th National Session of EYP Finland • Head Organisers: Riikka Nieminen & Riikka Koskinen • President: James Benge (UK) • Editors: Christina Daubjerg Newman (DK/IE) & Anu Pekkarinen (FI)

Turku 2013 RS • Head Organisers: Ian Perring, Sofia Rostén & Valtteri Valtanen • President: Richard Janousek (CZ) • Editors: Giada Benfatto (FR) & Mathilde Pascal (FR)

Helsinki 2014 RS • Head Organisers: Viktor Salenius, Katarina Knuuttila & Patrik Kumpulainen • President: Marko Fischer (DE) • Editors: Elisa Martinelli (IT) & Tim Backhaus (FI)

Tampere 2013 RS • Head Organisers: Iida Lyly & Elli-Noora Nieminen • President: Dimitris Zacharias (EL) • Editor: Anna-Helena Saarso (EE)

Savonlinna 2014 RS • Head Organisers: Essi Hyvönen & Sara Välimäki • President: Hugo Dürr (SE) • Editor: Elodie Métral (FR)

Oulu 2013 RS • Head Organisers: Silja Tuovinen & Mari Ylivaikko • President: Sini Hyytiäinen (FI) • Editors: Nora Wilhelm (CH) & Louis Wouters (BE)

Salo 2014 RS • Head Organisers: Laura Uusitalo, Niko Lammi & Riku Suvitie • President: Alexander Proctor (FI) • Editors: Leo Sjöberg (SE) & Nina Thomic (AT) Oulu 2014 RS • Head Organisers: Noora Pitkälä & Katariina Suorsa • President: Saga Eriksson (FI) • Editors: Rebecca Kiiski (FI) & Anastasia Lemberg-Lvova (EE) Turku 2015 – 21st National Session of EYP Finland • Head Organisers: Henriikka Hakala & Ayda Jodayri Hashemizadeh • President: Valentina Mina (CY) • Editors: Laure Steinville (FR) &

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Susanna Ahonen (FI) • Theme: Enforcing European Influence in Global Politics Naantali 2016 RS • Head Organisers: Roosa Eskola & Eerika Vihlman • President: Nina Thomic (AT) • Editors: Nikos Koukovinos (EL) & Athina Firtinidou (EL) • Theme: Unlocking Europe’s Regional Potential – Local Economies as a European Resource

Alastair Payne (UK) • Theme: Youth for Progress – Securing a Prosperous Future Tampere 2015 – 79th International Session of the EYP • Head Organiser: Robert Torvelainen • President: Joanna Dreger (PL) • Editors: Jan Bubienczyk (FI) & Boaz Manger (NL) • Theme: Ideas Change Minds.

People the World.

Kauniainen 2015 RS • Head Organisers: Anna Anttila, Teresa Artjoki & Linda Turpeinen • President: Julia Pustovoitova (UA) • Editors: Kimberly van der Laan (NL) & Leo Sjöberg (SE) • Theme: Supporting Human Rights, Defending Equality Kangasala 2015 RS • Head Organisers: Alma Vänttinen, Janita Karra & Elviira Luoma • President: Osman Arda Sezer (TR) • Editors: Anna Elīna Vītola (LV) & Rainers Kniss (LV) • Theme: Entrepreneurship as Stepping Stone to European Markets

Kuopio 2015 RS • Head Organisers: Susanna Tenhonen, Jade Jimenez & Solja Harjusalmi • President: Fahad Saher (NL) • Editor: Veronika Wilhelmlová (CZ) • Theme: Science and Research – the Key to Innovation Kaarina 2015 RS • Head Organisers: Roosa Eskola & Susanna Ahonen • President: Charlotta Lahnalahti (FI) • Editor: Christopher Nölte (DE) • Theme: Towards Better Management of the Baltic Sea Lahti 2016 – 22nd National Session of EYP Finland • Head Organisers: Lotta Moisala (today: Moisala-Julkunen) & Tuulia Karvinen • President: Oona Kiiskinen (FI) • Editors: Fotis Papadogeorgopoulos (EL) & Jakob Gutschlhofer (AT) • Theme: Through Clean Environment to Social Responsibility Lempäälä 2016 RS • Head Organisers: Iida Kalliokoski (today: Mikonmaa) & Pieta Salonen • President: David Plahl (DE) • Editors: Roosa Eskola (FI) &

Järvenpää 2016 RS • Head Organisers: Simo Lehtovirta & Kaisla Richardson • President: Tim Keegstra (NL) • Editors: Marsel Szopiński (CH) & Annemari Sepp (EE) • Theme: European Youth Empowered by Diversity Kempele 2016 RS • Head Organisers: Elias Id, Anna Perälä & Veeti Niskanen • President: Triin Kaup (EE) • Editors: Maciej Maj (PL) & Florian Géron (BE) • Theme: The Effect of Technology on European Society Tampere 2017 – 23rd National Session of EYP Finland • Head Organisers: Ella Palkoaho & Hans Näsman • President: Aida Grishaj (AL) • Editors: Oskar Košenina (PL) & Annemari Sepp (EE) • Theme: Global Development as a Driver of a Sustainable European Economy Jyväskylä 2017 RS • Head Organisers: Anni Niemelä & Oona Huttunen • President: Jakob Gutschlhofer (AT) • Editor: Veikka Partanen (FI) • Theme: Education and Employment Activating Young European Citizens

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Joensuu 2017 RS • Head Organisers: Iina Hirvonen, Petja Pennala & Mirka Nieminen • President: Lara Reinfelde (CH) • Editors: Matti Lötjönen (FI) & Kerstin Reisinger (AT) • Theme: European Entrepreneurship as a Driving Force for Employment Porvoo 2017 RS • Head Organisers: Minerva Juhola (today: Kastehelmi) & Olivia Melaranta • President: Halyna Virt (UA) • Editors: Klara Kokalj (SI) & Manca Bregar (SI) • Theme: Exploring Active Citizenship in European Democracy Salo 2017 RS • Head Organisers: Amir Abdelamir & Tuomas Alm • President: Tim Backhaus (FI) • Editor: J. Nathaniel Čamaj (CZ) • Head of Jury: Rebecca Kiiski (FI) • Theme: Solidarity and Stability, Building Blocks for a Brighter European Future Turku 2018 – 24th National Session of EYP Finland • Head Organisers: Paula Närvänen & Elsa Mäki • President: Tim Backhaus (FI) • Editor: Anthony Fedorov (FI) • Theme: Towards a Better European Community with Nordic Collaboration Salo 2018 RS • Head Organisers: Pinja Kankare, Maisa Kankkunen & Santeri Iivonen • President: Kevin Boland (IE) • Editor: Lala Mirzayeva (AZ) • Theme: Social Responsibility – Europe for Youth and Opportunities Kuopio 2018 RS • Head Organisers: Axel Aarnio, Mikael Mauranen & Oliver van der Weij 32

• President: Rebecca Kiiski (FI) • Editors: Stylianos Christoforou (EL) & Görkem Cudal (TR) • Theme: Democracy – Towards Inclusive Participation of Citizens Tampere 2018 RS • Head Organisers: Alexandra Salo & Aarni Rantanen • President: Joana Cavaco (PT) • Editor: Yannika Rönnqvist (FI) • Theme: Entrepreneurship – The Key to Economic Development Vaasa 2018 RS • Head Organisers: Yannika Rönnqvist & Ville Valli • President: Dionysis Patriarcheas (EL) • Editors: Jure Sušnik (SI) & Jan Franciszek Adamski (PL) • Theme: Sustainability – European Cities Taking the Lead Lahti 2019 – 25th National Session of EYP Finland • Head Organisers: Hedda-Leena Grip & Pauliina Siekkinen • President: Juuli Salonen (FI) • Editors: Kilian Tranchant (LU) & Lala Mirzayeva (AZ) • Head of Jury: Milla Lehtimäki (FI) • Theme: Europe and Its Neighbours – The Start for Better Foreign Relations Helsinki 2019 RS • Head Organisers: Hanna Ryan & Maxine Buchert • President: Elisavet Sidiropoulou (EL) • Editor: Luca Peinsold (AT) • Head of Jury: Joao Silva (PT) • Theme: Emphasizing Diversity through Collaborative Policy-Making Lahti 2019 RS • Head Organisers: Cameron Dunn Merelle & Jenna Tuominen • President: Kaya Safa (UK)

• Editor: Armin Adžović (HR) • Theme: European Youth – Advocating for Global Humanity Nokia 2019 RS • Head Organisers: Karoliina Kondylis & Heidi Tauriainen • President: Jaša Levstik (SI) • Editor: Darya Skorokhod (BY) • Head of Jury: Margit Kienzl (AT) • Theme: Promoting Equality and Equity within Society Oulu 2019 RS • Head Organisers: Johanna Tikkala & Eveliina Kyllönen • President: Kerstin Reisinger (AT) • Editor: Anna Gurariy (CZ) • Head of Jury: Marlene Karstensen (NO) • Theme: Preserving Old and Innovating New to Solve Future Problems Tampere 2020 – 26th National Session of EYP Finland • Head Organisers: Alexandra Salo & Aarni Rantanen • President: Aicha Bouchelaghem (CH) • Editors: Jarna Pahlberg (FI) & Eike Plhak (DE) • Head of Jury: Lisa Fuchsberger (AT) • Theme: Clearer Skies for the Future – European environmental responsibility leading the world #wiFI – First Digital Session of EYP Finland • Head Organiser: Juliana Wong • President: Oisín McGinley (IE) • Editors: Ece Beyter (TR) & Ismail Malikov (AZ) Turku 2020 Digital RS • Head Organiser: Laura Barry • President: William Eddershaw (IE) • Editor: Pauliina Siekkinen (FI) • Head of Jury: Clara Gaughan (IE) • Theme: Metamorphosis: Adapt-

ing to the Rapidly Changing Society Today Kuopio 2020 Digital RS • Head Organisers: Mira Engström & Topias Laitinen • President: Lira Mikayelyan (AM) • Editor: Stylianos Hadjiforados (CY) • Head of Jury: Miguel Bustorff (BE) • Theme: Hearing Europe: Building European Unity through Empowerment Jyväskylä 2020 Digital RS • Head Organisers: Pilvi Kilpeläinen & Monica Ratinen • President: Dennis Makarov (DE) • Editor: Milica Mijailović (RS) • Head of Jury: Hugh Gallagher (IE)

• Theme: Creating Links: The European Union Furthering International Cooperation Oulu 2020 Digital RS • Head Organisers: Essi Lievetmursu & Iida Salonurmi • President: Marthe Macody Tufte Lund (NO) • Editor: Ola Kowalewska (PL) • Head of Jury: Michalina Lesińska (PL) • Theme: Sparking the Northern Lights: Integrating Rural Areas Better into European Decision-Making Lempäälä 2021 Digital RS • Head Organisers: Wilma Summanen & Reetamari Pesonen • President: Margarida Conceição (PT)

• Editors: Daniel Buna (AL) & Ilma Šahinović (DK) • Head of Jury: Jason Yu (UK) • Theme: LEDs Replacing Lightbulbs: New Technologies Solving Old Problems Helsinki 2021 Digital RS • Head Organisers: Avani Yadav & Taimi Xu • President: Iulia Monteanu (RO) • Editors: David Wright (FI), Luka Đorđević (RS) • Head of Jury: Molly Boulton (UK) • Theme: Unique Like a Snowflake: Promoting Individuality through Embracing Diversity Vantaa 2021 Digital – 27th National Session of EYP Finland • Head Organisers: Karoliina Kondylis & Mira Engström • President: Lira Mikayelyan (AM) • Editor: Marylyn Rosenqvist (FI) • Theme: The Faces of Sustainability: Reconceptualising Sustainable Development to Meet the Needs of Tomorrow Porvoo 2021 RS • Head Organisers: Eeva Ferrer & Jasmin Alanko • President: Clara Gaughan (IE) • Editor: Cameron Dunn Merelle (FI) • Head of Jury: Don Brookes (UK) • Theme: Striving for Social Sustainability: Reducing Global Inequalities through Endorsing Collective Responsibility for a Better Tomorrow Mikkeli 2021 RS • Head Organisers: Oskari Olonen & Niina Sipilä • President: Atakan Caglayan (BE) • Editor: Annelou Snippe (NL) • Head of Jury: Gosia Kupiec (PL) • Theme: Shaping Welfare: Reinforcing the Health of Europe to Endure the Challenges of the Modern Society 33

Organisational ­Development: Office and the Secretary ­ General One large theme throughout the second decade of EYP Finland has been professionalisation. Despite the fact that we are based on volunteering, the amount of work involved with the administration of a truly nation-wide and internationally connected youth organisation is a lot for young and unpaid board members. This decade has seen the realisation of two longterm goals: a permanent office building and a Secretary General, working full-time on the administrative work of EYP Finland.

In 2013, we set up our first office at Uudenmaankatu in Punavuori, Helsinki. This was the first step towards hiring paid staff. Successful fundraising in 2014 enabled the hiring of parttime project managers for the first time. Juho Nikko worked in this role during 2014 and 2015. However, financial resources were still too tight to allow the hiring of a permanent Secretary General. To improve the financial situation, in 2015 the office moved to a more affordable location in Lauttasaari, and we negotiated with the Ministry of Education and Culture to change our status from “associations who do youth work” into 34

Annual Ball song

Meidän toimistoss’ made in the memory of Uudenmaankatu office and the building’s renovation difficulties (lyrics: Iida Lyly & Marja Pentikäinen) Meidän toimistoss’, meidän toimistoss’, on suuri railo ikkunass’, ja se laajenee, ja se laajenee, siis kaikki teippaamaan.

Ykkösteippi (oikea käsi) Meidän toimistoss’, meidän toimistoss’...

Ykkösteippi! Kakkosteippi! (vasen käsi) Ykkösteippi! Kakkosteippi! Kolmosteippi! ( oikea jalka) ...Nelosteippi (vasen jalka) Meidän toimistoss’, meidän toimistoss’, oli suuri railo ikkunass’, mut me teipattiin, ja lasi vaihdettiin, siis kaikki skoolaamaan.

SKÅL!

“youth organisation”. The main difference between these categories is that youth organisations do youth work exclusively, while only a part of activities for organisations in the former category need to involve young people.

In 2016, the Ministry of Education and Culture significantly increased the size of the general grant to EYP Finland, finally enabling us to hire a full-time Secretary General.

Maiju Tuomainen was hired in the summer of 2016, fulfilling a long-held dream and strategic objective that past boards had worked hard to achieve. Finally we had a fulltime employee in charge of administrative work, giving the board more time to focus on strategic leadership and ensuring the smooth transfer of knowledge and expertise between past and future boards. Other major steps towards professionalisation were outsourcing our finances to an accounting firm from 2015, and performing an external audit on the previous year’s financial statements from 2016.

The office of EYP Finland moved again in 2017 from Lauttasaari to its present location in Allianssi-talo in Pasila. This location was chosen for its excellent transport links, affordable rent, and connections with workers from Allianssi which is the umbrella organisation for youth organisations in Finland. We have been able to maintain a full-time Secretary General every year since 2016, in addition to which we have hired project workers to support the board during the busiest times of the year and coordinate projects such as Tunne Eurooppa and Nuorten Eurooppa. This has helped EYP Finland work more professionally and enabled us to reach widList of Secretaries General: er audiences for our ses• 2016-2018: Maiju Tuomainen sions and other activities.

• 2018-2019: Julia Kahelin • 2019-2020: Sinituuli Suominen • 2020-2021: Laura Silver • 2021-: Pieta Salonen

Annual Ball song

Hallitusbiisi commemorating the Secretary General and the challenging life of a board member (lyrics: Juuli Salonen, Teresa Artjoki, Henri Haapanala, Emmi Ilmanen, Matti Lötjönen) Minä halusin palkata sihteerin, Joka tulisi meitä vielä jelppimään, eihän elämä paljoa antanut sateenkaari päättyi aina toimistolle kokouspöydän ääres nukkuville naurettiin Dam-dididam-dididam-dididamdamdamdam-dam Dididam-dididam-dididamdamdamdam-dam Minä lähdin hallitustoimintaan, Vaihdoin yöunet stressaavaan touhuun, Tähän jatkuvaan hallitustoimintaan, luen slackia auringon nousuun Aivan rajoilla budjetin kulkien toivon tukien jostain vielä löytyvän enhän minäkään liikoja vaatisi pitäisin pienen jäsenyyden hinnan, istuntomaksut lottokupongilla kuittaisin

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Local and Fun: The Role of Regions EYP Finland is a national organisation and it has aimed to have a presence all over Finland. However, in the beginning of the 2010s, most activities were organised in Southern Finland, mainly in the capital region, Turku region and Tampere region. The first regional committees (paikallisjärjestöt, ie. paikkarit) were also established there: EYP Helsinki in 2007, EYP Turku and Tampere in 2008. In the 2010s, EYP Finland actively aimed at expanding to Eastern and Northern Finland, first by expanding the yearly school tours, which led to sessions and other events being organised in cities such as Joensuu, Kuopio and Oulu. Two more regional committees were established soon afterwards: EYP Itä-Suomi in 2011, EYP Pohjois-Suomi in 2013.

Many committees also had their own mascots who visited sessions and other events with regional board members.

The role of regions has without a doubt been very important yet also partly difficult and unclear in 2010s.

Many of the regional committees' activities, ranging from trainings and Europe Day picnics to sauna nights, cir36

cus school and museum visits, have been more casual than the events organised by EYP Finland. Their aim was to offer low-threshold activities, also taking place after and between larger EYP events such as sessions.

At the same time, regional committees were closely connected with EYP Finland’s trainings, sessions and other events – in practice, many events were organised

by EYP Finland together with a regional committee.

Despite their important role, regional committees often struggled with a low number of participants and/ or active members, which led to diminished activity in the late 2010s. As the professionalisation of EYP Finland allowed the national board and office to take on a more active role in coordinating volunteers at the regional level, it made it possible to accomplish necessary activities such as the annual school tour without a regional board of volunteers. Additionally, the pandemic reduced the number of active members entering the organisation in 2020-21, making revival efforts difficult.

Annual Ball song for the Regional Committees (lyrics: Marja Pentikäinen & Hanna Haavisto (today: Pieniniemi), melody: Mombasa): Jäi paikkariin, vain vuosi elämää, ja elämään nyt muisto siitä jää, lämmön hauskuuden, minä tunsin paikkarin, ja maskotin sen karvaisen.

Mä ensin näin EYP Helsingin, ja Racen sen, joss’ Töölöön eksyttiin, kanin sitten näin, Klausin nimeltään, on polku uusi alkanut.

With the return to in-person sessions in the autumn of 2021, we hope to activate the regional committees again in the years to come.

They are an important asset for the organisation, as they make it possible for EYPers in a specific region to meet each other and organise events even during times without session activities. Volunteering in a regional board is also a good way to learn skills that are important in national board work, such as event coordination and fundraising. And of course, it is a great way to create and maintain friendships beyond sessions and other more formal EYP activities.

On Tampere, niin punatiilinen, monipuolinen, kuin supercafét sen, siell’ Väinön tapasin, minä sitä halasin, ja TYKin alla seikkailin.

Turkuhan on, Aurajoen rannalla, siel brunssinkin, EYP seurass’ saa, ”Maskottii ei tuu”, ainakin niin uhottiin, ja sirkukseenkin päädyttiin.

Aik’ metsäisää, on Itä-Suomessa, mut sielläkin EYP keilailee, Elmeri Kelmeri on kaikkien kaveri, Joensuussa Kataisen tapasin.

Myös poroja, on Pohjois-Suomessa, mut EYP, kouluja kiertelee, Aslak Nikko on maskotti vallaton, Norwegian lentää Ouluunkin.

Jäi paikkariin, vain vuosi elämää, ja elämään nyt muisto siitä jää, lämmön hauskuuden, minä tunsin paikkarin, ja maskotin sen karvaisen.

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Promoting Active Citizenship: Projects of EYP Finland Sessions are the bread and butter of EYP Finland. They are our largest events where most of our funding goes towards, and our members consistently choose them as the most important activities of the organisation. However, in the past decade we have been involved in various projects with other civil society organisations and public sector institutions, both session-related and otherwise. These projects have been crucial for raising awareness about EYP Finland, networking with important stakeholders and institutions, securing new sources of funding, and of course giving our members more opportunities to be involved with the organisation.

List of projects:

Parliamentary simulations – EYP in a school day Elections Would you like to experience an EYP session during a school lesson? This is what the parliamentary simulations are all about. EYP Finland has organised these short introductions into EU policy-making in upper secondary schools, high schools and vocational schools throughout the 2010s, under various different names and in collaboration with the European Parliament Information Office in Finland.

• 2010–2014: EU – osallistu ja opi!

• 2015–2017: Eurooppalainen kansalaisuutesi • 2018–: Nuorten Eurooppa

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Using your right to vote is the easiest and most important way to exercise active citizenship. Despite the fact that many of our members are usually under 18 on election day, EYP Finland has organised several debates, panels, election machines and information campaigns to encourage young people to the polls. Some of these projects include: • 2015 Finnish Parliament elections: EYP Finland was a content partner of Allianssi ry in an election machine targeted for young voters. The election machine was a success and it was used 54 362 times before the election.

• 2015 Finnish Parliament elections: EYP Finland, Eurooppanuoret ry and Pääkaupunkiseudun Eurooppanuoret ry held a panel discussion for young voters. The panel consisted of 9 young candidates from eight different parties, and the discussion had 52 participants.

• 2019 European Parliament elections: EYP Finland was an active participant in the #thistimeimvoting campaign, sharing EU information on social media, attending the European Youth Seminar in Brussels, and helping organise a panel discussion with young MEP candidates in Helsinki.

European institutions EYP Finland is an educational, non-partisan and independent youth organisation. But since one of our primary goals is to teach people how the European Union works, we have often been involved in projects with the EU institutions. One of the most fruitful relationships has been with the European Parliament Information Office in Finland. Some other projects and special events over the years have included: • 2012 and 2013: Coordinating the Access City Award campaign, the European Commission’s information campaign on accessibility in European cities.

• 2013: Coordinating Migrants in Europe, a multimedia project of the European Commission, in Finland.

• 2014, 2016, 2018: Sending a delegation to the European Youth Event at the European Parliament in Strasbourg. The 2020 edition was moved to 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but EYP Finland did not have a delegation there.

• 2019: Producing the Tunne Eurooppa mobile game together with Nuorten Akatemia and Eurooppatiedotus.

• 2018–2021: Attending Turun Eurooppa-foorumi, an open discussion event gathering citizens and leading policy-makers to discuss European affairs.

• 2017–2019: Attending Linnaseminaari, the annual summer event of Eurooppanuoret. Our collaboration has increased in recent years with other projects as well.

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Told by You: Memories "When I stole the mascot of EYP Tampere and started the mascot war of the Regional Committees."

-Niko Lammi "Kauniainen RS 2012. It is past midnight, I am sitting helping and also writing a speech for GA with two people I had never met before this weekend. Ever since they have become my oldest and closest not just EYP friends, but friends in general. Much love to you Ian and Sara <3."

-Anthony Fedorov

"During my first regional session in Vaasa 2018, my committee members and I all slept on a hard and cold classroom floor during the whole session. There was this one girl who took with her this literally almost one-metre air mattress.

Everyone else had this hardly one-centimetre thick foam rubber mattress. We all had to try bouncing on it while having a really fun time laughing about it. Through thick and thin a committee always stands together, no matter how sleepless they might be afterwards."

-Yoanna Rönnqvist

"Turku NS 2015. The night before GA our accommodation was in a ship. The cabins were really small and the resolution booklets only arrived in the morning so I don't think people got much sleep."

-Delegate

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The Decade in Numbers: Statistics and Visualisations Total number of events organised EYP Finland has organised a variety of events including sessions, general meetings, trainings for head organisers, chairs, media teams and session leadership, summer days, the annual ball, and many projects with external partners. In total, EYP Finland has organised over 140 events in 2012–2021, or an average of 14 events per year. This does not include events organised by the regional committees, or school visits organised during the school tour and parliamentary simulation projects.

Total number of participants The Regional Sessions each year have gathered 400-500 participations, about two thirds of which have been from first-time participants as delegates. As a rough estimate, members of EYP Finland have participated in EYP activities in Finland and abroad over 10,000 times in the last 10 years. The number of registered members has varied each year, also as a result of changes in register-keeping and data protection, but each year there has been a core of 200-300 active members involved in EYP activities.

Kittilä

Rovaniemi

Finnish representation in international governance EYP Finland has been closely involved with the international governance institutions of the EYP. In the last 10 years members of EYP Finland have served as the Executive Director of EYP, members of the Governing Body, and vice-chairs of the Board of National Committees – in other words we have been represented in all "branches of government" of the EYP network. Additionally, our members have served in Councils of the Governing Body, BNC Working Groups, and as international trainers in events such as T4ET and the Summer Academy.

Executive Directors of EYP • 2011–2013: Ville Vasaramäki • 2013–2017: Krista Simberg (today: Lagus)

Oulu Kempele

Vaasa Kuopio Joensuu Jyväskylä

Governing Body Members • 2012–2013: Robert Torvelainen • 2014–2015: Jari Marjelund

Savonlinna Mikkeli

Tampere

Vice-Chairs of the Board of National Committees • 2019–2020: Iida Kalliokoski (today: Mikonmaa)

Nokia Lempäälä

Kangasala Lahti

Uusikaupunki Naantali Turku Salo

Maarianhamina Kaarina

Järvenpää

Kauniainen Piikkiö Helsinki

Vantaa Porvoo

St Petersburg

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A Look Forward: Heading to the Future

The future of every community lies in capturing the passion, imagination, and resources of its people.

Ernesto Sirolli At 20 years old, EYP Finland has achieved a great deal of things and grown from small beginnings to a truly nation-wide organisation with a professional management culture, significant projects, and involvement with ministries and European institutions. At the same time we have remained close to our roots as a volunteer-based youth organisation, providing informal education and organising events by young people for young people.

create an ever more inclusive and participatory youth organisation. According to the vision statement, EYP Finland in 2025 should be approachable, dynamic, professional, and educational. These main pillars reflect the very nature of EYP as an organisation that encourages its members to take an active role in society by providing them a safe and welcoming environment to learn and put into practice active citizenship.

The third strategy of EYP Finland, covering the years 2022-2025, builds from these foundations and aims to

Moving forward, we are taking with us everything we have learned from the first two decades and continue work-

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ing on what we find important.

Many of the practical steps that we intend to take in the upcoming years, such as improving our cooperation with schools and teachers, ensuring a low barrier of entry to our events, including active members and alumni at all levels of the organisation and across Finland, and encouraging members to apply their experiences to life outside of EYP, have been long-term strategic objectives from the very beginning but the COVID-19 pandemic brought them to renewed attention. Just like a house needs to be built on a solid foundation, doing these things well year after year ensures that future generations find EYP as interesting, inspiring and empowering as we did entering our first session.

With this note we want to say thank you to all the readers that have made it this far. EYP Finland would not be where it is today without your contribution. EYPers in Finland

and abroad, today and tomorrow, will be forever grateful for the part that you have played in the organisation.

Here’s to another 20 years, and hopefully many more to come.

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eypfi

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