2017-19 term

I started my youth council career when I was 12 years old, a sixth-grader at Kotimäki School. I joined the activities at the time without any elections, knowledge of the youth council or politics, and it didn't bother me at all. In fact, my parents encouraged me to join, because I had been a member of the student parliament (i.e. the student body) at another school and it had felt nice. So I gave my dad permission to send a message to the youth council that I was interested in the activities.

The best decision!

Without that decision, I would not have found my closest friends.

Without that decision, I would never have been able to employ myself on this political/influencer path.

Without that decision, I would not have become who I am, nor would I have gained all the understanding of the things I value.

During the term

The first meetings and even the whole year were a shy time for me, because I was just trying to understand what was being said in the meetings. I also greatly admired our then-chairwoman Julia (Henriksson) and secretary Heini (Hautalampi). In its first term, the youth council organized an Independence Day gala, which I was planning, and a municipal election panel. The youth council also received representation on boards, which in retrospect has been one of the biggest development steps for the young people of Kaarina. The first proper rules of procedure and meeting fees also started during this term. I myself was appointed or elected as one of the media/communications officers during 2018, at which time we established, among other things, our Instagram account. At the end of the council term, we also prepared for the elections, which were successfully held in the spring of 2019. The elections were organized with physical ballots.

International co-opetarion

One of the things I have missed from this council term was our close cooperation with Estonians and Latvians. In Finland, we also held a camp weekend in Vuolahti, where we got to know advocacy work and each other. As a counterbalance, the Youth Council visited Jogeva in Estonia and Riga in Latvia. I also "had to" or was able to guide our Estonian guests in Turku and Kaarina.

In the 2017-19 term, the Youth Council was chaired by Julia Henriksson, with Tua Halen as vice chair and Heini Hautalampi as secretary.

Eino Koskinen 19.12.2023

Youth councilor 2017-2019, media corresponder 2018-2019