Council sponsorship activity starts in Imatra

The City of Imatra is launching a council mentoring program to strengthen young people's participation and opportunities to influence decision-making in the city. The goal of the program is to intensify cooperation between the youth council and elected officials and to support young people in understanding decision-making practices. 

Council sponsorship is one of the practices required to apply for the Youth Council Friendly Municipality certificate. Once sponsorship is initiated, Imatra is ready to proceed with the certification application process. 

Support for young people to participate in decision-making 

The sponsor councillors are municipal elected officials who have been selected to support the members of the youth council. The aim of the operating model is to strengthen the youth council's ability to influence and increase dialogue between young people and decision-makers. 

– The primary focus of the mentoring activities is on young people understanding how the city's decision-making system works – instead of party politics, Head of Education and Youth Minna Rovio highlight. 

In Imatra, representatives of the youth council are actively involved in the work of the committees and in council meetings. 

– However, meeting situations and taking the floor can be exciting, especially for young first-time members. The role of council mentors is to offer support to young people and lower the threshold for participating in the discussion, says Rovio. 

At the same time, the youth council is trained in the flow of information: what issues are taken from the youth council to the committees and how the issues discussed in the committees are communicated back to the young people. 

Duties of the guardian: 

• promote opportunities for young people to influence city decision-making 

• ensure the participation of the youth council in the preparation of matters 

• acts as an interpreter between the administration and young people 

• helps to understand decision-making and meeting practices 

• encourages and supports the active participation of young people 

Effective cooperation requires regular meetings between young people and the guardians. Interaction takes place in meetings, informally and through low-threshold communication channels, such as WhatsApp groups. Guardian guardians are expected to be self-initiative and ask young people for their views on the issues being discussed. 

The young people chose their guardian aide themselves 

Youth representatives selected four sponsors through an open application process. 

– There were about ten applicants and we invited everyone to an interview in Chillaamo. It was also possible to answer questions by email if the interview time did not suit you, members of the Imatra Youth Council Sofia Koljonen ja Onni Tiimonen. 

The selection method was successful and the low-threshold way of getting to know the elected officials was considered important. The council mentoring activity is expected to improve the flow of information, increase dialogue and benefit both young people and decision-makers. 

For more information: 

education and youth manager Minna Rovio, go. rovioimatra.fi (minna[dot]rovio[at]imatra[dot]fi), tel. 020 617 3404 

Johanna Mäkinen, responsible for youth services, johanna.makinenimatra.fi (johanna[dot]makinen[at]imatra[dot]fi), tel. 020 617 7201