23.11.2022
The well-being of young people's minds was discussed from many angles at the Northern Ostrobothnia Youth Forum
Mental health and mental well-being of young people was a diverse and impressive theme at the Northern Ostrobothnia Youth Forum on 21 November.
Jarno Laasala from the Duudsons, who was the main speaker of the day, told about his and his friends' trip from Härmä to Hollywood. Laasala told about her experiences and forgetting herself and the problems it caused her mental health.
Laasala had also collected concrete tips to help her learn to deal in cooperation with her life and learn to be present and accept different things.
The day was hosted by Iida Hyvärinen, Chairman of the Regional Regional Youth Regional Assembly of Northern Ostrobothnia, and Inga Koskenniemi, Member.
Experiences from young to young
Nea-Noora also gave a touching speech on mental health. He shared his harsh and touching story in cooperation with young people about the serious stroke he had at a young age, his paralysis, and the impact of these events on his mental well-being.
Nea-Noora's red thread for life was that things must be accepted in order to learn to live in cooperation with them. He told about his good experiences at the clubhouse Pönkä, where he visits several times a week.
The day was opened by Terttu Savolainen, Director General of the Regional State Administrative Agency for Northern Finland, and Pauli Harju, Director General of Northern Ostrobothnia. Harju told the young people about the atmosphere from the perspective of Northern Ostrobothnia after the start of Russia's war of aggression in Ukraine, and the impact of the load caused by the war on people's moods. Harju also reminded of the effects of the climate crisis on moods. “The direction is right on climate issues, and things are going in a better direction than the public debate shows. We have also taken robust measures to address these issues", Harju said.
The panel crowned the day
The final highlight of the day was the election panel, the main theme of which was young people's mental health. The panel was attended by Valtteri Tahkola from the National Coalition Party, Eetu Leinonen from the Social Democratic Party, Jessi Jokelainen from the Left Alliance, Eveliina Leskelä from the centre, Merja Hurskainen from the Christian Democrats and Eetu Saarenpää from the Finns Party.
Panellists expressed concerns about the length of treatment queues, in particular those related to mental health problems. There was also a lot of support from the panellists for a clearer transfer of school violence to the Criminal Code. Discrimination against sexual minorities and bullying that was more common than average also spoke to panelists.
The recording of the Youth Forum will be available until 4 December via this link.
To view the broadcast, enter your password: ptv2022
Captions:
1. The Northern Ostrobothnia Youth Forum was hosted by Iida Hyvärinen (left) and Inga Koskenniemi.
2. Nea-Noora reported a touching experience of severe stroke, paralysis and the impact of these events on her mental well-being at a young age.
3. The election panel was attended by Valtteri Tahkola (left) from the National Coalition Party, Eetu Leinonen from the Social Democratic Party, Jessi Jokelainen from the Left Alliance, Elina Leskelä from the city centre, Merja Hurskainen from the Christian Democrats and Eetu Saarenpää from the Finns Party.
