THE NORTH WILL SPEAK
Ali Serbest – C&PR Candidate 2026 20 December 2025
Session videos will actually be watched Right now most EYP videos are skipped after a few seconds and many students still don’t understand what really happens at a session. From 2026, from every regional and national session we will publish:
• One 15-second fun Reels (teambuilding, friendships, everyday moments)
• One 60-second serious clip (committee work, General Assembly) Both sides of EYP – the fun and the substance will finally be visible.
Every region of Finland will see themselves represented, especially the North and East
I have lived in Mynämäki, Orivesi, and Taivalkoski. Southern, central, and northern Finland think and feel differently. In 2026 content will be regional:
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Northern students will finally watch videos filmed by northern students, northern delegates, and northern volunteers.
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Swedish-speaking areas will get Swedish posts
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Small-town kids will finally say “Wow. I want to attend that.”
For the first time everyone will feel that EYP belongs to them too.
School presentations will no longer scare people away
The word “parliament” and slides full of tuxedos make many students think EYP isn’t for them. The new school presentations and social media posts will start with hoodie-wearing delegates playing games and laughing, and only later show the formal General Assembly in suits.
Suits stay. Hoodies join. Nobody will feel excluded.
Inclusive Visibility Package – Refugee & Migrant Representation
In 2026 our communication will finally reflect the real Finland.
Refugee and migrant-background youth will appear in our videos, photos, posters, and intro materials as part of the Finnish youth community.
Young people with migrant backgrounds will see faces like theirs in every campaign.
They will see delegates, chairs, and volunteers who look like them, speak like them, and share their experiences.
No more “this is not for me” feeling.
For the first time, EYP Finland will look like the country it represents.
THE NORTHERN GAP
Schools reply. Students don’t apply. Why?
In the EYP Finland School Tour 2025, I saw all the email replies from schools across Finland.
One thing was immediately clear:
Northern schools reply much more actively than southern schools.
The numbers speak clearly
Pohjois-Pohjanmaa reply rate: 51.5 %
Kainuu: 40 %
Keski-Suomi: 38.5 %
Uusimaa: 18.4 %
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When we estimate how many students were reached:
North (Pohjois-Pohjanmaa, Keski-Suomi, Kainuu, Lapland): about 7 010 students
Uusimaa: about 6 520 students
So the North is not silent.
The North is not uninterested.
The North is actually more active than the South.
Then why are northern delegates missing?
If schools reply, and students are reached, and travel costs are reimbursed…
Where does the barrier appear?
Here is the real issue:
Students in the North never see themselves in EYP communication.
No videos from Lapland.
No faces from Kainuu.
No small-town stories.
Nothing that feels “this could be me”.
When a school says “yes”, the teacher understands EYP, but unfortunately the student does not.
Social media is the missing bridge
Right now, many EYP videos doesnt have direct clips from the session, and students who have not attended the session before feels little confused. Currently we do not show what actually happens during a session.
So even if a school is interested, students often think:
“I don’t really get what this is.”
“I don’t know anyone else going.”
“This feels like something for southern schools.”
North and South react differently
I have lived in Mynämäki, Orivesi and Taivalkoski.
The communication style that works in Helsinki or Turku does not always work in Lapland or Pohjanmaa.
Not because northern youth are less motivated, but because:
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They live far from big cities
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They have fewer social networks in EYP
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They rarely see northern examples online
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They are less likely to travel alone to events
So the chain breaks here
School is interested → EYP contacts school → Students see nothing relatable → Students do not apply.
Not an interest problem.
Not a cost problem.
A representation problem.
This is what we must fix
If the North sees itself in EYP, the delegates will follow.
This means:
Short, fun videos from every session.
Content in Finnish, Swedish and English.
Stories filmed in the North, by northern students.
Regional communication instead of one-size-fits-all.
When a 16-year-old in Taivalkoski or Posio sees a delegate who talks like them, looks like them, and comes from a similar place, everything changes.
They think:
“If they can do it, I can too.”
The North is already speaking
We just need to listen and respond.
EYP Finland has the chance to fix a long-standing gap.
The data already shows the interest.
Now the communication must show the belonging.
That is what I want to build in 2026.
Data sources;
Tilastokeskus (Statistics Finland) 2018 – Lukiokoulutus, Liitetaulukko 2
Kuntaliitto – Yhteishaku 2025 school list
School Tour 2025 – Volunteer Internal Data