UNIC CityLabs: Empowering the Youth Community (ENG/FIN)

In this hybrid workshop participants will identify ways of engaging the youth community in order to become active citizens and discuss some of the greatest challenges affecting the youth in European cities. The workshop is a part of the European Week of Regions and cities. The event is bilingual and it is possible to participate in English or Finnish.

We invite representatives from the Oulu Youth Council, The European Committee of the Regions, high school and university students, student unions, study councilors, social workers, academics, and city officials to join the discussion in person in BusinessAsema. Participants from the wider UNIC community and the European Week of Regions and Cities are invited to join online. 

The workshop consists of a panel of local experts as well as guided group discussions and ideation. The panelists will bring their perspectives and engage in discussions on 4 different challenges around the youth empowerment theme:  

• local challenges that the youth is facing,  
• ways of becoming active and engaged citizens,  
• youth’s role in building a greener, more inclusive and digital Europe 
• consequences of the Ukraine invasion on the youth community in Europe. 

During the workshop, the audience will be divided into groups (online and face to face) to discuss the four themes. In their groups participants will engage in discussing, brainstorming, and presenting their ideas for the specific challenges.

Panellists include:

• Eetu Leinonen, Community Specialist Student Union of the University of Oulu  

• Mirja Vehkaperä, CoR member/ representative 

• Siiri Ruokola, Chairman of Oulu Youth Council ONE 2022 

If you are joining online you can use the following Zoom link:  https://oulu.zoom.us/j/61037081666