Survey to gather children and young people’s views for next government term

A new survey will open on Monday 10 November, giving pupils in years 5–9 the chance to share their thoughts on what is important. Their responses will help us as we prepare for the next government term.

The topics raised by children and young people will be compiled and published in spring 2026, along with the Permanent Secretaries’ key messages. This will ensure that the voices of children and young people are heard as part of the preparations for the next government term.

The Government has launched an inclusion pilot to improve the opportunities for children and young people to participate in government decision-making.

The pilot consists of two phases: a national survey, and the Timeout dialogues organised on the basis of the survey. The target group is children and young people in years 5–9 of comprehensive school education. The survey and discussions focus on the same topics that the Permanent Secretaries have identified as key societal challenges, such as issues related to safety and trust.

The survey will be sent directly to all schools in Mainland Finland, and it is intended for pupils in years 5–9. The survey will also be distributed to child and family organisations. 
The survey will be open until 28 November.

Aiming for a permanent model for taking the perspectives of children and young people into consideration

The Government is committed to promoting the inclusion of children and young people in all sectors. In its mid-term policy review session in spring 2025, the Government set itself the objective of creating more youth inclusion measures in all ministries. 

The pilot supports the realisation of children’s rights and promotes the implementation of the National Child Strategy, the National Democracy Programme and the National Youth Work and Youth Policy Programme. It aims to create a permanent model for systematically taking the views of children and young people into account in the ministries’ policy preparation and decision-making.

The inclusion pilot is coordinated by the National Child Strategy in cooperation with the Prime Minister’s Office, the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Education and Culture and the Ministry of Finance. Motiva Oy supports the practical implementation of the pilot and is responsible for conducting and analysing the survey.

The dialogues will be organised together with the Timeout Foundation.  

As in previous times, the Permanent Secretaries of the ministries have formed a shared view of the key issues for the next two parliamentary terms now that the current parliamentary term is drawing to a close.

Inquiries: Laura Kuusio, Senior Specialist, National Child Strategy, Ministry of Social Affairs and Health, tel. +358 295 163 504.