Inclusion pilot incorporates views of children and young people into Government’s preparation work

Some 17,000 children and young people shared their views on issues such as safety and security, trust and wellbeing in a pilot project aimed at strengthening the inclusion of children and young people in society and taking into account their perspectives in preparation work at the state level.

In autumn 2025 and spring 2026, the Government carried out a pilot project in which children and young people in Finland shared their views and wishes for the next government terms. The pilot project’s final report was presented at a publication event at the House of the Estates on Monday 25 May.

The pilot was targeted at pupils in years 5–9 across Finland. The national survey sent out as part of the pilot received 17,000 responses, which were supplemented with dialogues, digital panels and workshops involving a total of 200 children and young people.  

The final report highlights those themes that children and young people considered most important. The children and young people consulted in the pilot project felt that Finland should be focusing most on issues such as climate change, safety and security, mental health systems and inequality.  

The themes explored in the pilot were based on the themes discussed in the key messages from the permanent secretaries to be published later, and some of the children’s views were directly incorporated into the permanent secretaries’ report. The key messages from the permanent secretaries present the shared views of senior public officials across the ministries on the most important policy challenges of the next parliamentary terms and possible approaches to solutions.

Towards a permanent model for hearing the views of children and young people