What is going on in the field of social and municipal policy advocacy?

Uncategorized / 2.10.2026

The core focus of JYY’s advocacy work on social and municipal government are issues relating to student well being. Whilst student well being is the core of social policy advocacy, the core of the advocacy work itself lies in representation and participation in various working groups, whether at the university, the city council, the FSHS or other relevant bodies. There are numerous working groups, but the themes running through them can be grouped together to some extent; access to health services, upcoming Parliamentary Elections opportunities for physical activity and the status of students in the city are all issues in which JYY plays an active role.
 
JYY engages with associations operating within its sphere through well being forums, where topics such as alcohol-free events, tackling substance abuse and organisations offering support for coping and mental health challenges have been discussed. In addition, the forums have provided an opportunity to hear about current issues facing other organisations and to receive peer support.

Parliamentary Elections 2027

The elections are not until next spring, but JYY’s election campaign is already in full swing. Preparations for the parliamentary elections have already begun in collaboration with the City of Jyväskylä, JAMKO and the University. One of the campaign’s goals, already present this Autumn, has been to bring the advance voting station back to the University Library Lähde. Observant followers of JYY’s social media channels may already have noticed that JYY has been collecting signatures for a petition in favour of reinstating the advance polling station. The last time voting took place at Lähde was during the 2023 parliamentary elections. Making it as easy as possible for students to vote helps to promote issues that are important to them at national level.
 
JYY has also collaborated with other student unions to ensure that the key issues shared by the entire movement are highlighted from multiple angles. JYY will run its main campaign aimed at students next year, alongside the elections.

Advocacy Work at the University

JYY and the university management meet regularly, several times a year. The purpose of the meetings between the Student Union and the Rector’s Office is to discuss current issues in the academic world from both perspectives. During the current year, JYY has, among other things, raised the aforementioned issue of a missing voting station with the Rector’s Office, brought up the need for and possibilities of 24/7 study spaces at the university, and highlighted the inflexibility of the university’s systems regarding changes to students’ first names.
 
It is currently not possible to change one’s preferred name in JYU’s systems, which places transgender students, in particular, in an unequal position at the university. The issue of names has been discussed before, but this year it has come to the fore particularly from the perspective of international students.
 
The University has also revised its equality plan and drawn up its principles for a safer space. JYY has contributed to it’s development through a workshop, putting forward the approaches that have proven effective at JYY and within the student associations.

Students’ health and wellbeing

Studying is challenging without wellbeing, and everyone needs to look after their health from time to time. Based on these themes, promoting healthcare and university sports services are key areas of advocacy. Advocacy work on wellbeing and physical activity is carried out at local, regional and national levels. The aim is to ensure that services are adequate, comprehensive and accessible to students.
 
JYY promotes student wellbeing and health in collaboration with the University and the FSHS, which is one of JYY’s most important channels for advocating on wellbeing-related issues. As regards the university, cooperation takes place with Studen Life, which is responsible for student wellbeing services and whose steering group JYY is also a member of. The FSHS’s working groups operate at three levels: locally, regionally and nationally. Through these, JYY highlights students’ needs and wishes regarding health and wellbeing services. JYY is also involved in the student environment inspections carried out by the FSHS every three years and in their annual follow-up.
 
Through local cooperation with the FSHS, issues such as staffing levels and access to care at the Jyväskylä branch have been addressed, and activities to promote health and wellbeing have been planned in collaboration with higher education institutions and the FSHS. However, our influence is not limited to Jyväskylä alone. JYY participates in the FSHS’s Central and Eastern Finland cooperation network, which examines the state of student healthcare in the region and highlights the perspectives of higher education institutions and student organisations.
 
In addition, JYY is represented on the FSHS Council, which considers the annual report, the financial statements, the action plan and the budget. The Council also makes the necessary appointments to the Council and the Board. JYY is represented on the Council by a full member and a deputy member on an alternating basis.
 
Physical activity is also an integral part of students’ wellbeing. At a local level, we collaborate with uMove, the university sports organisation, on matters relating to physical activity; JYY is a member of the university sports cooperation group coordinated by uMove. At national level, we collaborate with OLL, and JYY attends the meetings and the annual general meeting organised by OLL every year.