Hard facts, balloons and new acquaintances at the sector meeting

The second day was full of hard facts when we were educated on lobbying by Sini Heino from Social Democratic Students in Finland – SONK and on accessibility by Jukka Parviainen from the Finnish Sports Association of Persons with Disabilities (VAU). The educators made many good comments, and now, we would like to bring up two of these comments, which are also good guiding principles in life. When it comes to lobbying, we must remember to be patient and nice to everyone. In accessibility questions, we do not have to be perfect, but it is important to keep an open mind.

We received delightfully positive feedback from the sector meeting participants. Katariina Henttonen, a Board Member of the Student Union of the University of Lapland (LYY), describes the experience as follows:

“I came to the sector meeting with an open mind, and it was worth it. First, we took part in filming a video, and it was a fun experience. I also liked the evening’s sporty activities. The next day, we listened to interesting lectures which gave me a lot of good ideas for the future. The sector meeting was a wonderful experience because I also met new lovely people. So, I’m looking forward to the next sector meeting!”

Kasimir Karlstedt, a Board Member of the Student Union Helga of Haaga-Helia University of Applied Sciences paid attention to the smooth arrangements and how different backgrounds were taken into account throughout the event:

“As an English-speaking student representative, I was very impressed by the effort that OLL made to make me feel included in the recent sector meeting. All of the material was available in English, and all of the members of OLL were more than happy to translate and help me with anything I did not understand. The level of organization was also very impressive; every event and venue was carefully planned and there was more than enough activities that appealed to everyone from a wide variety of backgrounds. The OLL sector meeting was, in my eyes, a great success and I look forward with anticipation to participate in the next one.”

In the title of this news item, balloons were also mentioned. Well, they have to do with the sporty activities at the sector meeting and the incredibly diverse use of balloons in sports. In other words, if you need training in this, please contact our Vice President Tiina Anttonen.