Student, county elections also affect you!

The historic regional county elections will be held for the first time in January 2022. The Finnish Student Sports Federation (OLL), University of Applied Sciences Students in Finland – SAMOK and National Union of University Students in Finland want to remind the students of the importance of the county elections.

The wellbeing service counties will provide students with all social and health care services that are not covered by the primary health care provided by FSHS. These services, such as specialist nursing, emergency care, and some primary care examinations, are needed by many students. Therefore, the voice of students should be heard in decision-making in the wellbeing service counties.

“The care paths between the FSHS, the wellbeing service county and, for example, university sports must be ensured to run as smoothly as possible. The student must have access to specialist medical care within tolerable time. Student mental health services in particular should be a focal point in these new wellbeing service counties. Students are struggling with their mental health and we need strong, committed and student-valued cooperation to tackle the mental health crisis, ” the student organizations point out.

Students should be involved in the preparation of the wellbeing service counties. The key is to ensure a functional division of labor, the flow of information, the transfer of customer relationships and care paths between the wellbeing service counties and FSHS services. In addition, exercise should be considered as a preventive factor in strategies and wellness programs in the wellbeing service counties.

Students are needed! The final moments of running for the county councils are soon here. Read more about eligibility: https://vaalit.fi/en/eligibility-and-nomination-of-candidates4. Campaign teams also play an important role, so if you do not want to be a candidate yourself, join a friend’s campaign. Most importantly, if you only do one thing during this election, then please vote. “Give your vote to a student, as students’ voices are vocalized only by the students themselves, ”student organizations emphasize.

  • Submission of candidate applications to the county election boards: by 16.00 on 14 December 2021.
  • The advance voting period in Finland: 12–18 January 2022
  • The first county elections will be held on Sunday 23 January 2022.
  • The county councils begin their work: 1 March 2022.
  • A more detailed schedule for the regional elections: https://vaalit.fi/en/schedule-for-the-county-elections

More information:

National Union of University Students in Finland

Sakari Tuomisto

sakari.tuomisto@syl.fi

+358 40 687 6353

University of Applied Sciences Students in Finland – SAMOK

Oona Löytänen

oona.loytanen@samok.fi

+358 50 389 1000

The Finnish Student Sports Federation (OLL)

Essi Lumme

essi.lumme@oll.fi

+358 44 780 0216

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