Interview with Youth Forum's new President

The new year brings a new President for the European Youth Forum; at the beginning of January Johanna Nyman officially began her mandate as President of the European Youth Forum. Johanna, aged 25, is from Finland and, as well as having been a Scout, she is also a member of the national youth council of Finland, Allianssi.

We have interviewed Johanna on her new role and what her priorities will be.

The new board of the European Youth Forum.

• Why did you want to become President of the Youth Forum?

I wanted to become the President of the Youth Forum because I believe in our common platform and that I have something to give to the Youth Forum. The Youth Forum is unique and our strength is our diversity and representativeness. I believe that we can make an impact on society and I wanted to be a part of leading this platform.

• What particular perspective do you think you will bring to the role?

My perspectives are formed from being active in youth organisations from an early age. I want to use this experience and knowledge when contributing to the development of the platform. I have a strong belief in cooperation and will work for this. I perceive the role as president for the Youth Forum as a great opportunity also to learn and develop.

• What are your main priorities for the European Youth Forum over the next two years?

The main priorities over the coming years are fighting youth unemployment, advocating for more possibilities for young people to participate in society, work for youth rights as well as making sure that youth organisations have better basis to function, reach out and represent young people.

• What do you see as the biggest challenges facing Europe’s young people?

The biggest challenges that young people are facing is not having access to quality jobs and having a harder time becoming autonomous individuals. The future feels gloomy and the opportunities are limited. Young people are not participating in democracy in the traditional forms and there needs to be an effort from decision makers and institutions to address questions that are relevant to our generation.

• How can we at the Youth Forum help address these?

The Youth Forum can and should advocate strongly for youth rights! We need to become stronger in our advocacy work and make sure we are achieving results. These efforts will have more impact if the youth movement behind it is strong and our voice is loud.

• Have you decided yet on any changes you wish to make to the platform?

I want the platform to have a more targeted advocacy work and a smoother internal communication. The changes that will be made will be decided together with the whole board, a board that will work as a strong team together with the secretariat and the members.