Press release 13 November 2023
For immediate release
The two-day General Assembly of the National Union of University Students in Finland (SYL) will be held at Tampere University on 17-18 November 2023. The General Assembly wields the highest decision-making power in SYL and elects a new President and six Board Members for the Union for 2024. In addition, the Assembly outlines the objectives and activities of SYL in 2024 and decides on changes to SYL’s policy paper.
All 14 student unions will be represented at the General Assembly. The unions represent around 140,000 university students in total. Altogether, the student unions elect 146 full representatives to the General Assembly. The number of participants will total over 300.
The action plan for next year will include, for example, the livelihood of students and increase in the level of education, planned by the government led by PM Petteri Orpo. The ongoing social security reform will have a major impact on the livelihood of students, which is why in 2024, SYL wants to allocate resources to solving this issue in particular.
“The level of education must be increased in a way that does not compromise its quality. The increasing number of students must also be taken into account in political decision-making. We must have a prosperous young generation in the future,” says SYL President Lotta Leinonen.
The General Assembly will start on Friday 17 November at 10.00 a.m. and continue on Saturday 18 November at 10 a.m. On Saturday, the speech to the General Assembly will be made by the Minister of Science and Culture Sari Multala.
The election of SYL‘s President will take place at the General Assembly on Friday, and the elections for the Board will be held on Saturday. We will announce the results as soon as we can after the elections. This year, there are two candidates for the post of President for SYL: Akseli Tiitta (TYY) ja Jenni Suutari (JYY).
There are currently eight other candidates for the six posts of Board Members. The candidates nominated by the student unions are Aino Halinen (TREY, Vasop), Onni Härkönen (TREY), Irja Vaateri (HYY), Eugenie Touma van der Meulen (ArtSU, Young Greens), Linnéa Partanen (Vasop), Totti Korpua (AYY), Jaakko Sirén (Kokoomusopiskelijat) and Jesse Häyhä. Candidates may be nominated until the elections take place at the General Assembly. You can read more about the candidates on SYL’s website at https://syl.fi/en/candidates-2023/.
The media are welcome to follow the General Assembly at the City Centre Campus of Tampere University on both days.
Interviews are preferably given during the lunch breaks (Fri at 12–13 and Sat at 13–14) and after the General Assembly. Please contact SYL’s Communications Adviser for more information or scheduling interviews (antti.kivi@syl.fi, tel. +358 41 515 2228).
SYL’s General Assembly will also be webcast live on SYL’s YouTube channel at https://www.youtube.com/c/sylvideot. The hashtag used on social media will be #SYLliittari.
For further information, please contact:
Secretary General Roope Tukia, tel. +358 45 135 4314
SYL’s President Lotta Leinonen, tel. +358 44 906 5004
During the General Assembly, we recommend that you contact our Communications Adviser Antti Kivi, tel. +358 41 515 2228.
You reach us by email at firstname.surname@syl.fi.
Documents for the General Assembly are available here. The online documents also include a more detailed schedule and rules of procedure for the General Assembly.
Photo: Olli Puumalainen
