{"id":16111,"date":"2026-03-05T13:42:25","date_gmt":"2026-03-05T11:42:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/taiyo.fi\/?p=16111"},"modified":"2026-03-05T13:49:40","modified_gmt":"2026-03-05T11:49:40","slug":"hallituslaisen-ensimmainen-seminaarireissu-kokousviineria-ja-kiusallisia-hiljaisuuksia-vai-tarkeaa-jarjestaytymistyota-tiloissa-kuin-tiloissa","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/taiyo.fi\/en\/2026\/03\/05\/hallituslaisen-ensimmainen-seminaarireissu-kokousviineria-ja-kiusallisia-hiljaisuuksia-vai-tarkeaa-jarjestaytymistyota-tiloissa-kuin-tiloissa\/","title":{"rendered":"A board member's first seminar trip: Meeting pastries and awkward silence or important organising in any spaces?"},"content":{"rendered":"

TaiYo's<\/span>\u00a0Board and Secretary General participated in the Opening Seminar of the National Union of University Students in Finland (SYL) in Jyv\u00e4skyl\u00e4 at the beginning of February. In the blog, TaiYo board member Tea Sir\u00e9n shares her thoughts and observations from the seminar trip.<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

At 7 AM, almost our entire board left Helsinki on the state railways towards Jyv\u00e4skyl\u00e4, sipping coffee bought from the station and munching on sandwiches, in a slightly tense and hysterical mood. Our destination: the opening seminar of the National Union of University Students in Finland (SYL). What SYL? Well, before being on the board it matter was still a bit obscure to me but now I can say, with decent confidence, that it is an umbrella organization that does national advocacy work for all the university students in Finland and that brings together all the student unions to agree on shared advocacy goals and create connections across city and university borders to create strength in numbers. SYL does advocacy work all year round (and probably sometimes around the clock), i.e. it meets with politicians and explains why the interests of students should be realised in Finland in the future as well.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Minuakin j\u00e4nnitti, vaikka olen jonkin osan el\u00e4m\u00e4st\u00e4ni viett\u00e4nytkin erilaisissa\u00a0minglailu- eli verkostoitumistilaisuuksissa toisen ty\u00f6ni puolesta. Olin aikaisemmin kuullut, ett\u00e4 mojova osa Suomen eturivin poliitikoista ja muista valtaapit\u00e4vist\u00e4 on ponnistanut ”alalle\u201d nimenomaan ylioppilaskuntien ja erityisesti\u00a0SYLin\u00a0tuomien mahdollisuuksien kautta. Ja nyt oltiin oman p\u00e4\u00e4sihteerimme Janen toimesta saatu ohje, ett\u00e4 pit\u00e4\u00e4 ihan oikeasti jutella muiden kanssa, vaikkakin on todettava, etteiv\u00e4t\u00a0taiyolaiset\u00a0tyypillisesti olekaan avausseminaarissa olleet solmiot ojossa ja ice\u00a0breakerit\u00a0valmiiksi mietittyn\u00e4, vaan olemme liikkuneet enemm\u00e4n yhten\u00e4isen\u00e4 ja toisiinsa tukeutuvana organismina. Mit\u00e4 jos juttelen vahingossa tulevalle presidentille? Onneksi hallitustoveri Mathiaksella sent\u00e4\u00e4n oli puvun takki p\u00e4\u00e4ll\u00e4!\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In addition to this impostor\u2011syndrome\u2011like state I just described, I have to admit that I also wondered whether we were about to sit under fluorescent lights eating pastries and drinking weak coffee. Were these going to be the two driest and most awkward days of my life? Pretty soon after arriving, though, it became clear that there were ordinary people just like us at the opening seminar, no reason to panic! And it definitely didn\u2019t end up being boring either, because we were thoroughly equipped with the most up\u2011to\u2011date shared understanding of the current landscape of societal advocacy from the perspective of student representation. There was plenty to talk about and marvel at together with both arts and science students. In a way, we were all on average just as confused, and then on average a little wiser when we left. And above all: we were not alone with our worries!\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In the discussions and presentations on SYL\u2019s parliamentary election platform, it was reassuring to hear that other student unions share the concerns identified by TaiYo, for instance regarding tuition fees for students from outside the EU, students\u2019 financial security, and the shortage of affordable housing.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

We took part in several different workshops during the seminar, covering more specific themes such as climate diplomacy, the therapy guarantee, trade union support for international students, and the accessibility of student events. We also heard an expert talk on multilingualism in organizations and how it relates to experiences of inclusion and the dynamics of power. In other words, many themes that are highly relevant to Uniarts students.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The presentations were genuinely fascinating, and Taru Tujunen\u2019s political situation overview in particular was absolutely spot\u2011on. Tujunen is a seasoned professional board member, a politics powerhouse with a background in the National Coalition Party, and also a SYL alum who now works, among other things, with Sitra. It was a real treat for political nerds, full of extra insights and fun trivia, while those for whom the twists and turns of the Finnish parliamentary system are less familiar \u2013 or whose civics classes are far behind them \u2013 were given concrete, neatly packaged information about how elections actually work in practice and when parliamentary election advocacy really happens. For example, I had no idea that once party election platforms are finalized, and once campaigns and government negotiations are underway, it becomes very difficult to make any major impact on the decisions being made. This means that the important work for the next government term\u2019s programme is happening right now!<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In addition to its own advocacy work, SYL supports student unions like TaiYo in representing their students\u2019 interests and engaging in parliamentary election advocacy. We learned that it is important to be able to present politicians with proposals that are as concrete as possible, complete with well\u2011reasoned justifications. I have to admit that this feels rather harsh, especially in situations where the austerity\u2011based measures of the current decision\u2011makers have already caused real human suffering and anxiety about making ends meet.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

It is a wonderful privilege to be able to say that we are the only student union in Finland that represents exclusively art students,but it is also a major responsibility. In practice, this means that in addition to the general issues affecting students, our advocacy work must place particular emphasis on questions of cultural policy. And although this feels so blindingly obvious to us, we still find ourselves having to explain to decision\u2011makers and voters, time and time again, why culture is an absolutely central and vital element of a civilized society.\u00a0<\/span>Without culture, we have nothing worth defending,<\/span><\/a>as\u00a0patriotic as that may sound.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Of course, the seminar trip couldn\u2019t be all work and hard facts: we got to enjoy a night at a hotel, a shared vegan dinner, and an after\u2011party at the nightclub Freetime. In the pulse of the city at night, we continued our relentless discussions on student advocacy and kept on networking. From the perspective of someone studying time and space arts, I genuinely find it fascinating to notice where (and when) political work actually happens: over a pastry in the lobby of the University of Jyv\u00e4skyl\u00e4\u2019s C\u2011building, designed by our country\u2019s top architect, or at four in the morning (well, honestly, at one) in the coat\u2011check line after karaoke? In these so\u2011called unconventional settings, the beginnings of major new ideas can often emerge, and we get to know each other as actual human beings, not just as representatives of semi\u2011anonymous organizations or sub\u2011organizations\u2019 specialized sub\u2011committees. Encounters like these are, in my view, worth their weight in gold at a time when broader societal trends are, inevitably, pushing us further apart.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Tea Sir\u00e9n<\/em>
\nBoard Member<\/em><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

TaiYon\u00a0hallitus ja p\u00e4\u00e4sihteeri osallistuivat Suomen ylioppilaskuntien liiton avausseminaariin Jyv\u00e4skyl\u00e4ss\u00e4 helmikuun alussa. Blogissa hallituksen j\u00e4sen Tea Sir\u00e9n kertoo ajatuksiaan ja havaintojaan seminaarireissusta.\u00a0 L\u00e4hdimme […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":16113,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":true,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_coblocks_attr":"","_coblocks_dimensions":"","_coblocks_responsive_height":"","_coblocks_accordion_ie_support":"","_crdt_document":"","advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"_wpas_customize_per_network":false},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-16111","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-taiyo"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/taiyo.fi\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/artikkelikuva-19.png?fit=1640%2C924&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p2w00X-4bR","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/taiyo.fi\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16111","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/taiyo.fi\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/taiyo.fi\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/taiyo.fi\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/13"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/taiyo.fi\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=16111"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/taiyo.fi\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16111\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":16114,"href":"https:\/\/taiyo.fi\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16111\/revisions\/16114"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/taiyo.fi\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/16113"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/taiyo.fi\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16111"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/taiyo.fi\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16111"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/taiyo.fi\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=16111"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}