Ten recommendations from young people to the Nordic and Baltic governments

In November, the Nordic Baltic Youth Summit brought together 170 participants aged 18 to 30 from Denmark, Estonia, Finland, the Faroe Islands, Greenland, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, Sweden and Åland. Their task was to agree on ten recommendations for the region’s governments based on ten predefined themes. The themes focused on the green transition and youth employment, in line with the vision of making the Nordic Region the world’s most sustainable and integrated region by 2030.

Lotta Tuominen, Specialist on Youth Advocacy Groups at Ungdomssektorn rf (Nuorisoala), was the project manager for the Nordic Baltic Youth Summit and was responsible for developing the themes that were later discussed.

– The groups were tasked with developing three recommendations based on what they considered to be the biggest barriers to progress in their area. One proposal per theme was then selected in a plenary vote, Lotta Tuominen explains.

Here are a few samples from the recommendations to the Nordic and Baltic governments:

• Mental health in working life: Introduce a four‑day work week to counteract mental ill‑health in the workplace.
• Youth employment opportunities: Make all internships in the public sector paid and of high quality, leading the way for other sectors to follow.
• AI: Establish a Nordic‑Baltic media and information literacy fund to counteract the spread of AI‑generated disinformation.
• Local participation: Ensure long‑term and stable funding opportunities for local projects.

Some recommendations easier to implement

Other recommendations range from attracting and bringing home young entrepreneurs from indigenous communities to measures to counter corporate ‘greenwashing’. Lotta Tuominen believes that some of the recommendations are easier to implement than others — for example, those relating to local and global participation and corporate social responsibility, where EU-directives are already in place. Youth participation is a key priority in Nordic co-operation, and meetings with various Nordic institutions to disseminate and anchor the recommendations are an important part of the work.

– Yesterday I had the privilege of meeting the Secretary‑General of the Nordic Council of Ministers, Karen Ellemann, and she emphasised the importance of youth participation and youth delegates, says Lotta Tuominen.

If Lotta were to select a few recommendations she finds particularly compelling, it would be on local and global participation. The recommendation on global participation comes at a crucial time, as several countries in the region are cutting resources for youth participation.

– It’s unfortunate. If young people are not given a seat at the table when decisions about the future are being made, the outcome will not be sustainable, says Lotta Tuominen

Another recommendation she highlights concerns AI, and she finds it interesting that the group identified disinformation as the major barrier.

– The recommendation on AI is also one of those that has received very positive responses in our discussions with institutions and stakeholders in the Nordic co-operation.

The recommendations have been handed over to the Minister of Youth of Finland and this spring dissemination continues among Nordic and national organisations and administrations and a follow up will be sent to all participants in May.

About the Nordic Baltic Youth Summit

The first Nordic Youth Summit was held in Oslo in 2022. In 2024, the summit was expanded to include Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, and in 2025 the second Nordic Baltic Youth Summit was held. The last meeting was organised by the Finnish National Youth Council and Youth Sector with the support of the Nordic Children and Youth Committee (NORDBUK) and the Nordic Council of Ministers as part of the Finnish and Åland presidencies of the Nordic Council of Ministers.

Top photo: Picture from the first day of the summit. Photo: Pirjo Tuominen.