In English

HELLO THERE!

I'm Maria Markkula, a 21-year-old political science student from Tampere, Finland and passionate about creating a better tomorrow. I have been working and speaking on behalf of others for most of my life: I started my path as an advocate at the age of 9, starting from Tampere Children's Parliament and Youth Council. The last 11 years have taught me a lot about creating meaningful change and nowadays I spend most of my free time representing Finnish youth abroad.

I want to continue making new voices heard and building the future, for you.

I am running the Tampere city council and the regional council of the Tampere region this spring and I'm asking for your vote.

WHY AM I RUNNING?

I am a passionate changemaker, born and raised in Tampere, who wants to see a better world tomorrow than the one we grew up in. I want to live in a world where no one exhaust under pressure and burns out like I did. I want to fight back against the social recession and bring out the voices that otherwise would have gone unheard, because all voices are too precious not to be heard.

I want to be a opposing force to divisive politics and polarisation, building and creating bridges across party lines, making decisions looking forward. Tampere and Pirkanmaa must be a places where everyone can live meaningful lives and build their futures.

Everyone should be allowed to be themselves: diversity is a resource and an asset. Diversity, gender and sexual minorities must be celebrated and the right to be yourself, love and live, should be fearlessly defended.

Themes

 

What is important to me?

Without education, we have no future: no workers, no growth, no civilisation, no hope. The most important task of a municipality is to provide a safe and encouraging school environment for every child and young person, where they can grow and develop in peace. School should provide everyone with the tools for life and the tools to pursue their dreams.

Let's calm the school environment and focus on learning and teaching: phones can stay in the bag during lessons while the teacher explains things from start to finish. Students need to be supported in their learning and in school we needs to recognise that not all ways of teaching and learning are for everyone. Independent studying and learning at home should be the exception not the rule. People come to school to learn, not just to do exercises. Children and young people need empathic and individual guidance and support.

During the school day, support should be available from sources other than the already overburdened and over-stretched teachers: there should be accessible and safe adults in the school corridors, such as special needs assistants, youth workers and so on.

Tampere's transport arrangements are already among the best in the country, and for good reason: we have built services that work for everyone, whether they use public transport or drive their own car. This must continue.

Solutions like P-Hämppi are the future: a quick drive to the parking garage, then a convenient lift up to the heart of the city. This frees up space in the city centre for walkers, cyclists, public transport and businesses with their summer terraces. Car travel must be smooth and transport solutions must be sensible, safe and made in consultation with residents, not just for the sake of change. Let's be sensible about public works: if one road can be repaired in a week in other welfare states, it should not take many months and endless problems here.

The decision to build the tramway in 2015 is a good example of bold and innovative decision-making in Tampere, looking ahead. The tramway should be expanded to increase the vitality of the entire Tampere region, the profitability of public transport and the efficiency of mobility. Public transport is a more environmentally friendly and thus socially better way of getting around and it should be supported and developed by the city in a way that makes people want to choose it. Encourage people to choose public transport with carrots, not sticks.

However, one area where Tampere in particular needs to continue to make progress is in facilitating cycling, as has been done in Turku and Helsinki with cycle paths and cycle lanes. Facilitating cycling will not only diversify transport in Tampere, but will also enable more people to choose active lifestyle and thus improve public health.

According to THL, around 20-35% of young people suffer from mental health problems. We are facing a mental health crisis. We save lives and public money by tackling the problems now, not tomorrow.

No young person should be overwhelmed by schoolwork, pressures or be left alone with their thoughts. We need mental health checks alongside schools physical examinations, so we can catch problems before they get worse. We need to increase the number of proven walk-in therapies in schools and bring them to public health centres.

This crisis will not solve itself. It will be solved by choices, investments and new innovations.

If we do not act now, today's young people cannot become tomorrow's adults. Without healthy minds, we have no future.