What do you think about security?

Lower secondary school students in Helsinki discuss safety on a digital participation platform from April 13 to April 27.

What is it about?

All children and youth have the right to be safe. However, various events in the world and everyday life affect our sense of safety.

One group rarely heard in public discussions about security is young people.

That is why The City of Helsinki and Sitra want to hear young people’s thoughts on security in five lower secondary schools in Helsinki by using a digital participation platform. On the platform called Polis, one can express their opinions safely and anonymously. The platform is anonymous and secure. It can be used on a phone, tablet, or computer.

Young people’s thoughts on security are heard at Botby Grundskolan, Käpylä Comprehensive School, Maatulli Comprehensive School, Pasila Comprehensive School, and Vesala Comprehensive School.

The digital participation platform opens on Monday, April 13. New statements can be added until April 17 at 4:00 PM. The discussion is temporarily closed during the Easter holidays. The discussion will close on April 27, 2025, at 8:00 PM.

Young people’s thoughts on security are also important for adults. To increase mutual understanding, the results of the discussion will be shared with schools, the City of Helsinki, and decision-makers.

How does the digital participation platform work?

On the Polis platform, there are statements that can be voted on by agreeing, disagreeing, or skipping the statement.

Participants can also suggest their own statements to ensure important matters are included. Statements are moderated before being added to the conversation. Other participants can then vote on the new statements.

The platform has a translation tool that allows statements to be translated to another language if necessary. The platform is secure and anonymous.

Ground rules

We do not publish statements that contain hate speech, such as threats, mocking, racism, or inciting comments.
To keep the conversation interesting and diverse, we do not publish statements that are very similar to those already published in the discussion.
We do not publish statements that mention specific individuals. Moderators reject statements that clearly target specific individuals.
We do not publish statements that make it possible to identify the author.
Do not offend others. Moderators reject all disrespectful or offensive statements.
Adhere to the topic. Moderators will reject statements that are not relevant to the discussion. Obviously false statements will not be published either.
A maximum of approximately 200 statements will be added to the discussion.

For parents

Young people’s thoughts on security are heard on a digital participation platform called Polis in five lower secondary schools in Helsinki from April 13 to April 27. Participating schools are Botby Grundskolan, Käpylä Comprehensive School, Maatulli Comprehensive School, Pasila Comprehensive School, and Vesala Comprehensive School.

When the platform opens, some students will be able to write statements about security that are important to them. After this, all 7th-9th graders of these schools can take a stand on the published statements if they wish.

The aim is to find out what builds or weakens the sense of security among lower secondary school students. There has been little public discussion about young people’s views on security and sense of safety, even though the security environment is changing. The project is carried out together by Sitra and the City of Helsinki.

The platform is anonymous and secure. The participants can skip statements they do not want to vote on or quit the platform at any time. All statements are checked before publication.

It is important to us that every young person participating in the discussion feels safe. If your child has any questions at home, or something in the discussion worries them, they can contact their teacher, school curator, or school nurse. Parents can also contact the school.