Stakeholders’ Perception on Youths’ e-Participation in Finland: Case Virtual Council

Abstract

Widening youth participation is recognised as essential in national decision-making processes. One inclusive approach to achieving this is by providing e-participation possibilities targeted towards youth. In this qualitative study, we explore a digital prototype of a virtual council of youth in Finland and ask what factors either promote or hamper the ability of educational institutions, non-governmental youth organisations and public authorities to implement e-participation tools in their daily activities. Our data comprise six expert interviews reflecting the institutional approach to considering youth e-participation from the perspective of online deliberation. Thus, this research provides an empirical understanding of the role of youth e-participation by stating that a virtual youth council can provide inclusive participation opportunity for youth in a different geographical location in an era when different digital participation channels are likely to increase. Our study also shows that a virtual council of youth requires institutional collaboration with different stakeholder groups. However, the quality of implementation of the virtual council would be enhanced by taking into account youth interest, ensuring inclusiveness and clarifying the normative and political goals of youth (e-) participation.