Finland: Ensuring intergenerational justice through children and young people’s participation
The Finnish Ministry of Social Affairs and Health will conduct a report examining how current legislation and its implementation should be developed from the perspective of future generations’ rights. Promoting children and young people’s participation in decision making processes is one of the core themes of the report conducted during 2026.
The Ministry emphasises intergenerational justice. Decisions made today have long-term effects on well-being. Therefore, current generations have a responsibility to protect the rights and opportunities of future generations. The shift towards a long-term and intergenerational approach in decision-making requires recognising that especially children and young people’s rights have intergenerational dimensions. Therefore, the report has an emphasis on evaluating and further improving children and young people’s participation in decision making processes.
The report focuses on how the evaluation of intergenerational effects should be improved and utilised to promote justice. The aim of the report is to gain knowledge and views that can act as a basis for future decision making.
The report focuses on:
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Evaluating people’s abilities to impact decision making
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Gaining information about future generation rights
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Examining how the advantages and disadvantages of the decisions made are distributed in society
”Our aim is to strengthen intergenerational decision-making and promote an approach, where the long-term effects that today’s decisions have on well-being and sustainability, become central for decision-making processes. These long-term effects must also be taken as the starting point of how resources and steering are allocated”, says Veli-Mikko Niemi, the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health.
The report supports the goals that have been laid in the EU Strategy on intergenerational awareness. The European Commission reported in April that it had adopted its first strategy on intergenerational fairness on 4 March 2026. The strategy promotes long-term governance and strives to ensure that young people have a stronger voice in shaping future policies.
For more information:
The original Finnish language press release: The Finnish Ministry of Social affairs and Health (20 May 2026). STM examines the possibilities to develop decision-making from the perspective of future generations ( STM selvittää mahdollisuuksia kehittää päätöksentekoa tulevien sukupolvien näkökulmasta, in Finnish). https://stm.fi/-/stm-selvittaa-mahdollisuuksia-kehittaa-paatoksentekoa-tulevien-sukupolvien-nakokulmasta.
European Commission: Intergenerational Fairness Strategy - adopted 4 March 2026. https://ec.europa.eu/newsroom/just/items/933066/en.
Source: Youth Wiki Unit Finland
Picture: © Vitaly Gariev
