The Kuhmo Citizens’ Jury examined young people’s views on the development of the city.
During the autumn, the University of Turku and the city of Kuhmo collaborated to examine young people’s views towards the vitality of the city and the improvement of young people’s involvement by organising a survey and a citizens’ jury. The survey and citizens’ jury supported the City of Kuhmo’s strategic work and the drafting of its wellbeing plan.
In the autumn of 2025, the research group of Maija Setälä organised a citizens’ jury for all Kuhmo residents aged 16–34. The jury convened via the internet as well as in Kuhmo. The goal of the jury was to draft a public statement on the challenges related to Kuhmo’s ability to attract and retain residents and to propose solutions to those challenges.
During the jury, participants received information on the citizens’ jury method, heard from experts and were given the opportunity to ask city officials questions. After that, the participants reflected on the information in small-group discussions as well as in the plenary sessions and drafted a shared public statement, which they accepted unanimously.
The citizens’ jury was a continuation of the survey, which was organised by the researchers earlier during the autumn. In the survey, the researchers examined, how young people view living in Kuhmo and the participation opportunities for young people
The survey and citizens’ jury support the City of Kuhmo’s strategic work and the drafting of its wellbeing plan.
The survey and the citizens’ jury were carried out by researchers from the University of Turku as part of the EU-funded Sincrony research project, which develops new ways to improve young people’s participation. In conjunction with the Citizens’ Jury, a special research focus was new ways to recruit participants. The full statement of the jury can be found on the Sincrony project website.
Picture: Aki Niskanen
