1. A brief overview of the Ungas val project

The Ungas val project, funded by the Nordic Council of Ministers, aimed to strengthen the civic competence of young people in the Nordic countries through elections for young people and other democracy education. The concept of civic competence refers to a young person’s perceived ability to understand societal and political processes. The project was based on the idea that the functioning of a democratic society requires active, aware and participating citizens. Young people do not only represent the present. Instead, their participation guarantees that the voice of future generations will be heard in decision-making and ensures the continuity and development of democracy in the long term.

The Ungas val project strengthened cooperation between the Nordic countries in democracy education and the organisation of elections for young people. Previously, there had been little cooperation in terms of elections for young people. Almost every Nordic country has its own model for conducting school elections. In the framework of the project, the aim was to create a basis for Nordic cooperation around school elections and democracy education so that it could continue even after the project had ended. In addition to Finland, Denmark and Norway participated in the project as official partners. Representatives of other Nordic countries were also interviewed and practices were reviewed for the materials in this guide.

The project was implemented in 2025 and its key activities were:

Organising Youth Elections in Finland in connection with the municipal and county elections in 2025 and the Week of Politics, which is a national societal influencing theme week for young people and a democracy education concept for professionals from the teaching, guidance and pedagogy sectors.
A communications campaign organised in connection with the municipal and county elections in Finland, aimed especially at increasing the voting turnout of young people.
Compiling this written guide, which includes the Nordic countries' best practices for organising school elections and supporting the civic competence of young people.

The target group of this guide on the organisation of elections for young people is Nordic operators who organise elections and democracy education for young people. These operators may include government agencies or ministries, civil society operators and professionals from the guidance, teaching and pedagogy sectors for young people. The guide also benefits the Nordic Council of Ministers, which can use the guide to support the organisation of elections for young people and high-quality democracy education in all Nordic countries.

For the sake of clarity, the term “school elections” has primarily been used in the Ungas val project and in this guide for elections for young people, but it is important to be aware that elections for young people can also be organised outside of schools. Different countries use different terms for elections for young people, such as “Youth elections”, “Shadow elections” or “Mock elections”.