What Is It?
The Representative Council acts as the bridge between the Student Union of the University of Helsinki (HYY/HUS) and the student body as a whole. It is comprised of sixty elected students sitting for a two year term, coming from a range of different electoral groups (sometimes called ‘rings’). Some of these groups are linked to political parties, some are linked to student organisations, and some – like HYAL – are bound by a common interest.
What Does It Do?
Meeting roughly once a month, the Representative Council has a lot of power. One of the key jobs of the body is to elect the board of HYY, selecting the roughly 10 students who will sit on the board, dedicating much of their time to working for students over the coming year. However, HYY is more than just the board that runs it. One of the biggest jobs of the Representative Council is to agree the budget for the Union, and set the wider vision and general direction of the Student Union for the year ahead. The Representative Council is also elects people to various other critical positions, holds the Union’s board to account during the ‘Question Time’ before each meeting, and debates policy throughout the year.
How Does It Do It?
Within the Representative Council there are a number of sub-committees that one can be nominated to that help prepare documents, negotiate with other groups/blocks, and put questions on the table ready for the main meeting. In a way, it’s almost like a mini-version of Finland’s parliament, replicating some of the ways the country’s policies are made. For more, https://hyy.fi/en/student-union/our-organisation/representative-council/. Behind the scenes each electoral group operates in their own unique way, holding their own regular meetings and social events.