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Janne Tikkanen

Janne Tikkanen, a Turku-born upper-secondary graduate, is the chairman of Turku’s youth council and the finance commissioner of the international youth union YouthHansa. He also works as a personal assistant in the healthcare sector.

Tikkanen’s political career began within the ranks of the Social Democratic Party. In 2021, he was elected to represent young people in Turku’s youth council. During his first term, he was also elected secretary of the youth council and included in the chairmanship. During this term, he actively participated in the activities of the youth council and represented young people at several events. He was re-elected for a second term with one of the largest vote totals in the election and was chosen as the youth council chairman in 2023.

At the same time, Tikkanen has been active in the Social Democratic Youth and Social Democratic Students. He has served as the first, second, and third vice president of Southwest Finland’s Social Democratic Youth. In 2023, Tikkanen was also a member of the national board of Social Democratic Students, tasked with overseeing international operations.

Tikkanen’s international activities are also significant: among other things, he has served as the finance commissioner of the international youth union YouthHansa since 2024. Since 2020, he has been involved in the international working group of the Social Democratic Youth, the climate network of the International Union of Socialist Youth, and was a member of the board of the Association of Nordic Social Democratic Youth in 2023.

On your side

The strength of society is measured by how we take care of those who can no longer manage on their own. Value choices are made in politics. Our values include protecting basic services, strengthening the timeliness of care, securing learning peace, sustainability, responsible economic policy, and humility.

As the chairperson of the youth council, I have been involved in preparing initiatives for hiring school coaches and getting youth representatives into the city’s decision-making bodies. In my other roles, I have advocated for human rights, security, education, the climate, and efforts to eradicate poverty. In international activities, I have represented the engagement of young people in political action, especially within the European Union. What matters most to me is to promote human rights, education for all, and to eradicate poverty, including poverty among families with children.