Have you ever wondered how TYY promotes equality? Or what kind of equality work TYY should be doing? These questions are addressed in TYY’s Equality Plan, which complements the Political Agenda and was adopted by the Student Union Council at the end of February for the new four-year term 2025–2029.
TYY’s equality work is based on the principle that every member should feel a sense of belonging – as their authentic self. This experience of belonging should be possible wherever students participate: in student organisations, within the Student Union, and throughout the University – while also recognising the role of the broader society.
It is often said that student organisations make TYY what it is. Supporting student organisations is therefore one of the core elements of the Equality Plan. TYY provides training and guides, and encourages and supports organisations in developing their own equality work from multiple perspectives. These include communication, administrative structures, recruitment and selection practices, event accessibility, and recognising the diverse needs of members. Many organisations are already doing progressive equality work, which can serve as a model for implementing several actions outlined in the new Equality Plan. As a follow-up to the Plan, TYY will also update its Equality Guide for Organisations during the current year. The aim is to provide more specific instructions, such as how to address challenging situations, how to respond to cases of harassment, and how to better support those responsible for promoting equality at events.
The new Equality Plan places particular emphasis on more accessible communication from various perspectives. How can we ensure, for example, that the upcoming Student Union Council elections in the autumn are accessible? One key method is communication: by explaining the processes of candidate nomination, Executive Board selection, and other recruitment procedures more transparently through TYY’s communication channels.
The Plan also highlights internationality in practice. TYY communicates bilingually and offers English-language materials, training, and interpretation services for decision-making. Additionally, the aim is to ensure that international students have access to activities, a full student experience, and equal opportunities to participate in all levels of decision-making at the University – just like their Finnish peers.
Equality work acknowledges that equality is never complete – it must be continuously built and improved. The goals extend across various aspects of life: age, ethnic background or language, beliefs, health or disability, family background or situation, gender, gender expression or sexual orientation must not become barriers to participation or studying.
One concrete example of the goals included in the Plan is making student exchange opportunities more accessible to a wider range of students. For instance, Erasmus+ support is one of the Erasmus exchange grants designed to enable student exchange for those who need special support – such as students with families or those requiring a personal assistant. However, awareness of this support is limited, and it is underutilised relative to the allocated funding. For this reason, increasing awareness of Erasmus+ support was identified as a specific measure in the Plan. It is something students should hear about from the University, and TYY should also promote it actively during the Erasmus application periods.
Equality work is carried out across TYY, student organisations, and the University community in alignment with the Plan. TYY’s guiding principle is to create a unique student life for students of the University of Turku – so that everyone is equipped for active, informed, and critical citizenship.
Ville Ritola
Specialist, Social Affairs