Profile of Svensk Ungdom - SU

Svensk Ungdom Svensk Ungdom (SU) was founded in 1943 as a youth organisation for the Swedish people’s party in Finland. SU has over 4000 members (between the ages of 14 and 35) in several local branches in the district organisations of Nyland, Helsingfors (Helsinki), Åboland and Ostrobotnia. SU is an independent liberal youth organisation with the main focus on issues concerning the Swedish speaking minority in Finland. We in SU believe in a European Union without borders that guarantees its citizens freedom, democracy and human rights. We want a Union where the rights of all minorities are guaranteed by law. We want to form the future economically and ecologically on a sustainable ground without over-burdening the coming generations Swedish speaking Finns Finland is a bilingual country with two official languages Finnish and Swedish. There are about 300.000 Swedish speaking Finns i.e. 6% of the total Finnish population. Geographically the Swedish speaking Finns mostly live on the western and southern coast and in the archipelago. Swedish has always been spoken in Finland. In fact Swedish was the only official language in Finland until 1863. Main Focuses The Northern Countries The cooperation on a Nordic level has always been one of the main focuses in our international activities. The cooperation is very stong even on a governmental level. The Nordic Council is a good example. The Baltic Sea Area Another important geographical area is the Baltic Sea region. Issues like political development and ecological balance are of great importance for us in this area. We have emphasized the improvement of the environmental situation already for some time. We believe that every country must take its responsibility for a cleaner Baltic Sea in the future. The European Union Within the European Union we concider the enlargement as one of the most urgent and important issues. We want actively to participate in forming the future of the Union. International activity Svensk Ungdom has a long tradition of international cooperation. SU is a full member of three international organisations and an observermember in one. SU is a member of: IFLRY (International Federation of Liberal Youth), LYMEC (European Liberal Youth), NCF (Nordic Center Youth). SU is also one of the foundig members of the Baltic network LYBS (Liberal Youth of the Baltic Sea).