SKUNK - young voices in the archipelago

SKUNK is an organisation that cares for the interests of youths in the Åland archipelago. The target group is 7-25 years old, but foremost for the ages 13-16. The word “interest” has a double meaning:
partly to guard the interests of the youths in the archipelago and
partly to strengthen, develop and organize extracurricular activities.

SKUNK is a youth organisation which builds on the youth’s own ideas. The organisation is mainly built on the idea that “young people lead young people”, but also on that the organisation involves competent adults for different purposes. SKUNK is lead by a board where the participants are between 15-25 years old.
This is a film about SKUNK

Board

Chair person
Sofia Lahtinen

Vice chair person
Alexandra Näfverborn

Members
Rasmus Gustafsson
Molly Påvals 
Ema Suchá 
Selina Svarce

Suppleants
Elis Storsjö
Julia Strand
Sonja Pettersson 
Kasper Dreyer 
Director
Mia Hanström
+358 400 784871
[email protected]

Address
c/o Hanström
22820 Kumlinge
Finland

Office
​Ålandsvägen 40
22100 Mariehamn

SKUNK works for

  • Improving the possibilities for the youth in the archipelago to engage in stimulating extra curricular and cultural activities
  • Strengthening youth involvement and responsibility regarding issues relevant to themselves
  • Guarding the archipelago youth’s interests and strengthening the influence the youth have on the development of the archipelago
  • Changing how adults see young people, so that they are seen as resources in the society
  • Strengthening the community between youth from different parts of the archipelago, the rest of Åland and the whole world
  • Supporting cooperation in different shapes to develop and expand young peoples possibilities for stimulating and interesting extracurricular activities with a starting point in the young peoples own ideas and participation

Thorough

  • Giving archipelago youth within different areas of interests better opportunities to exchange with youth within and without the archipelago
  • Continuously keeping a discussion about youth politics, youth culture and the archipelago youth’s needs and desires
  • Taking initiative to projects that stimulates and develops youth work in the archipelago
  • Supporting and encourage societies and municipalities to organize activities for children and adolescents
  • Cooperation between the archipelago municipalities, organizations and other interested in young people, give children and youth a greater range of activities and possibilities to get involved​

SKUNK’s main point

That active youth work in the archipelago gives greater opportunities for a living archipelago in the future. Youth are not the future, they are now and does therefore have a right to a stimulating life today. Youth who feel  that their ideas and initiatives are taken seriously and under consideration feel better and have a stronger belief in the future.