ManiMiitti - Participatory budgeting
ManiMiitti is a participatory budgeting process developed by the City of Espoo Youth Services. ManiMiitti gives Espoo’s lower secondary school pupils a chance to have a say on matters related to their neighbourhoods and leisure activities. ManiMiitti engages young people and offers them a channel for participation. Young people’s ideas matter! ManiMiitti kicks off in March with an online ideas survey for pupils in grades 7–9. By participating in the ManiMiitti ideas survey, pupils can suggest activities to be organised by Youth Services, for example at youth centres. In April, pupils get to vote online for their favourite ideas. The ideas that receive the most votes will be carried out at youth centres and in their vicinity during autumn 2026. Each greater area in Espoo has a budget of EUR 10,000 for the implementation of the ideas.
Ideas survey in March
Youth workers organised an online ideas survey for Espoo’s lower secondary school pupils (13–16-year-olds) between 2 and 22 March 2026. Through the survey, young people could suggest activities to be organised by Youth Services, for example at youth centres, in the autumn. We received a total of 415 responses to the ManiMiitti ideas survey.
Voting in April
We received a total of 595 responses to the ManiMiitti ideas survey. From 7 to 30 April, young people at Espoo’s lower secondary schools could vote for their favourite ideas. A total of 540 votes were cast.
Results of the vote
These are the 2026 ManiMiitti ideas, listed in order based on the number of votes they received:
1. Cooking, food and baking 67,8%
2. Sports and exercise 50,9%
3. Excursions and experiences 37%
4. Improving youth centres 29,3%
5. Competitions and tournaments 28,1%
6. Yön yli kestävä toiminta nuorisotiloilla 26,9%
7. Digital gaming 24,4%
8. Arts and crafts 20%
9. Music and instruments 15,6%
Youth workers will carry out the ideas that received the most votes at youth centres and in their vicinity during autumn 2026. Each greater area in Espoo has a budget of EUR 10,000 for the implementation of the ideas. Our youth centres and social media channels will provide more information on the implementation of the ManiMiitti ideas in the autumn.
ManiMiitti is organised in cooperation between Youth Services and schools. Parties and operators linked to the young people’s ManiMiitti ideas will also be included in the process. Young people play an important role at all stages of the ManiMiitti process. Young people come up with ideas, vote on their favourites, and finally participate in the implementation of the chosen ideas.