1st

Participating in the SVC and STAND groups has been an eye-opening experience for me. Recently, I participated in creating an equality and non-discrimination survey to gather insights from the school community. Drafting the survey question was a collaboration process, and also required us to ensure the language was inclusive and easy to understand. Additionally, I also delivered a presentation to grades 6 and 8, where I introduced the survey and explained key terms like ‘equality’ and ‘non-discrimination’. 

Through this experience, I have gained a deeper understanding of the importance of creating inclusive spaces in school. Reviewing the policies and ensuring they comply with Finnish education law highlights how systemic change begins with small, and actionable steps. Personally, I have become more confident in my ability to advocate for a meaningful cause. Moreover, presenting to younger students will help to improve my public speaking skills. 

Moving forward, I’m excited to analyze the survey results and identify key areas for improvement within our school policies. Additionally, in the future, I plan to join other activities that are going to be hosted by the STAND group like the day we STAND together. 

2nd

Participating in The Day We STAND Together was a meaningful experience that allowed me to contribute to raising awareness and fostering a sense of community within my school. As part of the event, I was involved in Amnesty International Letters stations, which stand on the LGBTQ+ and BIPOC topics. This station aimed to educate students on human rights issues while providing them with ways to take action. My responsibility to this station is to explain the purpose of the Amnesty International Letters writing campaign, where students wrote letters advocating for individuals facing injustice.

In addition, I also gave a presentation to the younger students about the letter-writing campaign, introducing them to the people we were writing to and explaining why this effort matters. Speaking in front of younger students, I had to ensure my explanation was clear and easy to understand. This experience helped me develop my public speaking skills while also deepening my understanding of the impact of collective advocacy. 

Overall, this event reinforced the importance of teamwork and social responsibility. Engaging in this activity, I felt like I was making a small but meaningful difference. Moving forward, I hope to get a chance to contribute to similar initiatives that promote awareness and action for social change.

3rd

Last Wednesday, I participated in the equality and non-discrimation plan retreat as part of my work with the STAND group. This experience allowed me to analyze student responses from the school equality and non-discrimination plan last time. This survey allowed our school to know what changes to make in the curriculum, policies, and more inclusivity. 

During the retreat, I was in a small group with two teachers and another grade 11 student, where we examined general trends in the data. We identified key concerns raised by students and evaluated possible solutions. Our discussions focused on creating a more inclusive school environment and what changes could be realistically applied. The teachers also valued our input as students, asking for our perspectives on these issues, which made me feel that student voices truly mattered in shaping our school policies. 

After the discussion with our small group, we gathered as a whole big group to present our findings, where we highlighted the main challenges and proposed solutions. This experience helped me see the importance of collaboration between students and staff in bringing meaningful changes.

Through this retreat, I developed critical thinking skills by analyzing survey trends and problem-solving skills by discussing potential solutions with teachers.