YoungTalk – A Meeting Place for Talent
YoungTalk is a co-creation initiative coordinated by Vaasa University of Applied Sciences (VAMK), built in the Vaasa region around young international talents and their visions for the future. YoungTalk brings students, young professionals, companies, higher education institutions, and regional decision-makers together around the same table to discuss what kind of place Vaasa is to live, study, work, and build a sustainable career. It is not a single event, but an operating model and platform that has evolved over the years, combining dialogue, practical development, and network-building.
The initiative was born from a genuine need: to ensure that young people’s experiences, ideas, and expertise become visible and influential in regional development.
Finland and Europe as a whole are undergoing a demographic transformation. The population is aging at the same time as the demand for skilled labour is increasing in sectors such as technology, energy, and services. International students and young professionals play a crucial role in this transition.
YoungTalk responds to this challenge by building bridges between young people and companies, international talents and regional stakeholders, as well as ideas and practical implementation. The goal is a Vaasa region that attracts talent and offers compelling reasons to settle down and become part of the local community.
The foundation of the initiative is inclusiveness. In YoungTalk, young people are not treated as a target group, but as active participants who contribute to selecting themes, creating content, and developing solutions together with companies and organizations.
A Shared Platform for Young Talent and Regional Stakeholders
For Companies and Organizations
YoungTalk is intended for companies and organizations that want to better understand the perspectives of young international talents and develop their operations together with them. YoungTalk provides direct access to future professionals and an opportunity to participate in discussions about recruitment, retention, and diverse workplaces. Through collaboration, the initiative helps build a sustainable talent base and strengthens the long-term attractiveness of the Vaasa region.
For Students and Young Professionals
YoungTalk is for you if you are an international student or a young professional at the beginning of your career and are considering what kind of future might await you in the Vaasa region. YoungTalk offers an opportunity to share your experiences, influence topics that affect you, and connect with regional companies and stakeholders through genuine interaction. Participation does not require previous experience or networks — interest in your future and a willingness to contribute are enough.
From Idea to Event — Powered by International Talent
YoungTalk is carried out by international talents themselves. The core idea is to provide young international professionals with a genuine opportunity to participate in planning and organizing the event from beginning to end. They are not merely participants, but key contributors and creators of the content. The organization of the event is supported by the RDI Director and the RDI Unit of Vaasa University of Applied Sciences, which provide the framework, expertise, and continuity for the initiative. However, the practical implementation and ideation are strongly driven by international talents themselves. This approach supports learning, participation, and the accumulation of practical experience while strengthening young international talents’ understanding of Finnish working life, event production, and collaboration with different organizations. At the same time, it creates a foundation for genuine dialogue and joint action in developing the Vaasa region.
Programme
International talents design YoungTalk’s themes and programme content based on their own experiences and perspectives.
Marketing
International talents participate in the event’s marketing and communications while utilizing their own networks to increase visibility.
Speakers
International talents take part in identifying and inviting speakers from companies, organizations, and international networks.
Practical Arrangements
International talents work as part of the organizing team during the event and are involved in the practical implementation on site.
The Journey of YoungTalk — From an Idea to a Shared Movement
YoungTalk emerged from a need to examine the development of the Vaasa region from a new perspective at a time when population aging and labour shortages have increased the importance of international expertise. The initiative was launched by Marja‑Riitta Vest, who at the time served as Director of the Ostrobothnia ELY Centre and is currently Director of RDI and Corporate Services at Vaasa University of Applied Sciences. The goal was to develop Vaasa and Ostrobothnia into a region that is internationally attractive, open, and vibrant — a place where young people and international talents can build meaningful lives.
From the very beginning, YoungTalk has been based on a bottom-up approach in which young people are not viewed as subjects of discussion, but as active contributors. Young people and international talents have been invited to share their experiences and perspectives and to develop solutions together with companies, public organizations, educational institutions, and regional decision-makers. The central idea has been that sustainable solutions emerge through open and equal dialogue between different stakeholders.
YoungTalk begins
YoungTalk is launched as a Nordic cooperation project initiated by Marja‑Riitta Vest. The background is a need to strengthen the attractiveness of the Vaasa region and to find new ways to support the long-term retention of young people and international talents in the area. From the very beginning, dialogue, co-creation, and the voices of young people are placed at the centre.
The Concept Takes Shape
The core idea of YoungTalk becomes clearer: young people and international talents are seen as active contributors rather than merely a target group. Bottom-up thinking, network collaboration, and multi-stakeholder development become established ways of working.
Collaboration and Themes Grow Stronger
YoungTalk’s activities become more structured and increasingly connected to regional networks. Themes are developed through co-creation, and the event model gradually evolves into a more clearly interactive concept.
YoungTalk22 and the Renewal of the Event Concept
YoungTalk22 is organized as part of the Wasa Future Festival. This year marks a significant development phase:
- the event concept is renewed (including Future Sitsit / Passion for Future)
- co-creation forms the basis of the entire process, from theme development to implementation
- digital tools such as Howspace are used to support discussions and document outcomes
- YoungTalk develops into an even more inclusive and open platform for dialogue
Towards Continuous Development
YoungTalk expands beyond a single event. The initiative is seen as an ongoing process of learning and collaboration in which lessons learned from previous years are utilized more systematically and networks continue to strengthen.
A Shared Platform for Building the Future
Today, YoungTalk serves as a shared platform where young people, international talents, companies, educational institutions, and public stakeholders develop solutions for the future of the Vaasa region together. The experiences of previous years provide the foundation for the next steps — with the goal of creating a region where young people and professionals want to build their lives also in the long term.
