As many as 50,000 young people have gone missing – Reissumies urges us to listen to young people
More than half of young people wish adults would ask them how they are doing. With the help of experts, the iconic Reissumies wants to raise the issue of young people becoming marginalised and encourage all of us to listen to young people by asking the most important question of all: How are you?
Fifty thousand young people have already gone missing. They have been excluded from the community and become invisible to society. Youth exclusion is a major challenge in Finland. Reissumies wants to be involved in helping everyone find their own path.
“Every single young person left behind is one too many. We want to open a social debate on the situation and the well-being of young people to enable all young people to feel better. According to a survey we conducted last year, more than 70% of young adults felt that companies and brands should raise topical issues. We feel that as a large company we have the opportunity – even the responsibility – to raise value-based issues. With this campaign, Reissumies is supporting work to prevent exclusion to make it easier for young people to follow their own path,” says Ari Ahola who is responsible for the Reissumies brand at Fazer Bakery Finland.
Almost everyone knows a young person in a difficult life situation
A survey of young people commissioned by Fazer tells a stark story. Young people’s opinions and needs are not taken into account enough, and they do not receive enough support and encouragement. Difficulties do not come as a surprise – more than 80% of respondents know young people in a difficult life situation. One in ten young people (14%) say they cannot remember the last time an adult asked them how they were doing.
“The results are in line with the general state of young people’s well-being in Finland. Most are doing well, but a fifth of young people are dissatisfied with their lives. In the happiest country in the world, that’s too many. The results also show not only the uncertainty and feeling lost that is normal in young people’s lives, but also a sense of hope and care for others. It instils faith in a bright tomorrow,” says Reija Paananen, Adjunct Professor in Social Medicine at Diaconia University of Applied Sciences.
When young people were asked what kind of feelings their own situation evoked in them, the adjectives ‘uncertain’, ‘worried’ and ‘lost’ were repeated in their answers.
“Ears are the most important tools in our work. Young people don’t always get help when they need it, and they don’t always know where to go for help. We should remember that every young person needs to feel heard and seen – and that’s the responsibility of each and every one of us. It’s great that Reissumies is raising the issue and supporting the work for young people by setting an example,” says Minna Lahtela, who is responsible for the Walkers operation of the Children of the Station.
The survey also reveals issues that are worrying young people right now. These include the state of the world (31%), the general economic situation (23%) and their own livelihood (20%).
Young people see the family as a major resource, but they also need other people to support them. Two out of three (64%) respondents feel that it would be helpful if more adults took an interest in young people’s lives. The majority (76%) say that it is nice when someone cares about what is happening with them.
Hassan Maikal, Deata and Sandra Kurki join the Reissumies journey
Young people also see a light at the end of the tunnel. The survey found that many young people saw their own situation as quite positive – while they saw the situation of other young people as worse than their own. Two out of three felt they could affect their own lives and future. The majority of respondents, 84%, would be prepared to spend time supporting young people in a way that suited them.
Reissumies has got three young adults to share their personal experiences. Artist Hassan Maikal, influencer and YouTuber Deata and Sandra Kurki, an influencer and student with MS, have lent their faces to Reissumies’s autumn campaign. Each of them has spoken out about the prevention of exclusion and promotes tolerance of diversity through their work, which is why they have been chosen as the faces of the campaign.
“We are all responsible for youth exclusion and anxiety, both at an individual and national level. We can all make a difference to young people’s well-being through our own actions, and sometimes even one small action can make a difference. We can’t rely on the health services to sort it all out. But I can say from my own experience that there is hope for everyone: we just have to see it,” says Sandra Kurki.
With the Children of the Station, Reissumies wants to help those who have lost their way
The Reissumies campaign is a continuation of last year’s campaign, which aimed to broaden the brand’s male representation so that more men could feel accepted just as they are. This year, Reissumies is campaigning against youth exclusion by removing its image from its bread packaging for the month of November. The empty labels are a cry of alarm: Fifty thousand young people have already gone missing. One million packaging bags will be produced. The campaign also encourages people to get involved in voluntary work organised by the Children of the Station association.
Survey results in brief:
More than 80% of the respondents know young people or young adults who are in a difficult life situation right now. From the respondents’ perspective, young people’s opinions and needs are insufficiently taken into account, and they do not receive enough support and encouragement. There is also a general perception that it is difficult for young people to know where or from whom to seek help when they need it.
The family is seen as a major resource, but young people also need other people to support them. Two out of three (64%) respondents feel that more adults taking an interest in young people’s lives would be helpful. The majority (76%) say that it is nice when someone cares about what is happening with them.
Fazer conducted a “How am I doing? Life of young people through the eyes of young people” survey in October 2022 in partnership with Norstat. The survey was answered by 1,011 young Finns nationwide, aged 16–29.
Further information:
Tarja Kuusela, Communications Director, Fazer Bakery Finland
tel. +358 40 587 6063, tarja.kuusela@fazer.com
Children of the Station: Communication Manager Teemu Hanhineva,
tel. +358 40 900 4888, teemu.hanhineva@asemanlapset.fi
The Fazer media phone line is open Mon–Fri from 8 am to 4 pm, tel. +358 40 668 2998 media@fazer.com
Campaign page: www.oululainen.fi/mita-sulle-kuuluu
Social media:
Facebook: www.facebook.com/fazersuomi/
Instagram: www.instagram.com/fazersuomi
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/fazer/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/FazerGroup
Fazer Bakery Finland
Fazer is the bakery industry market leader in Finland. Fazer’s large bakeries are located in Vantaa, Lahti and Lappeenranta, Finland. The company also has more than 120 in-store bakeries in grocery shops where artisanal bakers make bread by hand on the shop premises using Finnish flour. In Finland, Fazer Bakeries employs approximately 1,600 people.
Fazer Group
Fazer, The Food Experience Company, enables people to enjoy the best moments of their day. Our mission, Food with a purpose, builds on our strong 130-year heritage, consumer first approach and innovations to create the sustainable food solutions of the future. With our dedicated team of professionals, we focus on fast-moving consumer goods and our direct-to-consumer business in the Nordics, Baltics, and beyond with exports to some 40 different countries Fazer’s operations comply with its Code of Conduct, which is based on the Group’s values and the UN Global Compact framework. In 2021, Fazer Group had net sales of 1.1 billion euros and employed approximately 8,000 people.
Northern Magic. Made Real.
Children of the Station
Children of the Station supports the safe growth of children and young people, as well as their natural interaction with adults The organisation works not only with children and young people, but also with people who are present in their lives, and wants to influence society in a way that makes it a better place for young people. Children of the Station is a politically and religiously unaffiliated national organisation established in 1990. www.asemanlapset.fi
