Yên Mai
Finnish Youth Research Network
Finland

Yên Mai: is a doctoral student at University of Helsinki, Finland. She holds a master degree in social sciences from University of Helsinki. Her research focuses on young people, youth activism, gender/sexuality, queer issues, and educational reform. This article was written when she worked at the Finnish Youth Research Network in Helsinki.

Sofia Laine
Finnish Youth Research Network
Finland

Sofia Laine: is a university researcher at University of Helsinki, Finland. She holds a PhD in Development Studies. She’s currently a member of the Pool of European Youth Researchers (the PEYR) in the youth partnership between the European Commission and the Council of Europe. Her multidisciplinary research has focused on young people, political engagements and democracy in multiple European, Mediterranean and global settings. Her ongoing research focuses on the links between young people’s global and local political engagements (within institutions and organisations, in different social movements, and as an individual life politics). This article was written when she worked as a post-doctoral researcher at the Finnish Youth Research Network (the FYRN) in Helsinki, Finland in a project ‘Youth and Political Engagement in Contemporary Africa’ (YoPo) funded by Academy of Finland [258235] IP: E. Oinas.