110 Tampere ninth graders want more local feel-good stories

One hundred ten Tampere ninth graders took part in the Tampere Business Race on Wednesday and said they want more positive local stories. The finding echoes a recent city school survey and comes as the city has launched 'Listen to Youth' campaign to hear teenagers' views, Tamperelainen reported.

They said they are most interested in event coverage, youth interviews, local school news and feel-good pieces, from frisbee golf results to reports on new shops and what students who have just started high school think of their new schools. Hatanpää pupil Danna Eronen said good news draws her in. Eugenia Kovalchuk summed up a dream headline: "All wars are over." Other teams mentioned early summer holidays, a new fast-food restaurant or a larger local grocery as examples of welcome headlines.

Organisers also gave pupils a 13-question information-search exercise using the freshly printed paper and online sources; many teams used smartphones and some consulted AI tools. When asked how to judge a social media story's trustworthiness, every group answered the same way: check the source. The Tampere Business Race is part of the city's work-life week. This year a record 110 ninth graders formed 22 teams and visited 88 stations hosted by local organisations including Ilves-Hockey, Nordea and Tredu.