Aava Murto, from Vaasky in southern Finland, said she was having an “exciting day”.
Helsinki, Finland:
Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin faced a quieter-than-usual day on Wednesday after handing over power to a 16-year-old girl as part of a campaign to promote girls’ rights.
Aava Murto, from Vaasky in southern Finland, said she was having an “exciting day” as she confronted the media on the steps of parliament after meeting with the Chancellor of Justice.
Murto added that she had “learned new things about the legislation”.
In the afternoon, the student who is actively campaigning on climate and human rights issues was to meet with deputies and the Minister of Development and Foreign Trade.
Her message to policymakers was that girls “need to realize more of their importance and how they are as tech savvy as boys,” she told AFP.
“I think young people could teach adults to be more innovative and to think more about the future,” she added.
This exchange is part of a global “Girls Takeover” campaign by children’s rights charity Plan International, which aims to raise awareness of girls’ digital skills and opportunities in tech industries and to highlight the issue. online harassment against women.
Although Finland scores high in international comparisons for gender equality, women are still severely under-represented in tech companies and boards, while the share of women in the country who are entrepreneurs of technology-related studies is the lowest in the OECD.
The global campaign coincides with the United Nations International Day of the Girl, Sunday, and will also see girls serve as ministers in Kenya, Peru, Sudan and Vietnam.
Elsewhere, senior jobs at Microsoft, Samsung, Facebook and Twitter will go to teenage girls in countries like El Salvador, Guatemala, the Netherlands and the Philippines.
Finnish Prime Minister Marin, 34, became the world‘s youngest head of government when she took office in December, leading a coalition of five center-left parties that were all led by women .
Marin did not have the Wednesday completely free, because she participated in the budget negotiations in the morning.
A planned working breakfast with Murto was canceled at the last minute, but they were due to meet for a debriefing in the evening.
When asked if she would be interested in doing the full-time job in a few years, Murto told AFP: “That’s not for me to decide, but maybe, yes!”
