Residents’ democracy - active neighbour relations
In resident activities, you have the opportunity to influence the comfort and sense of community in your living environment.
Apply to become a Castle Warden or a member of the Resident council
At AYY, residents have many ways to influence their own living comfort and develop housing. Residents can have influence as castle wardens, in house meetings, resident councils and the housing cooperative. Active residents are chosen at house meetings in November and December. Follow your building’s notice board to see the time of your meeting.
Castle wardens and house meetings
Each AYY property has its own castle warden. A castle warden is a trustee elected by the residents who acts as a contact person between the residents and the Student Union. The duties of the castle warden include observing the condition of the building and answering residents’ questions about the building.
Castle wardens are chosen at annual house meetings in November and December. The term of office is a calendar year. We regularly organise meetings and recreational events for castle wardens and provide training at the start of their term. A monthly fee of EUR 90 is paid for the assignment and they can use a castle warden’s ribbon and badge as an academic symbol.
House meetings are held every year and all residents of the building are welcome. The agenda is distributed on the notice board of the building and as a bulletin to each apartment. A castle warden and a resident council are elected at the meeting. In addition, current housing development areas can be discussed.
Resident council
House meetings can also appoint a resident council that can make proposals on living comfort, develop facilities and organise a variety of activities for residents. You can also forward development proposals to AYY and receive help for implementing the proposals. Resident councils receive funding from the Student Union for joint furniture purchases and social evenings, for example. We can implement a variety of ideas, such as decorating communal areas, arranging social evenings for residents and having influence on common sauna shifts in the building.
The resident council may include 3-8 people and is chaired by the castle warden of the building.
Housing Cooperative ASY
The purpose of the housing cooperative is to develop AYY’s housing as a whole. The members of the cooperative develop the activities of castle wardens and they can influence the housing regulations if they wish to do so. In addition, the cooperative appoints its representatives to the Housing Committee and the Financial Committee.
In January, 6-10 castle wardens and 2-3 student union representatives will be elected to the housing cooperative.
AYY cares about its residents and wants to develop housing based on students' opinions and ideas. You can ask AYY's Housing Advisors or your Castle Warden for more information about these tasks. You are always welcome to share your ideas for improvement!
Apply as a volunteer
Campus Section
The Campus section develops, maintains and activates the Otaniemi campus. It aims to create an even more enjoyable place to live and study, creating the requisites for student culture, community spirit, and wellbeing.
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