Inclusion and participation mean everyone’s right to health, education, employment, livelihoods, housing and social relations. Every young person should have the opportunity to participate and influence matters concerning him or her and the development of society, in accordance with his or her own resources and opportunities. The aim of the project on the involvement of young people in Etelä-Savoon is to increase the participation and empowerment of young people from South Savo, regardless of the young person’s background and life situation. The project promotes and builds an operating model in which every young person is seen as an expert and partner in the development of their own environment, province and services that support well-being. For the province of Etelä-Savo, promoting the well-being of young people and preventing exclusion are keys to maintaining the region’s vitality. The project will target young people with fewer opportunities on the labour market, who will be offered low-threshold activities, which can participate according to their own resources. The project’s activities contribute to the progress of participants towards working life through activities that attract society and contribute to the discovery of their own voice and values. Despite their situation, young people in a challenging life situation must be seen as an important member of society, who must have the opportunity to influence, give feedback and be visible. At the heart of the activity is the slogan rising from the young people themselves: “Every young person is an expert.” The establishment of a provincial youth council can be seen as an important opening for the inclusion of young people in Southern Savo. The representative youth council is only one form of an inclusion structure, which, however, does not currently involve young people equally. In order to ensure that all young people are heard, strong channels must be built around and supported by the Youth Council, also in order to reach young people in a challenging situation in life. In one case, active young people find more effective channels of participation elsewhere, so it can be seen that participation is cumulative. (e.g. Netherlands 2013; Myllyniemi 2008). The project will build and test an operating model to bring social influence closer to the everyday life and environment of young people in different life situations. The project will increase young people’s working life and influence skills and promote social inclusion by creating new approaches to raise young people’s voices together with young people and young people. Not all young people have the capacity or the courage to participate in existing influence activities. New ways and ways of working are needed so that young people in different life situations find their own opportunities to influence and see themselves as an important and valuable part of the community and society. The Local Government Act and the Basic Education Act contain obligations to promote the inclusion of children and young people and to consult them. Each municipality must have a youth council or similar group of influencers, which must be given the opportunity to influence different sectors of activity. At provincial level, the law does not require this, but at this level too, efforts must be made to influence young people by developing the operating culture, creating enabling structures and enabling them to participate in the development of welfare services. The foundation of the Regional Youth Council of Etelä-Savo was based on the lack of participation of young people identified in the preparation of the regional reform (LAPE — Change Programme for Child and Family Services, Youth Voice in the Provinces and the South Savo Young Actors Project). The work started and carried out during these projects is not enough, but there is still a lot of work that needs development resources in order to achieve the real inclusion of young people. A non-partisan and religiously independent provincial youth council is a structure that promotes and supports the promotion of young people’s voice and perspective in Southern Savo. On the involvement of young people in the project “Energy-Savoon”, this structure is intended to be a visible opportunity to influence every young person. On the other hand, the culture of the young people already involved in the activities is broadened in a direction that appreciates the diversity of young people and takes into account different starting points. The increased social inclusion of young people participating in the project is also seen as a vital factor. During the project, cooperation between educational institutions will be strengthened and developed to strengthen the voice of young people in the province. Cooperation between educational institutions makes it possible to reach young people from different backgrounds across Southern Savo.