Who am I

Hello,

My name is Markku Jokinen. I have two sign names; one refers to my first name, the other to my surname. The combination of both is usually used in more official settings, but in more informal settings with friends or colleagues, only the one referring to my first name is used.

I want to tell you a bit about what I currently work with. For eight years, as many of you may know, I have held the position of President of the World Federation of the Deaf, WFD. I have now stepped down from that post, but that in no way means that I have severed all connections to WFD – I naturally continue to support the federation. But at the moment I focus my efforts on my work as Executive Director of the Finnish Association of the Deaf, FAD. Much can be done also in Finland to improve the quality of life and secure human rights for Deaf people of all ages in Finland, and to support and strengthen the FAD members, i.e. the Deaf Clubs in Finland.

One tool is of course the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD), which Finland has not yet ratified. The ratification process will take time, and participating in the process and promoting ratification is a major part of my work. Another important part of the work is participating more closely with the disability movement; we cannot work alone, but need the strength gained by cooperation.  I am at the moment Vice President of the National Disability Council of Finland, and the council also works actively for advancing the ratification process of the UN CRPD.

Shifting focus to Finland does not mean that we are no longer active on an international level. The Finnish Association of the Deaf is currently chairing and hosting the secretariat of the Nordic Council of the Deaf, a Nordic cooperating organ. In addition developments within the EU naturally influence us, so we closely follow the work of the European Union of the Deaf.

This – in short – is what my current work mainly consists of. But what about the future? In the future I want to continue working with the UN CRPD. Putting the Convention into practice after the ratification and securing that the Deaf and the Finnish Association of the Deaf is engaged in any activities, whether it is amending legislation or developing services, undertaken by different actors. It is also extremely important that the Deaf learn how to use the Convention as an effective tool here in Finland, and this will require extensive work in the future. The other issue I want to focus on is education in Sign language for learners of all ages. Education in Sign language enables empowerment and the skills and tools to work toward achieving human rights and equality for Deaf people both here in Finland and globally. These two themes will be guiding me in my work in the future.