The first of two members of parliament to speak today was Ms. Wilma Newhoudt-Druchen from South Africa (right), who spoke on the "Global Rights of Deaf People and People with Disabilities and How We Implement Our Rights."
Of all the events this week, this human rights conference was the largest in terms of numbers of participants. About 70 representatives from 12 FAD projects attended, but another 500 or so deaf people from around the world also participated. I was surprised to meet several deaf people who have visited Cambodia or who have helped us with workshops there.
20 to 25 interpreters were always working simultaneously during these sessions. Here a row of interpreters (left) sit at the ends of row and interpreter the spoken English for the deaf people from their different countries. Standing in the background are interpreters for Swedish Sign Language and International Signs.
Another deaf woman Member of Parliament is Ms. Helga Stevens (left on stage) from the Flemish Parliament in Belgium. She is also an attorney and president of the European Union of the Deaf. Her family visited us in Cambodia last year.
Young deaf women in traditional Finnish dress lead a march through downtown Helsinki. The last week in September is celebrated as Deaf Awareness Week in countries throughout the world and was chosen as the opportune time for the celebration of FAD's 100th anniversary and the human rights conference.
Several hundred of the participants at the human rights conference were joined by another 500 or 600 Finnish deaf people from around the country. The march was quite impressive, stretching for perhaps three blocks. The marchers had signs prepared in advance and the police were on hand to stop traffic, and with the sunny weather, it was a pleasant afternoon activity.
The march was only about two kilometers long, about fifteen or twenty minutes of walking, and its destination was the Finnish Parliament building in downtown Helsinki. There Ms. Liisa Kauppinen, past president of the Finnish Association of the Deaf, addressed the crowd in sign language.
Flemish Member of Parliament Ms. Helga Stevens (red coat) speaks with Liisa Kauppinen while Markku Jokinen looks on. Markku replaced Liisa as president of the Finnish Association of the Deaf, and he is also president of the World Federation of the Deaf.
Officials from Parliament received a petition from the marchers. The petition asked for basic human rights, such as education and the equalization of services, be provided for deaf people in Finland.