Contact details
Name association: Finnish Association of Sign Language Interpreting
Name president: Ms. Liisa Halkosaari
Address: Maistraatinportti 4 A, 00240 Helsinki, Finland
Phone: +35 8 40 730 3755
E-mail: finland@tulkit.net
www.tulkit.net
SVT 1982-2008
The Finnish Association of Sign Language Interpreters (Suomen Viittomakielen Tulkit ry (SVT) is a national organization for aproximatedly 510 Finnish Sign Language interpreters. SVT was founded in 1982 and it has been a member of the European Forum of Sign Language Interpreters EFSLI since 1993 and a member of WASLI since 2004. SVT is part of Akava Special Branches. Akava special Branches with it's 22 independent affiliates is a member of AKAVA (the Confederation of Unions for Academic Professionals).
www.tulkit.net
International affairs:
Email: finland(@)tulkit.net
SVT: +358 40 7303755
SVT board: board2009(@)tulkit.net
Welcome to our webpages in English: www.tulkit.net.
Country Report
Suomen Viittomakielen Tulkit SVT
Finnish Association of Sign Language Interpreters
Facts about Finland:
Population: 5.3 million (September 2008)
The area of the country: 338 145 km²
Percentage of Deaf people: 0.15%, approx. 5000 Deaf Sign Language users, 750 Deaf-blind persons and 300 Deafened persons
The number of educated Sign Language interpreters: approx. 700 (active Sign Language interpreters 450, full-time interpreters 200-250)
The interpreter organization: Finnish Association of Sign Language Interpreters
Members: approx 510
Interpreter training: Two equal interpreter training programmes on Polytechnic Level: one at HUMAK University of Applied Sciences (in Kuopio and Helsinki) and Diaconia University of Applied Sciences (in Turku). Studies consist of 240 ECTS and take four years.
HUMAK and Diak are also offering a joint Higher polytechnic degree. The degree´s scope is 90 Credit and it takes two and a half years. The goal for the degree is to provide the necessary skills for development, research and management duties in the field of sign language interpreting.
HUMAK and Diak are also offering a joint Higher polytechnic degree. The degree´s scope is 90 Credit and it takes two and a half years. The goal for the degree is to provide the necessary skills for development, research and management duties in the field of sign language interpreting.
Both universities, HUMAK and Diak, are continuing to produce more up to date education via their projects for sign language interpreting in international settings, the EUMASLI Project and IISE-project.
Collaboration with The Social Insurance Institution of Finland (KELA) about the centralication prosess of sign language interpreting.
Ongoing negotiations for the national collective agreement
Collaboration with the Finnish Association of Translators and Interpreters and the Finnish Association of Translators
Interpreters´ annual educational seminar with the Finnish Association for the Deaf. Year 2008 the seminar was held in Finnish Sign Language. The topic was collaboration in interpreting.
negotiations for the national collective agreement for all sign language interpreters
Masters Degree programmes for Sign Language interpreters (both national, EUMASLI and IISE)
the centralization process of interpreting services to the state
Remarks on the new Interpreting Act.
negotiations for the national collective agreement for all sign language interpreters
Masters Degree programmes for Sign Language interpreters (both national, EUMASLI and IISE)
the centralization process of interpreting services to the state
Remarks on the new Interpreting Act.
Nordic Seminar 17.-18.4.
Make a strategy to 2010-2015
Centalization process & interprers' intrest