Pirkko Mahlamäki Biography

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Ms Pirkko Mahlamäki (Master of Arts, Master of Laws) served as Secretary-General of the Finnish Disability Forum from 2000 to 2021 and was the first Policy Officer of the European Disability Forum (EDF) from 1997 to 1999. She has been a member of the EDF Board since 2013. Since 2022, she has chaired EDF’s Women’s Committee and represents the Finnish Disability Forum in the European Women’s Lobby (EWL).

She served as an expert member of the Finnish delegation to the United Nations Ad Hoc Committee that prepared the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) between 2003 and 2006. She has also been actively involved in Nordic cooperation, serving as a member of the Nordic cooperation body of disability organisations since 2001 and as a deputy member of the Council for Nordic Cooperation on Disability, an advisory body to the Nordic Council of Ministers, since 2013.

Pirkko has participated in numerous European campaigns and projects, including the EURADE project, which promotes participatory research for disability equality. She has been actively involved in the development and management of personal assistance schemes and independent living arrangements, which have enabled her own continued professional and academic engagement.

Originally trained as a translator in English and French, she specialised in legal translation and disability-related terminology. Since 2015, she has served as a member of the Non-Discrimination and Equality Tribunal of Finland.

In recognition of her significant contribution to disability rights and anti-discrimination work, she was awarded the Order of the White Rose of Finland in 2009, as well as the Human Rights Award of the Finnish League for Human Rights in the same year.