Vanessa Westerlund

Background

About Vanessa Westerlund

Hello there! I’m Vanessa - a political scientist passionate about inclusion, diversity and good governance. OBJECTIVE: LEAVE NOBODY BEHIND They say you should dream big. Well my dream is that absolutely no one should be left behind. I want to contribute to a society that takes good care of its citizens and enables everyone to be active members of society. For this reason I’ve gravitated towards positions where I’ve been able to raise and develop the inclusion of minorities (in my case being immigrants, people with intellectual disabilities, Swedish-speaking Finns i.e. minority language rights). METHOD: INCLUSION Currently, I work as an advocacy and policy officer at FDUV (Inclusion Finland). We are a human rights organization that fights for equal rights and inclusion for Swedish-speaking Finns with intellectual disabilities and their families. We are actively raising disability rights through advocacy work and information dissemination. We reach out to policy makers, public officials, the media and the public because only together are we able to create a more inclusive and equal society. Do you want to know more about FDUV, intellectual disabilities or minority rights? Message me here or send a message my way at vanessa.westerlund@fduv.fi