Anu Juvonen has returned as Demo Finland’s Executive Director in the beginning of April. During her three-year leave, Juvonen was seconded by Finland as Senior Advisor in the Division for Civil Society and Democratic Innovation in the Council of Europe’s Democracy Unit. Juvonen has worked as Demo Finland’s Executive Director from 2016.
“At the Council of Europe, I created its first NGO handbook, in which I collected information about what the Council of Europe does and how NGOs can get involved”, says Juvonen.
“In addition, I worked closely with the independent expert group Expert Council on NGO Law and was a member of the Secretary General’s think tank to strengthen the role of civil society. Democracy has also gained a new impetus in the work of the Council of Europe after last year’s Reykjavik Summit, and Demo Finland’s work will certainly benefit from all this. We are already involved in co-organising an event planned to increase the visibility of the Council of Europe in Helsinki in May 2024.”
Rilli Lappalainen, Demo Finland’s Acting Executive Director since August 2023, returns to his position as Director for Sustainable Development at Fingo, the umbrella organisation of Finnish development NGOs.