It is thought that the first deaf associations were established in France. In the 1830s, a community was founded in Paris, which arranged annual festive dinners that attracted deaf people even from outside France. Gradually, deaf associations began to emerge in the course of the 19th century. In Finland, deaf people set up associations in the late 19th century and an umbrella organisation, the Finnish Association for the Deaf, was founded in 1905.

The goal of these associations was to improve the social situation of their members, but they also served as a place where deaf people could freely communicate in sign language. In the course of its century-long history, the Finnish Association for the Deaf has developed into a strong expert and advocacy organisation. It has carried out important work for equality and strengthening the status of sign language.

In Finland, deaf people were the first group of people defined as people with sensory disabilities to set up their own associations in the late 19th century. At the same time, associations were assuming a more active role in society and, for example, the first workers’ associations began operations. Similarly to workers’ associations, the deaf associations were aimed at improving their members’ status in society. Therefore, the associations were first and foremost advocacy groups that opened up a whole new world for deaf people. Charity organisations were also founded in the late 19th century. One of these organisations was the Kuuromykkäin Auttajayhdistys (Assistance of Deaf-Mutes), founded in 1897 by hearing people.

In connection when referring to the history of deaf associations, a story of meetings at the home of the deaf teacher Fritz Hirn and his wife Maria is often mentioned. Deaf people from the Turku region would often gather at the Hirns, mainly to converse in sign language and discuss matters that were important to deaf people. When deaf visitors from the countryside arrived in Turku, the Hirns offered them a place to stay. Fritz Hirn had contacts with Swedish teachers and active association members. In the 1870s, he had learned about the activities in the Swedish associations and local activists had encouraged him to set up an association in Finland. Because an increasing number of pupils graduated from the Turku school for the deaf and Hirn hoped to achieve a quieter home life, he decided to arrange a meeting to organise an association. The rules of the association were approved in 1886, stating that the goal of the association was to promote its members’ social, educational and judicial status.

The story of the association founded in Helsinki in 1895 is similar to that of the Turku association. In the 1890s, a small circle of acquaintances began to gather regularly in the home of Valter Stadius. Helsinki did not have its own school for the deaf but former pupils from the schools in Porvoo and Turku had moved to the town. People had become aware of the association’s activities in Turku and wondered whether the same was possible in Helsinki. When the sculptor Albert Tallroth moved to Helsinki, the project gained a new primus motor. Tallroth proved an active promoter of deaf associations, and it was partly thanks to him that Tampere and Vaasa got their own associations. The first chairman of the association was the Hirns’ hearing son, Julius, who worked as a journalist in Helsinki.

The early activities of the Helsinki association are a fitting example of the significance of such associations. The main activity was Sunday school, arranged to plug a hole left by insufficient schooling given to deaf pupils. It also offered more informal entertainment, such as pantomime performances and nature trips. Sewing and sports clubs also operated as part of the association. Money was collected for the poor by establishing a sickness fund using money from evening events.

Right from the outset, the associations carried out diverse activities. The programme included meetings and a wide range of celebrations and functions where the members could enjoy themselves with friends. The associations also offered opportunities for gaining new skills and knowledge and engaging in other pastimes. There were theatre, woodwork, handicraft and chess clubs. The first athletics clubs were founded in the early 20th century, and they fostered a team spirit and promoted well-being. Many of the associations had a summer house where the members could spend their summer holidays.

Educational goals were important to the associations, which arranged regular lectures by lecturers such as employees of the Finnish Association for the Deaf and travelling ministers for the deaf. These lectures were often livened up with magic lantern images and reading was promoted through circulating library boxes. The associations served as channels of informal information, including news on important events and the latest gossip.

More general meetings were arranged, with the next one held in Helsinki in 1900. This event attracted more than 200 participants and matters related to education, professions and sign language were discussed. The single most important matter discussed at the meeting was the establishment of a national central organisation, the Finnish Association for the Deaf. This was important because deaf people lived far apart from one another in different parts of the country and only a few locations had their own associations. At the meeting, a board was elected for the new association and tasked with preparing a proposal for the rules of the association.

Under these proposed rules, the national association’s tasks included advocacy, determining the living conditions of the deaf, promotion of spiritual and material well-being, establishment of local associations, arrangement of general meetings, ombudsman activities and the publishing of magazines for the deaf. However, Finland’s Senate, to which the proposal was submitted, declined to approve it because political oversight in Finland had become stricter and extended to cover associations.

In 1905, the third general meeting convened in Helsinki, with almost 500 deaf people taking part. Once the political situation in the country became easier, the Senate approved the rules and the organisational meeting could be held. During its first years, the association promoted deaf education, employment opportunities for deaf people, pastoral care and temperance and athletics club operations.

In the early stages of the association’s operations, collecting funds for the activities presented a significant challenge. When the association finally received donations, it could hire its first employees. John Sundberg acted as the association’s first official, working with travelling officials hired for a fixed period. The first of these were Eelis Vilkki and Hulda Hakala. The travelling officials were tasked with offering advice and assistance on the establishment of regional associations, and they also served as unofficial channels of information. Hulda Hakala also attached proposals for improving the situation of deaf people and developing the association’s work methods to her travel reports.

Once these officials began visiting different parts of the country, informing people about associations and their activities, new associations were founded at an increasing rate. By 1911, the national organisation had 16 branches. In the 1930s, the number of deaf associations continued to increase and in 1938 the Finnish Association for the Deaf consisted of 29 associations. Altogether, the associations had more than a thousand members. Because the Finnish Association for the Deaf had limited resources, ministers for the deaf also acted as their representatives.

In the 1930s, the national association made an effort to arrange training, thereby improving the opportunities for further training for deaf people. The associations arranged study clubs/circles covering mostly practical topics, such as household management, taxes or accounting. Other activities, such as scouts, were also arranged.

At first, the Finnish Association for the Deaf was led by deaf people and people who knew the deaf community well. However, from the beginning of the 1920s until the mid-1930s, the association was headed by people who regarded it important to integrate deaf people into the hearing society. At this time, the activities focused on training and education. When people who were better aware of the needs of the deaf community took over at the helm, the goals of the association were redefined. For example, in the 1930s, deaf Rurik Pitkänen acted as the editorial coordinator of Kuurojen Lehti (Magazine of the Deaf). Having strong views on the rights of deaf people, he encouraged the associations to trust their own abilities.

Over the decades, views on the status of sign language differed, largely depending on the background of the person in charge. In addition to education, oralism influenced the activities of the associations. Even when oralism was the prevalent ideology, the deaf community continued to use sign language as its means of communication, thanks to the operations of the associations. Pupils learned sign language in the school dormitories and continued using it in the associations, and the establishment of new associations helped make the use of sign language more common. When the share of deaf people that had received tuition in spoken language increased, it also affected the appreciation of speech skills.

For a long time, the operations of the Finnish Association for the Deaf remained unchanged, mainly because of insufficient funding. For quite some time, for example, the association’s secretary was its only employee. In addition, legislation was discriminatory and sign language was not appreciated. This made it impossible for deaf people to achieve an equal standing in society.

In the late 1950s, the organisation’s finances improved, and its operations began to expand, thanks to the support from the state and Finland’s Slot Machine Association. It could now support regional associations and promote sign language. In addition, the associations gradually attracted younger members who began to campaign to improve the situation of deaf people. The organisation was reformed and committees run by volunteers were set up. Prominent activists of the era included Jaakko Väisälä, Runo Savisaari, Emil Mattila, Ragnar Östman and Aura Ahlbäck. Important matters that were discussed at the time included improving the status of sign language, advisor and interpreter issues and youth activities. Full-time employees were hired for advocacy work in the 1970s, and the Deafness Awareness movement that became active in the 1980s changed the way deaf people viewed themselves and their language.

Gradually more efficient fundraising and increased state support enabled the organisation to operate more effectively. The organisation developed its activities and communications, a social adviser network was set up and a sign language secretary was hired. New influential leaders also began their work in the organisation at the time. They included Jarmo Narmala, Esko Sänkiniemi and Liisa Kauppinen.

By the 1980s, the association had grown to a size where its organisation needed restructuring, which gave rise to different departments and units. The operations moved to the next level when the assosiation moved to Valkea Talo (Light House), a multipurpose facility for hearing organisations, in the late 1980s. The building also housed a cultural centre, Folk High School for the Deaf and a video production centre.

In 1987, Finland assumed a prominent role internationally when the World Federation of the Deaf held its congress in Finland, Liisa Kauppinen was elected the General Secretary and the federation’s secretariat relocated to Helsinki. At this point, the federation’s focus shifted to the deaf people in developing countries. In the 1990s, regional cooperation began with Russia and other ex-Soviet countries. New doors opened for promoting sign language in Europe when Finland joined the EU in 1995.

In the 1990s, the Finnish Association for the Deaf advocated strongly for increasing employment among deaf people and promoting communications, the work of the associations and language rights. An important goal for advocacy work was achieved in 1995 when the constitution was amended to guarantee the rights of people who use sign language. Employment and training programmes were launched to reduce unemployment among deaf people. Important steps in access to information included the launch of TV news in sign language in 1994. In the 2000s, a current affairs show, Viikko viitottuna (the week in sign language), began airing, and subtitling in television programmes became more common.

Over the years, the nature of association activities has changed, and the events are mainly attended by older people but, at the same time, younger generations have forged new networks that are not dependent on geographical location with the help of modern technology. This has made the deaf community increasingly international. However, it still remains a close-knit community.

The situation of deaf people in Finland is now better than ever. The status of sign languages is protected in the constitution, the sign language committee of the Institute for the Languages of Finland ensure they can maintain their language skills, the University of Jyväskylä teaches sign language as a major subject and interpretation services are protected by law. The Sign Language Act, passed in 2015, is designed to promote the rights of people who use Finnish or Finland-Swedish sign language. Under this law, people who use sign language are truly regarded as a cultural and linguistic group.

However, we are still some way from full equality. The goal of the Association for the Deaf is to ensure that deaf people who use sign language are on an equal standing with everyone else in all areas and at every stage of their lives. In the 2000s, Carl Oscar Malm’s dream of equality for deaf people is finally becoming reality.