Marjo Heinonen, Master of Health, was appointed to the position on 25 June.
The Vikes Board was convinced by Heinonen’s very strong experience in development cooperation and in the management of organisations and foundations.
Heinonen has served as Executive Director of the Abilis Foundation 2009-22, among others.
Heinonen has gained experience in various organisational roles in Finland and as an expert in developing countries: as an SPR/ICRC relief worker in Iraq, Syria, Eritrea and Afghanistan, as an expert in Sri Lanka, and as a physiotherapy teacher in Zambia.
The Foundation for Communication and Development is a development foundation set up in 2004 (registered in 2005) by 27 communication communities.
All Vikes projects relate to press freedom, more pluralistic media, journalists’ rights and communication.
We believe that freedom of expression is the lifeblood of democracy and that citizens need critical, unbiased information to exercise their democratic rights. In Finland, Vikes organises debates and training sessions for journalists and media students.
The Foundation is managed and represented by a Board of Directors. Vikes does not make a profit, does not pay its board members any fees and uses a lot of volunteer labour.