Johan Wesemann

The JWF Foundation was founded by and named after mr Johan Wesemann.  He is a renowned advocate for emancipation and equality for people with a disability in general, and deaf people in particular.

Johan is co-founder of the Dutch National association of the Deaf, the first director of the EUD (European Union of the Deaf), former board member of the WFD (World Federation of the Deaf), and he was chairman of the European Disability Forum  (the umbrella organization for all European national disability associations). In the last years of his active career, Johan has mainly focused on development projects for and by the deaf in Africa. He has realized projects in Uganda, Rwanda, Tanzania and Kenya, and South Sudan, on behalf of the organizations Kentalis International, VSO, and Light for The World. He became  a well-known expert in the field of development work for and by the Deaf.

In 1999 Johan received a Royal honors and was appointed ‘Officer in the Order of Orange Nassau’ by the Queen of The Netherlands, in recognition of his accomplishments for the Deaf community. In 2011 the ‘Johan Wesemann Award’ was installed by Royal Kentalis, his former employer. It is an encouragement award that is offered even two years for those who have contributed to emancipation of the Deaf community in The Netherlands.

At the moment Johan is retired and his ambition is focussed on sharing his knowledge, experience, and networks with the next generation activists, and to stand up for the most underprivileged deaf people in the world, especially in Africa. This was his motivation to establish the JWF Foundation.

Johan was born deaf and is married with Christina, who is also deaf. Together they have three hearing children. Currently he resides in The Hague with his wife.

Johan Wesemann in 2021 (picture: Reformatorisch Dagblad)

Johan Wesemann in South Sudan

A biography about Johan Wesemann was published in the autumn of 2020. The biography was written by Peter van Veen, who previously published the acclaimed book “Verhaal halen bij doven”. The biography is called “Branieschopper in een stille wereld” (troublemaker in a quiet world) and tells about both the life of Johan and the development of the Deaf community.

Johan’s life broadly parallels with important and historical developments in the deaf community. Starting in the 1950’s and 1960’s when there were hardly any facilities for the deaf and where deaf institutions ruled the lives of the deaf from cradle to grave. Later the 1970s and 1980s, which were dominated by the emancipation struggle of the deaf, their desire to break free from the suffocating influence of the hearing-led deaf institutions and the urge for more self-determination. Then came the 1990s and 2000, when the deaf definitely conquered their own position with access to facilities and an internationalization of the Deaf movement. Johan has experienced it all and played an important role. The biography tells about this fascinating history in an interesting and accessible way.

Both the books “Verhaal halen bij de doven” and the biography “Branieschopper are available in Dutch and can be ordered through our website. Please contact us for more information.