Monday 22 February 2016

Johanna "Roju" Rojola awarded Comics Commissioner title

Johanna at the waterfront in Bujumbura, Burundi.

The Finnish Comics Society awards every five years the title of Comics Commissioner to persons who have significantly furthered the genre of comics. This year Johanna Rojola was awarded for her relentless work as an artist, producer, publisher, teacher and an activist spanning causes such as feminism, gender equality, global justice etc. 

She has paved the way for many female comics artists in Finland in one way or the other, being an inspiring teacher and mentor since the Nineties. There is a saying: Behind every successful female comics artist there is another woman. In Finland her name is Johanna Rojola.

Johanna has also participated in World Comics Finland's work, mainly as a workshop trainer. She has run workshops in Mozambique (1999 and 2005), Lebanon (2005), and Burundi (2010).

We all congratulate Johanna for the timely award, she really deserves it.

Leif Packalen

Johanna at a training workshop in Maputo, Mozambique in 1999.

Johanna sorting training manuals in Ngozi, Burundi in 2010