SHINES A SPOTLIGHT ON INCLUSION AND RECOGNITION.
EDITOR & FOUNDER
Lyndsay Jensen - lyndsay@the-intl.com
MANAGING DIRECTOR & PARTNER
Kenneth Macalpine - kenneth@the-intl.com
CONSULTING EDITOR
Conrad Egbert
GRAPHIC DESIGN
The International
WRITERS TEAM
IIN THE TAPESTRY of August's vibrant summer colours, we find ourselves immersed in a month of celebration and reflection. As we revel in the kaleidoscope of colours that Pride Month shows off, we also turn our gaze towards the symphony of voices that converged at Denmark's Folkemøde during June, an embodiment of democracy's harmonious chords. Amidst this interplay of celebrations, our editorial seeks to cover the significance of unity, recognition, and inclusion that we must embrace in our society.
The LGBTQ+ community's journey towards acceptance and equality is a testament to the human spirit's resilience and unwavering determination. Pride Month amplifies their voices and stories like a vivid brushstroke on society's canvas. We stand shoulder to shoulder with those who have fought arduously for the right to express love and identity authentically. The symphony of voices at Folkemødet resonates with the same spirit, advocating for open conversations that dissolve barriers and deepen understanding.
Folkemødet, Denmark's festival of democracy, embodies unity in diversity. Just as the LGBTQ+ community gathers to amplify their voices, this festival brings together diverse perspectives, encouraging dialogues and debates that foster inclusivity seizing the opportunity to engage in thoughtful conversations, recognising that a harmonious society values and acknowledges all its constituents.
As August unfolds, we find ourselves transitioning from leisure to routine, saying goodbye to relaxing summer days and welcoming the rhythms of work and education. Amidst these familiar pathways, it is crucial to remember the vibrant diversity that colours our lives. Welcoming new internationals to Denmark is a chance to broad-
en our horizons and acknowledge those who have already chosen this country as their own.
The true wealth of Denmark lies not just in its landscapes but in the narratives of its people. Internationals seamlessly integrated into Danish society bring unique stories, experiences, and talents. Their resilience and aspirations are deserving of recognition. We glimpse the intricate web that connects us as a global community when we share their stories in our monthly publication.
Folkemødet beckons us to embrace diverse perspectives, reminding us that the most enriching dialogues arise when we embrace the voices within our borders. By spotlighting these hidden gems, we illuminate the richness of cultural exchange and the strength that emerges from unity.
In this August issue, we celebrate more than just the arrival of new faces. We pay homage to the unsung heroes who have travelled continents, bridged cultures, and chosen Denmark as their adopted country. Their stories, dreams, and aspirations are integral threads woven into the fabric of our nation. They remind us that our collectiveness is a harmonious fusion of countless backgrounds and perspectives, a vivid mosaic that makes Denmark a global home.
So, as we navigate August, let us uphold the values of unity, recognition, and inclusion. May we draw inspiration from Pride Month's courage and Folkemødet's harmonious dialogues and strive to create a society where every voice is heard, celebrated, and cherished. In embracing the diverse threads that compose our nation's narrative, we pave the way for a future of understanding, acceptance, and shared prosperity.
Love,
LYNDSAY JENSENEDITOR & FOUNDER
THE-INTL.COM
Ophelia Wu; Alexandra Beck; Mariano Davies; Monika Pedersen; Sara R. Newell; Michaela Medvedova; Natasha Liviero; Heather Storgaard; Jane Elgård Petersen; Natália Šepitková; Luke Hannon; Nanna Hauch; Rikke Skak Harboe; Dominic J Stevenson; Sarah Redohl (Guest writer)
COVER PICTURE
Terumi Mascarenhas - www.fjordfoto.dk
SOCIAL MEDIA TEAM
Head of SoMe
Shivangi Singh - shivangi@the-intl.com
SoMe Ambassadors
Michaela Medvedova; Aina Masood; Ane-Sophie Custura; Terumi Mascarenhas; Leslie Noygues; Shelly Pandey; Shivangi Singh; Ritika Jain; Pavlos Tsiakoumis; Sakib Akhter; Rashmi Jadhav; Shaeema Zaman
SALES
sales@the-intl.com
The International is published online 12 times a year. This issue was published on 14 August 2023.
Notice: The publishers regret that they cannot accept any liability for error or omissions contained in this publication. The opinions and views presented need not necessarily reflect those of the publishers. Readers are advised to seek special counsel before acting on any information contained herein. All rights reserved. No part of this publication or contents thereof may be reproduced, stored or transmitted in any form without written permission from the publishers. Published by and © 2021 The International ApS. Registered in Denmark / CVR Number: 39118181
Panel & MIX screening of ”No Hard Feelings.” Nicholas Chisha from LGBT Asylum is part of the panel after MIX screens the film ”No Hard Feelings” in Cinemateket.
Location: The tent at Kvægtorvet
Come meet us all week in our tent at Kvægtorvet (Vesterbro, in front of Øksnehallen), where you can also buy our cool merchandise to support our cause.
Location: STRONG exhibition
LGBT Asylum and photographer Thomas Cato exhibit 12 portraits of LGBT ASYLUM’s members under the title STRONG in Øksnehallen.
Location: Asylum, Art and Action
We are hosting the event “Asylum, Art and Action” at Union KBH.
Workshop: How do you prove you’re queer?
Location: Union KBH
We are organising the workshop ”How do you prove you’re queer?”, 1:1 Democracy Festival, Debate tent 1, Kvægtorvet.
LGBT Asylum Speech at the WorldPride show “Under the Rainbow.”
Location: Debate tent 1, Kvægtorvet
Mohamed Sourity from LGBT Asylum will speak at the WorldPride show “Under the Rainbow” at K. B. Hallen & Fælledparken.
Location: Nørrebro Pride & WorldPride
We will march as a group in both Nørrebro Pride (12:00 from Nørrebro Station) and WorldPride (15:20 from Sorte Plads).
Location: Nørrebro Station & Sorte Plads
Summer Semester Art Classes Announcement! It's not too late to sign up....
Join us in August as we embark on an unforgettable artistic journey through the mesmerising mediums of acrylics, drawing, and watercolour. Whether you're a complete beginner or a seasoned artist, our classes are tailored to cater to all levels of expertise.
Graphite & Pastels: https://bit.ly/3BSLBhj by Art-Attitudes
Watercolor: https://bit.ly/3WoiBYe by Idα Glαd - Art Connects
Oil Painting Wednesdays: https://bit.ly/45n5wmb by Artist Melanie Smith
Kid's Art Exploration: https://bit.ly/45yrdjs by Studio Noack
Fundamentals of Acrylic Painting: https://bit. ly/3ML769d by Artist Melanie Smith
Oil Painting Sundays: https://bit.ly/43lQyeB by Artist Melanie Smith
Expressive Portrait Painting: https://bit.ly/3IwdTlN by Idα Glαd - Art Connects
Learn at Your Own Pace! We believe in nurturing your artistic abilities at a pace that feels comfortable to you. Our dedicated and experienced artists will be there every step of the way, providing expert guidance and support, ensuring that you feel confident in your creative exploration.
To register or learn more, visit our website www.artescapestudios.dk or DM us. We can't wait to embark on this creative adventure with you!
What to do to fit in? How do you communicate effectively with Danes? Is it worth learning Danish? What are the major cultural differences? If you want to find out, then please consider joining us on 16th of August for an engaging panel discussion.
Embark on a transformative journey of living and working in Denmark as an international, enriched with valuable insights. Join our panel debate to explore the keys to thriving and enjoying a fulfilling life while navigating your new environment.
The panel debate will be moderated by Leslea Petersen. Leslea is British married to a Viking who landed on the Danish shores 16 years ago and is the CEO of English Job Denmark. With over 20 years’ communications experience in both the business & not-for-profit sectors, Leslea is passionate about coaching professionals and businesses in retaining international talent. Leslea has been a member of PWN Copenhagen for nearly 2 years and is an executive board member and treasurer.
Joining the panel is Keri Bloomfield, who relocated from New Zealand to Denmark in 2016 with her Danish partner. Keri is the author of 'Nothing Like a Dane,' a captivating and humorous account of establishing a new life in a distant land, published in 2022.
Stay tuned for the announcement of additional guests who will join the panel debate and looking forward to seeing you there!
FOR MORE INFO: HTTPS://FB.ME/E/Z06QMIAA
Networking 101
How to network in Denmark as an international?
Introduction to Networking: Learn the basics of networking, including the importance of building relationships, active listening, and finding common interests.
Pizza Making
DIY Pizza Bar: Create your own personalized pizzas from a selection of pre-prepared dough, sauce, and a variety of toppings.
Easy Pizza Recipes: No advanced cooking skills required! Our team will guide you through simple pizza making steps suitable for everyone.
Casual Networking
Networking Session: During the pizza making process and dinner, enjoy casual conversations with your peers in a relaxed and friendly environment.
Group Discussions: Gather in small groups to discuss shared interests, study experiences, and tips for living in Denmark.
Pizza Feast & Bonding
Communal Dining: Sit together with your freshly made pizzas and enjoy a hearty dinner while getting to know your new connections better.
Story Sharing: Share your favorite memories or cultural insights with the group, fostering understanding and appreciation for each other's backgrounds
FOR MORE INFO: HTTPS://FB.ME/E/4A2CU9PMC
Join a Newcomers' Info Evening specially tailored to all international professionals and accompanying partners new to Aarhus. Internationals who do not live in Aarhus are also very welcome to join. Some of the services mentioned in this event will only be relevant for newcomers to Aarhus, but a great deal of the information given is valuable independent of where you live.
Newcomers' Info Evening is dedicated to giving you a head start on life in Aarhus and Denmark and we will do our very best to guide you on:
• The practical stuff - including "the digital Denmark", “need-to-know websites” "who can help you find a job?"
• Tips and guidance on how to build a social network with Danes and other internationals
• Understanding Danish culture, social norms, and values
The event will be held as a hybrid event meaning that you can join us physically at Dokk1, where you will meet other newcomers and enjoy a light refreshment, or you can join the event as a live stream (via Teams) if you haven't relocated to Denmark yet or wish to join from home. The event is free to attend but sign-up is mandatory. Please sign up for each person separately.
FOR MORE INFO: NEWCOMERS' INFO EVENING
Discover your port with free experiences in the Port of Copenhagen on the last weekend in August.
Kulturhavn Festival is an annual event that brings art, culture and movement to the Port of Copenhagen. With curiosity and enthusiasm, we explore the city's blue-green oases and invite everyone on an adventure in the harbour. In 2023 you can experience Kulturhavn at our two festival sites in the harbour: Saturday 26 August at Teglholm Brygge in Sydhavnen and Sunday 27 August at Orientkaj station in Nordhavn. See the programme at www.kulturhavn.kk.dk/en
Entrance to the Kulturhavn Festival is free - however, some events may require registration. You can find the registration link under the programme on our website.
About this year's festival sites
Saturday 26 August at 10:00-18:00 the trip goes to Teglholm Brygge with a view of the Teglværkshavnen and one of the city's newly arrived harbor baths.
Address: Teglholmsgade 10E, 2450 Copenhagen SV Sunday, August 27 at 10:00-17:00 Kulturhavn moves to Orientkaj st. in Nordhavn, which is both the terminus for the city's harbor bus and metro (line M4).
FOR MORE INFO: HTTPS://FB.ME/E/2VYRZH2FS
Dear Zumba Family!
See you on SUNDAY, 27th of August at 13:00 at Nordhavn, Orientkaj Station. You can find the full program of the festival with description here: https://kulturhavn. kk.dk/program
Event is free of charge. Invite your friends and let's dance together!
LOCATION: Kulturhavn Festival, Nordhavn, Orientkaj Station (follow the signs on the spot).
Photos/videos that will be taken during our classes might be used as the future marketing materials. Don't forget a bottle of water, a towel, a sunscreen or a warm jacket/ raincoat depending on the weather conditions. See you soon!
Facebook: Zumba with Irina Cernova Instagram: @irinacernova
FOR MORE INFO: HTTPS://FB.ME/E/1BDE8XTEU
A value-driven community that welcomes students ages 4-16.
Rygaards has a strong reputation of a rich educational experience with a nurturing atmosphere where students learn to think for themselves, find their own voice, and engage with the world with confidence and curiosity. •
FROM HER TIME AS A VOLUNTEER FOR CRIME VICTIMS TO HER TENURE AS AN EDUCATOR AND SCHOOL DIRECTOR, TINA WHITTINGTON IS AN EXAMPLE OF HOW SHOWING UNDERSTANDING FOR PEOPLE AND ISSUES AROUND US CAN CONTRIBUTE TOWARDS IMPROVING THE WORLD.
WWHEN TINA DECIDED school wasn't helpful, she left it behind. When she wanted to help people beyond her day job, she got a counselling degree and became a victim counsellor. When she wanted to experience the world, she moved to Denmark and participated in a volunteer project in Zambia.
Tina Whittington has always forged her own path and found a way to support others.
Tina was born in Machester – which is generally a very multicultural city. “You have a lot of first and second-generation people from African countries, Caribbean countries, India, China, or other Asian countries. But then, we went to live in a majority-white town and were the only black family in a relatively good-sized town. There were a lot of small racist comments and people crossing boundaries by touching my hair. I hated it!” Happily, since then, the town has changed, and whenever Tina returns for a visit, she sees many ethnicities in the town she grew up in.
At age 16, she went back to Machester to work. “There’s much nightlife, and the daylife is exciting, too. It’s not a beautiful city - if you want beauty, you must go to Bath, York, or other places. But I love the vibe of Manchester! People are very down to earth. It’s not that I miss it now that I live in Denmark because I love my life here, but when I return, I can relax more when I communicate with the locals as it’s my mother tongue. In Denmark, I have to make myself understood more clearly.”
Sixteen might seem like an early age to leave school - but in the United Kingdom, that’s when a young person finishes their exams. There are, of course, many people who continue their education and head for university. “I don’t come from a background where my parents had been at university. I’m from a working-class family, growing up with my four siblings.” But planning to go to university was the case for all Tina’s friends, her older sister - and Tina herself. “But when I sat my exams, I felt I didn’t learn anything. I left school without knowing how to open a bank account or other practical things about living in society. So at 16, I said this is enough and left school.”
Her friends and family were surprised and said she might regret it and needed an education. “But, I‘ve never regretted leaving school, and have been very lucky in my career - and also because I worked hard - to find companies who were ready to embrace me for who I was and gave me the room to grow, with lots of responsibility. My daughter is 16 now, and I think, oh man, I was her age once,” Tina laughs.
For several years after that, she was doing administrative work. But when she was about 24, she did a counselling course at night school to support people with issues they needed to discuss.
At that point, she started working with women subject to domestic violence, rape, and other assaults at an organisation called Victim Support. “When I started doing my counselling, I tried with different organisations in the UK. Some required a 48-hour shift, but I was working, and I couldn’t do that, even if it were only once a month. Victim Support was the most open for what I was looking for and what I could offer.”
Victim Support is a charity that works with victims of crime. When people have given a police report, they are always asked if they want to speak to someone to share what they’ve been through. That’s where volunteers like Tina come in. “I was always ready when they asked me. Some people said: I don’t want to drive more than 5 miles from home, so I was ready to go where needed.” Then she was asked if she would like some training to work with women who were victims of sexual assault and other crimes. After some deliberation, she accepted and went through the training. “Every time I met a new woman, I thought: How can I support this person in this very traumatic time in her life? Many times, it was people who needed to talk - and needed someone to listen. Unless it’s a deep psychological issue, people can often find their solutions; and discover them just by hearing their words repeated back to them.”
Some of the women she only saw once; sometimes, she saw someone once a week for several months. “The longest time I was with a woman was weekly for a year and a half
after a violent episode. Then, at one point, she said she was ready to move on. It was very challenging - some of the situations people encountered were very distressing - but seeing how women managed to move on with their lives was also very rewarding.”
While volunteering, she was still also working as an office manager and working in a domestic violence unit on the weekends. By then, she thought she’d like to work with these women full-time. “However, my lack of qualifications often came up as many people said they would like to work with me - but they also had other people who were qualified and had lots of years of experience. At the same time, I wanted to travel, and then I saw an advert in a magazine for a school in Denmark offering a training programme and volunteer work in an African country.” She kept the magazine but wasn’t ready to give up her life, job, and house - until one day when she was walking home from work and thought: Will this be my life when I’m 50, walking down the same road, not having experienced something else?
So, in 1999, Tina took the opportunity to come to Denmark for six months, complete a training period at the DRH Holsted school, and then travel to a development project in Zambia for another six months. “I went to Zambia to work with DAPP (Development Aid from People to People) on an HIV and AIDS project, working with an orphan programme and starting clubs in schools for young people to learn about the disease. At that time, HIV and AIDS were ravaging parts of Africa, people were dying, and there was a big need for people to have more understanding about it - and a big focus on the youth.”
While the six months spent on the project were very rewarding, Tina also enjoyed her time in Denmark. “I did many things for the first time. I never had to hitchhike before because I always had a car. And I performed in a theatre production for the first time in front of 900 people that was 2 hours long, and we had ten days to learn the lines and practice. After I’d been here for three months, I thought, think I would like to stay.”
She didn’t know exactly what she wanted to do in Denmark - but she knew she enjoyed her time in the school with an international atmosphere and pushed her to be more courageous, and her teachers inspired her. “After returning from Zambia, I was asked if I would like to be a teacher at DRH Holsted. I said no because I thought, me, a teacher? But then I thought: Well, what else will I do? I can always go back to find a job in England. But I decided to stay and give it a try. And that was a good choice because here I am after 23 years!”
When Tina started her tenure as a teacher – it was a bit of a struggle initially. “I think it was one of the hardest years of my life because I didn’t have a clue. We have a unique school as the students are very much a part of decision-making during the programme.
I had to find a balance because I was the teacher and working with adults; I couldn’t just tell people what to do. We had to make agreements and find ways to make the programme challenging, too.”
Luckily, she had much support around her - other teachers, the head of the school at that time - and she found her footing. So much so that after a couple of years, she was asked to become the school director - a position she has also held at DRH Lindersvold since 2013. “It’s 24/7. I live with the students and eat together with the students. My two teenagers are also part of this life, where they meet so many amazing people from all over the world. What I love about my work is that people come to this school because they want to do something with their life – and most times, it’s to give back. Or, perhaps, they want to learn new skills - but they all come with a good heart and a desire to contribute to positive change in the world.” They work with students, primarily internationals, over the age of 18. The average age is around 24-25, although Tina fondly remembers a student who went to a project in Malawi at age 65 and is still very active in supporting the schools she worked at there.
Through the programmes, students can contribute to and support communities by building schools, training teachers, or helping with curriculums. Tina also appreciates the impact the projects have on their students. “We have a divide between rich and poor. There’s a divide between where you can go with different passports. There are so many things in this world that make it unjust.
One of the things we aim for is to support our students to become able to work towards some of these significant issues in the world, like poverty and climate change. We always talk about global warming like it’s the future, but it’s happening now. The communities in the countries we visit suffer droughts and floods, weather events that don’t usually happen in those places. So many students go through a massive transformation in understanding the life of people who live in different parts of the world - and understanding what they can do, not just themselves, but when they work together – this is why the training programme at the school is so essential before they go to the projects.”
While teaching and later leading the school has undoubtedly impacted Tina’s professional life, it impacted her personal life, too.
“My partner and I have been together for 23 years. He’s from the Netherlands, and I met him when I came to the school. We had so many similar interests, and being born only a year apart, had much to share with each other”. She continues to work together with her partner daily at the school where he is a teacher.
Now, they have two teenagers, a son, aged 14, and a daughter, who is 16 and preparing to move on to an international efterskole next school year. “I’m just happy that they’re nice people because that’s important in this world, to have empathy. They understand
people, and they understand the world.” She can see how growing up around the students in the school has impacted her kids. She remembers a question her daughter asked her when she was six and came home from school. “She’d been sitting in my classroom, colouring and drawing while I was discussing Africa and injustice in the world. She asked me one day: Why don't we learn everything you teach at your school? They have heard many things about the world. My kids have heard from our students who come back from the projects in different countries of Africa and India, so they benefit greatly from this atmosphere in the school.” Who knows, maybe they’ll go on a project of their own one day!
Tina would love to see her school full of students again after the pandemic derailed their travel plans to different projects. “Recently, our first team of students returned from one of the projects in an African country. So I would love to fill our school again - and love it when there’s life with all the highlights and challenges.
At first, I said I would be in Denmark for only two years. I thought I would have learned everything I needed to know back then. But I'm learning every day from my students and my colleagues. We do what we love so that many people can have this experience and contribute something good.” THE-INTL
Currently, DRH Lindersvold is running one ten-month programme (Volunteer For Change) where the students start with a three-month intensive training programme at the school followed by six months on a community development project in Malawi, Zambia, India, or Mozambique, and a month of analysing and concluding their experience. Afterwards, they travel and present their experience in schools around Denmark or their home countries. This year, the school has started two more programmes - Nature Now, a sevenmonth climate programme in the Caribbean, and a twelve-month programme called Action Volunteer. For more information about the school and their programmes, visit: www.lindersvold.dk
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"I'M LEARNING EVERY DAY FROM MY STUDENTS AND MY COLLEAGUES. WE DO WHAT WE LOVE SO THAT MANY PEOPLE CAN HAVE THIS EXPERIENCE AND CONTRIBUTE SOMETHING GOOD."
SSO, YOU WANT to work in Denmark, huh? Well, you're not alone!
There are many reasons why Denmark is an attractive place to work as an expat. An emphasis on work-life balance (more on that later!), an innovative and honest economy and the second happiest nation in the world (damn you, Finland!) have made Denmark one of the most desirable places to work.
Still, working in Denmark can require a significant adjustment to a non-Dane. There are many cultural norms not found outside Denmark. If only someone could write a handy how-to guide on negotiating these cultural norms.
Well, here it is!
I still remember the first time someone strongly disagreed with a manager in Denmark.
It just so happened to be on my first day. I still remember thinking, "This guy is getting fired". It was a big shock to the system, but the Danes pride themselves on having a flat hierarchy in their workplaces. What does this mean? It means that if you see something you disagree with, you're expected to speak up. It means that instead of waiting for orders, you must take responsibility for making decisions. This can be a very scary idea for people coming from a place where top-down hierarchies are the norm, but at the same time, it can be exciting, empowering and liberating.
To thrive in Denmark, you'll need to thrive in flat hierarchies.
"You're not interviewing for a bank."
That was my first thought when an interviewee came to their interview wearing a full suit and tie. I was working for a tech startup at the time. The Danish work culture is far more informal than most. Out go the suits and ties (unless you actually do work in a bank). Before interviewing in a Danish company, it's always a good idea to check the dress code to be safe. And it's not just the dress code that is less formal. Managers are almost always addressed by their first names - so instead of "sir" and "madam", it's "Mathias" and "Anne". It can be difficult for many (including myself!) to go from a formal work environment to a more casual one experienced in Denmark but keep with it and a whole new relationship with management. You'll do well to remember this to show you understand the company's culture.
Thriving in Denmark means thriving in a less-formal environment.
Danes are fiercely protective of their work-life balance.
As a recruiter, I often find it impossible to book interviews with managers after 3pm. The reason? Hente børn or "pick up kids" in their calendars. At 37 hours per week, Denmark has some of the shortest work hours in the European Union. In Denmark, work is an important part of life but not the most important. Family time, social time and time off are also necessary. If you come from a more work-centric country, remember that the Danes have a different mindset. Don't expect people working until late into the night to finish a project. On the flip side, remember to add some balance to your life.
That's why you wanted to work in Denmark in the first place, right?
The lone genius type only really works in movies.
Danish companies prize teamwork as the most desirable characteristic of a potential new employee. If there are two possible candidates of similar ability, the one who works best in a team is going to get the job every time. If you want to thrive in your job in Denmark, you'll benefit by demonstrating how good you are at working in a team - best of luck!
There you have it! Remember these cultural norms, and you'll thrive in your new job in Denmark. THE-INTL
“Danish companies prize teamwork as the most desirable characteristic of a potential new employee.”
LUKE HANNON SENIOR TALENT ACQUISITION PARTNERLuke is a Senior Talent Acquisition Partner at SYBO Games, the company behind the smash-hit game Subway Surfers. Based in Copenhagen (by way of London)!, he has been working to make SYBO grow. He spends his time finding the best talent that the games community has to offer!
He is always keen to build relationships by bringing passion and enthusiasm to the recruitment process. An advocate of Employer Branding, Luke works with the talented people at SYBO to let the world know how great a place it is to work.
When he's not hiring awesome talents for SYBO or cycling (he does live in Copenhagen, after all!), he's busy reading his favourite books and channelling his inner Hemingway as a writer!
@Luke Hannon @ Hannon Recruits @ hannonrecruitsMoving to another country is a significant adjustment, embracing a new culture and language and, most importantly, leaving your family and friends’ support structure - so how do you cope?
TTHE REASONS FOR moving to another country like Denmark often vary. Often it is because of a job offer, but many choose to move because they want a change in lifestyle and the infamous work-life balance that Denmark offers. The reason can also be that they want to start a new business. No matter the reason, they all leave their families and friends behind.
The first period after moving is not necessarily difficult because there are so many practical things to focus on. If the move is because of a new job, you will spend a lot of time focusing on the new job and being a part of a new organisation.
If you haven’t already found accommodation before you move to Denmark, you might be focused on that and also the paperwork of settling in Denmark. If you have kids, you might be enrolling them into kindergarten or a Danish or international school. Also, trying to be confident with the Danish way of living is a challenge and can cost a lot of effort.
Other questions might arise once you have handled the logistics of the move and every family member has hopefully happily settled into their new daily life.
For example, who can we turn to when kids are sick or who can take care of our kids if the job also calls for excessive travelling? Or who can we count on when the parents need a much-needed night out? These are all critical questions if both parents work full-time and have no family support network - this can be challenging if both are expats. They might have had grandparents, good neighbours or friends nearby in their hometown to help. Now they must build up their support structure again in an unfamiliar culture.
So, what’s the solution? Where do they find a substitute for a grandparent? In Denmark, we talk about “reserveforældre” (reserve parents).
Many expats get jobs in internation -
al companies around Denmark, and they will have colleagues from many other countries who might have the same questions about how to take care of kids when travelling or evening/weekend arrangements with colleagues or customers.
I assume there will also be many retired employees who still live in the local area. This group will have an excellent knowledge of the companies, maybe worked there for years before retiring, and haven’t moved out of the local area, so it will be a great idea to connect with them to hear if they would be interested in helping newly arrived people.
My idea is to get help from this group of retired people. As I see it, they will have a lot of knowledge about working in the organisation, might have had the same jobs themselves, or at least know the company’s culture. They know what it means to travel extensively and be away from their families. They also know the local area very well. As native locals, they have had the benefit of having their family and friends nearby, opposite the expats, knowing the importance of this help.
Another way to get this initiative underway is to contact the company’s HR
people and get their help reaching out to retired individuals to hear whether they are interested in participating. The expats will need to meet these retired people to ensure they are the right match to take care of their kids. It is a huge responsibility.
However, when the match is cleared, and everyone is happy, parents, kids, and retired colleagues - the job can start. The primary job description will be to take care of kids while parents are travelling, but other scenarios can come into play. Occasionally, kids can get ill and need someone to care for them. Of course, trust must first be built between the children, parents and the retired couple. It is good to first meet regularly, either for a walk, in the playground, or to help with homework. Additionally, they can assist the kids with Danish language training.
Finally, do not underestimate the value of making friends with the locals. People you can go to when any new situation might arise, and your kids can also ask about local activities. What a great opportunity to create a new friendship network with whom you can share your new experiences. THE-INTL
Jane is a local and grew up in Denmark, apart from a few long-term stays abroad, whilst travelling extensively. For the last 10 years, her business has supported relocating internationals to Denmark and helping businesses onboard their employees. She loves a challenge and feels there are many different expectations of moving to Denmark, depending on who you are and where you come from.
kulturdetektiven.dk linkedin
RETURNING AFTER HOLIDAYS IS ALWAYS BITTER-SWEET.
ALEX SHARES A FEW IDEAS ON HOW TO REGAIN YOUR ENERGY AGAIN!
TTHE SUMMER HOLIDAYS have been good to us in many ways - natural sunlight, travel, magical moments with loved ones and the wonderful, tasty treats that topped off our plates and palates. For the first time since lockdown, I feel that some "normalcy" has also re-ignited our curiosity when it comes to new places, spaces and foods - and as much as this makes our holidays more interesting, it also may create a new guilt factor around over-indulging and under-moving.
I don't often talk about nutrition - however, I thought I'd touch upon it a little as it represents a significant part of our overall health, especially when we are about to return head first to our daily routines. It's not often that anyone will look at a menu at a holiday resort and think, "Ah, well, that chocolate fudge brownie cookie dough delight dessert doesn't contain any nutrients, so I'll go for the watermelon and kiwi bowl instead" - and rightfully so.
Perhaps you feel great, energised and ready to get back to your daily business, which is what one truly hopes for - however it does occasionally happen that once we get there, our body reacts with a series of little signs that require some attention in the form of a little nutrition switch up (and a little exercise of course).
If you find yourself feeling sluggish after the holidays, here are a few ideas on how you could make a slight change in your overall diet to help your body regain some good energy:
While many comforting foods (like a cheeseburger and fries) may feel great while eating them, their nutritional value is low. Processed foods, such as candy, packaged foods and pre-cooked meats, are typically full of preservatives, sodium, additives and artificial ingredients that may slow you down. Try swapping for fruits and vegetables, eggs, herbs and spices, lean meat and seafood, etc.
2. OPT FOR FRESH SEASONAL FRUIT AND VEG
The fresher, the better! We are after the nutrition values of the most colourful, seasonal fresh produce - this will be an energy booster guaranteed! Eating what's in season has many incredible benefits (including better taste!) - often less costly, with a higher nutritional content that will support your body's natural needs and is more environmentally friendly.
3. CONSUME MORE LEAN PROTEINS
Chicken and turkey will provide you with quality protein while containing less saturated fat (than red meat marbled in fat)help lower blood cholesterol, support brain function and promote a higher metabolic rate, while fish, with its high content in omega-3 fatty acids, can also add some extra beneficial heart-healthy fats.
4. WHOLE GRAINS AND COMPLEX CARBOHYDRATES
Much like processed foods, refined carbs, like sugars and white flour, contain little nutrition. Choose whole grain foods and
complex carbs to ensure your body gets the full benefits of the added fibre to your diet. A few examples are quinoa, sweet potatoes, beans, oatmeal, and lentils.
5. NUTS AND SEEDS, BABY!
These are some of the BEST foods to beat fatigue and fight cravings, and integrating a good variety of nuts and seeds into your diet will provide healthy nutrients and great energy.
6. DRINK MORE WATER
Staying hydrated is one of the best things you can do for your overall health, as it can help support physical performance, prevent headaches and constipation and significantly affects energy levels and brain function! So get that 1.2L quencher you have been eying up on Instagram, fill it up, add a slice of lemon and sip up! Proper food's effect on your overall energy levels will be noticeable within days. Pay a little more attention to your diet when you feel your body is not following, and I can almost say with certainty that you will feel the difference and appreciate your complete energy levels as you return to your routines. THE-INTL
Alex is a Swiss/Brit mom and wife who has lived in Copenhagen since 2009. She switched from corporate life in communications to the independent life of an outdoor personal and group fitness trainer. She coaches people of all ages and fitness levels to find fun and consistency in movement through individual and group workouts. Delivering entertainment and spreading group fitness magic is her superpower. Alex encourages you to high-five her if you see her in the capital!
@alexbeck.fit
@alexbeck.fit
@alexbeck.fit
DENMARK PRESENTS WELCOME SEPTEMBER WITH OVER 60 SOCIAL EVENTS WITH THOUSANDS OF INTERNATIONAL PARTICIPANTS ALL OVER DENMARK CONTRIBUTING TO RECEIVING AND RETAINING INTERNATIONAL EMPLOYEES.
DDANISH COMPANIES AND organisations are experiencing the most significant labour shortage in years. International labour is part of the solution to this challenge –international employees contributed a record DKK 211 billion to value creation in Denmark last year.
Denmark competes with other countries for labour, but unfortunately, we are not doing well enough on all parameters.
In the latest analysis from Inter Nations Expat Insider, Denmark ranks 30th out of 52 countries in terms of how attractive a country Denmark is to settle for international employees. We are winning as the country with the best working conditions but are lagging on other parameters.
The social life and the challenge of getting a network outside the workplace pull Denmark down in the rankings. It is difficult for many internationals to settle in here.
Welcome September is partly created to change that.
Welcome September's ambition is to make September a national welcome month for international citizens. International workers, their accompanying families, and international students all over Denmark can sign up for more than 60 events during September – ranging from cultural days, meet-a-Dane events, open days in association life, job search activities, city walks, social events, lectures on childcare, volunteering and the Danish school system, language cafés and much more.
Welcome September is part of the nationwide Talent to a Green Denmark initiative. An initiative that wants to ensure a good reception and introduction to the local area and networks everywhere in Denmark. International newcomers must thrive and stay in Denmark, ultimately contributing to the Danish society and economy.
Each of the around 40 partners in Welcome September puts their stamp on the month. The partners include municipalities, business regions, universities, etc. In Thisted, the municipality is making the event Living in Thy, Viborg is organising a historical City Walk, Holstebro is arranging Watch a Movie, Sønderborg has a Welcome Day for Newcomers, and Lolland hosts a Community Meal. Several thousand international newcomers are expected to participate in one or more Welcome September events all
over Denmark. And the simple goal is for international workers to feel welcome in Denmark. At the same time, the concept of a national welcome month has great potential to contribute to the growth of Denmark as an attractive career destination.
As something completely new this year, the Welcome September concept will also help attract labour outside Denmark's borders, and therefore digital and hybrid
ALL EVENTS CAN BE FOUND ON THE OFFICIAL WEBSITE OF INTERNATIONALS IN DENMARK, LIFEINDENMARK.DK: HTTPS://LIFEINDENMARK.BORGER.DK/ WELCOMESEPTEMBER
events are also arranged this year. In this way, international citizens abroad interested in moving to Denmark can get a taste of living and working in Denmark. THE-INTL
CCRUISE LINES AND their more than 1.1 million annual guests contribute more than DKK 1.25 billion to Denmark annually. In other words, each cruise guest in Denmark contributes more than DKK 1,000, mainly to the retail and hotel industry.
The cruise industry has created more than 2.400 jobs in Denmark (2019 figures) and the number of cruise ships that dock at Danish ports has increased by 42% over the last ten years.
Copenhagen Malmo Port (abbreviated CMP) is a major turn-around cruise port in Northern Europe and among Baltic Sea itineraries' most popular departure ports. Among those are the roundtrips to Norwegian Fjords (along Norway's western coastline) and other destinations in Scandinavia and Russia (visiting ports in Norway, Sweden, Germany, Netherlands, Finland, Estonia and Russia). In fact, cruises leaving out of Copenhagen comprise about 45% of all ship calls.
CMP is the tenth-largest cruise destination in Europe and is used by many cruise lines as a turn-around destination due to its proximity to an international airport. In 2019, the Port of Rønne became Denmark's second-largest cruise port, with 46 cruise ship calls yearly. Furthermore, the Port of Skagen has also experienced explosive growth, with 38 more calls in 2019 than in 2014.
International cruise vessels that visit Copenhagen during the cruise season either line up at the Langelinie Pier or the harbour area of the Freeport Piers at Nordhavn (North Harbour). The turn-around cruise ships mainly tie up at the North Harbour Piers for embarkation.
The Freeport Piers at Nordhavn and the Langelinie Quay are at opposite ends of the harbour area. Additionally, a new permanent and modern terminal (The Ocean Quay Cruise Terminal) will be established on the North Harbour to service some of the millions of incoming international cruise travellers and crew members with a pier to dock three cruise ships at a time. This is in contrast to the Langelinie Quay, which offers passengers historic terminal facilities in the Langelinie Park area, whose quay was established in 1910 for the embarkation of international cruise liners and still functions as a cruise terminal.
The average cruise ship season in Copenhagen Ports has almost 300-320 cruise ship calls annually, with over 1.2 million passengers and crew members from all over the world visiting Copenhagen by ship. An even larger number of cruise ships are expected when new Cruise Port Terminals and Cruise Ports are established within the growing harbour areas of Copenhagen.
Today, Port Copenhagen has 3 cruise ship terminals - Freeport Terminals (Malmo Port), Langelinie Terminal and Nordre Toldbod Terminal.
Free Port Cruise Terminal is in an industrial harbour area located north of downtown. It is used by major cruise line ships for whom its fast-food kiosks, cafes and waiting lounge are an enormous asset inaugurated on May 1, 2014.
Langelinie Pier is 3 km away from the central city. The wharf is used by large ships visiting Copenhagen as the call of port. The pier has an info centre and some stores for souvenir shopping.
Nordre Toldbod Quay's berth dock serves mainly smaller ships and luxury mega yachts.
New Oceankaj Terminals is under construction and will also have dedicated waste-water handling facilities (capacity up to 300 m3 per hour per ship). This new pier will have connection points every 60 metres. The project is expected to cost around DKK 700 million, with the southernmost part of the complex built on existing land and the remainder requiring landfill.
This new cruise terminal project completion has been postponed due to the Coronavirus crisis. Once completed, it will have a daily 5000-passenger capacity, a quay length of 370 m, a water depth of 12 metres and a 10.000 m2 two-story terminal building that will connect with the docked vessels via 2 gangways (mobile passenger bridges).
Copenhagen continues to be the leading departure port in Northern Europe, with approximately 50% of the calls starting and ending a cruise itinerary in Copenhagen. Cruise ships usually arrive in Copenhagen early morning and depart late afternoon. Therefore, many cruise guests visiting Copenhagen have plenty of time to enjoy the city before and after their cruise vacation. THE-INTL
PRESIDENT & CEO OXFORD BUSINESS SERVICES APS
Mariano has over 40 years global experience as a bus iness executive. He spent ten years with KPMG, so far thirty years with British Chambers of Commerce (while also running Oxford Business Services ApS). He is a British citizen, who grew up in Kent, went to boarding school in Sussex and has a British university education. He has been married to a Dane for over 45 years and has held over 150 official anti-Brexit speeches since 2016. He both speaks and writes Danish without difficulty.
oxford-business.com
BURSTING WITH WHOLESOME INGREDIENTS, THESE HEALTHY GRANOLA BARS ARE PERFECT FOR QUICK BREAKFASTS AND NUTRITIOUS SNACKING ON THE GO.
PHOTOGRAPHS & TEXT: NATASHA LIVIERO / PEXELS
MAKES 1 X 20CM X 20CM TRAY
INGREDIENTS:
50g almonds, chopped
100g oats
20g psyllium
1g / ¼ tsp salt
1g / 1 tsp cinnamon
15g pumpkin seeds
METHOD:
1. Set oven to 1800C or 1600C fan assist.
15g sunflower seeds
90g almond butter with a little of its oil included (or any nut butter of your choice)
90g honey
45g dates, pitted and finely chopped
50g desiccated coconut (unsweetened)
40g 70% dark chocolate, melted
2. Line a 20cm x 20cm baking tin with baking paper.
3. Place all the ingredients, except chocolate, in a large bowl.
4. Microwave the bowl with ingredients until the honey and almond butter have softened slightly, and then mix with a wooden spoon until all the ingredients are well combined.
5. Spoon into prepared baking tin and flatten the surface firmly with the bottom of a measuring cup. Be sure to compact the mixture, which assists with slicing later.
6. Bake for 20 minutes or until the edges begin to brown.
7. Remove from the oven and leave to cool in the baking tin.
8. Once cooled, remove the baked granola with paper from the tin, flatten the baking paper around the granola and drizzle with melted chocolate.
9. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes before slicing into bars.
10. Store in an airtight container for up to a week.
Notes:
* For an even crispier granola bar, do not drizzle with chocolate and place sliced bars in the oven at around 90°C/100°C to further dry and crisp. The longer they stay in the oven, the crispier they will become.
NATASHA LIVIERO - PASTRY CHEF
Natasha is a pastry chef who is South African by birth and Croatian by blood. She spent many years working for a wellness publication but did an about-turn at the beginning of 2020 when she joined a culinary school to fulfil a lifelong dream to study patisserie. She’s passionate about European patisserie and loves spending time in the kitchen experimenting with recipes (while quibbling with her fe-line friends), and is always on the hunt for interesting new cookbooks.
natashaliviero
THE GLOBAL LIVEABILITY INDEX AND THE MONOCLE QUALITY OF LIFE SURVEY WERE PUBLISHED THIS SUMMER. THE BAD NEWS IS THAT COPENHAGEN DROPPED DOWN. THE GOOD NEWS IS THAT THE CITY RANKS SECOND IN BOTH RANKINGS. HERE ARE THE REASONS.
TTHE ECONOMIST INTELLIGENCE Unit (EIU) reported The Global Liveability Index 2023 in the summer, and Copenhagen ranked second. Vienna overtook her by a very narrow margin. The survey covers 173 cities worldwide, and it assesses which locations provide the best or worst living conditions across five categories –stability, healthcare, culture & environment, education and infrastructure. According to the survey, Copenhagen got the total score for stability (the lowest prevalence of petty crime and violent crime and the lowest threat of terror, military conflict and civil conflict), education and infrastructure (quality of road network, public transport, international links, energy provision, water provision, telecommunications and availability of good quality housing). Vienna had a higher score in healthcare but lower in culture & environment.
Copenhagen ranked better last year in Monocle's annual Quality of Live Survey. The previous year's winning city scored, especially with how quickly and without a fuss it recovered from the covid period. Copenhagen also achieved goals on a safety, welfare system and support for new parents. The significant impact had also Danish undertaken the move towards carbon neutrality by 2050. Indicators which dominated in Monocle's survey 2023 –the housing, health and security sectors – were put under severe pressure. "As well as security metrics such as violent crime per capita and trust in the police, we found that the rising cost of living had a greater bearing on the survey than ever before," Alexis Self explained for Monocle. "When deciding the top 20, we considered the year-on-year increase in the average rent of a one-bedroom apartment, as well as the price of basics such as energy and a cappuccino." Vienna displaced Copenhagen from the top of the rankings of Monocle this year. The Danish capital ended up in second place before Munich.
Copenhagen and Vienna have something in common. Both are large and international capital cities that, despite being pulsating with life, also have a high level of safety and a low level of street crime. Barbora Kujundžić, who comes from Slovakia, has lived in Vienna with her Croatian husband and two children since 2018. She thinks the best benefit of living in the Austrian capital is the generous social city politics. "Various housing options, counselling, accessible and free healthcare for the insured, free public education with extra support for low-income households, even private kindergartens are relatively cheap considering support from the municipality," she enumerates the positives of life in Vienna. "Green politics is also prevalent here. There are many green areas, such as parks, playgrounds for children and forests. The public transport is very cheap, only 365 euro per year." Copenhagen is undoubtedly more expensive compared to Vienna. Still, Bulgarian Daniel Ivanov, who has lived in Denmark for nine years, 3 of them in the capital, says that the high standard of living and the salaries also match it. When I ask him why he thinks Copenhagen is one of the most liveable cities, he answers: "It's because of the Danish society – people are
not corrupt, not judgmental and not as negative as in Eastern Europe, for example. This approach reflects in a good way all the things mentioned."
Copenhagen was nominated as one of the most LGBT+-friendly destinations in the world by the British LGBT Awards in 2018. The initiators noted at the time that it's hard to find a distinct LGBTQ neighbourhood in Copenhagen – until you realise that Copenhagen is the LGBTQ neighbourhood of Scandinavia. Denmark was the first country to legalise same-sex unions in 1989 and the first country to de-pathologise trans people in 2017. Copenhageners are primarily relaxed and tolerant people, and the general attitude towards LGBTQI+ people is liberal and openminded. Vienna also got many international awards as one of the best LGBTQI+ destinations. The capital of Austria has a vibrant LGBT community, and some estimates place their numbers at somewhere between 150,000 and 200,000 in this city of 1.6 million. Feeling free and accepted regardless of sexual orientation is the best prerequisite for a happy life in the city. You will feel that way in Copenhagen and Vienna too. THE-INTL
Natalia is a Slovak journalist based in Aalborg, Denmark. She has around 15 years of experience in journalism. Her experiences as an editor and a reporter were founded in Slovak magazines and newspapers. She was also working as a TV reporter, a TV moderator and a host in radio broadcasting. Part of her career included working with PR and marketing. Natália is also a content creator on her social media. Follow her blog www.mamavdansku.com , where she writes about life in Denmark.
@Natália Šepitková
@Mama v Dánsku
@Mum in Denmark
"COPENHAGEN WAS NOMINATED AS ONE OF THE MOST LGBT+FRIENDLY DESTINATIONS IN THE WORLD BY THE BRITISH LGBT AWARDS IN 2018."PHOTOGRAPHS VISIT DENMARK TEXT NATÁLIA ŠEPITKOVÁ METTE JOHNSEN RICHARD CLARK JENS THAYSEN, ÅRHUS STIFTSTIDENDE PHOTOPOP - VISITAARHUS WORLD MAPPERS
LGBT ASYLUM IS A CHARITY SUPPORTING AND ADVOCATING FOR LGBT ASYLUM SEEKERS IN DENMARK. WHILE CELEBRATING PRIDE AND LGBT LIFE IN DENMARK, IT IS IMPORTANT TO LOOK BEYOND PARADES AND COLOURFUL FLAGS AND CONSIDER THE LIVES OF THIS MARGINALISED COMMUNITY.
MMANY LGBT ASYLUM seekers have taken a long, challenging journey to arrive here, fleeing violence, persecution and, in many cases, having always lacked the freedom to express their gender identity and sexuality. Upon arriving in Denmark, they become a minority within a minority, with their gender identity and/or sexuality and race, meaning that they stand out. Sadly, this also makes them particularly vulnerable to violence and loneliness. Indeed, while Denmark may be among one of the most LGBT-friendly in the world, a majority of the LGBT community still report feeling loneliness and experiencing discrimination. This number rises in the Trans and Bisexual community and those from minority ethnic backgrounds. Furthermore, reports have highlighted that the asylum centres, where applicants wait for their claims to be processed, are often dangerous places.
Asylum centres in Denmark are typically located in the countryside in Jutland. While I often talk about the countryside with fondness, it is undeniably a challenging place to live when vulnerable, with a lack of services in all areas, from regular buses to access to mental health care. And, for the LGBT community, these asylum centres are typically far from any cities with LGBT populations that could offer a sense of community. Even upon an asylum claim being accepted, people get placed all over the country, often again in remote communities with little in the way of their communities. That’s where LGBT Asylum comes in, with advice services and meetup events designed to foster the fælesskab (community) that Danes highly value. These include meetup dinners and attendance at pride and camps.
Beyond practical support directly with those requiring support, LGBT Asylum also lobbies and works with government agencies to improve the welfare of the LGBT community through the asylum system. Without employees in the various state bodies having or enjoying access to specialist knowledge, asylum seekers are more likely to be assessed incorrectly or judged with unconscious prejudice. External education, events and presentations are organised and held by the Coordination Group for External Communication.
Our meetups are a space where you can meet other LGBT+ people who share some of the same experiences as you. It's a safe space with queer-to-queer counselling and social bonding.
LGBT+ persons who live in asylum centres are often isolated and feel unsafe. Finding friends and meeting new people who feel the same way you do can be challenging.
Almost every month, LGBT Asylum hosts social events called 'the Saturday meeting.'
The Saturday meeting takes place in Copenhagen or Aarhus, an opportunity to meet LGBT+ persons in the same situation as you.
Our whole group gathers – asylum seekers, refugees and contact persons. The Saturday meetings have different themes: we meet at Aarhus Pride, Copenhagen Pride, MIX film festival and Winter Pride.
We have a holiday meeting in December, a meeting about sexual health with the AIDS Foundation and an annual fundraiser party. Asylum activists, refugees and contact persons join in planning and hosting the events.
We try to host three-weekend trips a year in the refugee group. We call them 'camps.' We usually rent a big cabin for the weekend and do different activities together.
We have so far done yoga, and had talks and debates about different themes like sexual health, the Danish integration programme and the possibilities for education for refugees in Denmark. We also cook together, hang out and party together. If you are inspired to learn more about how you could contribute, LGBT Asylum is always looking for volunteers sensitive to LGBT issues to help with their vital work, whatever your sexual orientation or background. If you can speak Danish as well as another language and have a good understanding of LGBT issues, it is also possible to volunteer as an interpreter. THE-INTL
Get in touch at info@lgbtasylum.dk or visit our website on https:// lgbtasylum.dk/in-english/
"Asylum centres in Denmark are typically located in the countryside in Jutland."
Heather Storgaard comes from Northern Scotland, grew up in Switzerland, and lived in England and Germany. She met her Danish and soon-tobe British husband back in 2017, and they now split their time between Central Scotland and Helgenæs, a peninsula in rural Eastern Jutland. Suitably for a Scot, Heather works with whisky, spending her time writing and translating, with a particular softspot for the up-and-coming world of Nordic Whisky.
@heatherstorgaard
FFOLKEMØDET IS AN annual democracy event every June on the Danish Baltic Sea island of Bornholm. Inspired by a similar event held on the Swedish island of Gotland, Folkemødet was launched in 2011 to bring together politicians, grassroots groups and representatives from the worlds of business, culture and anyone who wishes to participate in open dialogue.
Participatory democracy is seen as an integral part of Danish culture and society. However, it would be a mistake to think this starts and ends with voting in referenda and elections. Throughout the year, various events unite citizens to encourage participation in as many political themes as possible, with Folkemødet now the largest. By nature, open to everyone, a wide range of participants, from politicians to community leaders and curious spectators, travel to Bornholm to participate in the Festival of Democracy every June. The best part for internationals, often disenfranchised while living abroad, is the chance to impact the nation we call home, for now, or forever.
Far from being all talk, Folkemødet is an actual festival in the sense that art and culture are encouraged to flourish. At this year’s festival, many of the art exhibitions focused on inclusion in democracy, ensuring the visibility of many who struggle to find a voice in Denmark- for example, At høre til (To Belong) examined the lives of 20 of the 500,000 people in Denmark living with a disability, and explained their experiences of finding and belonging in a society. Folk (People) was a series of black and white portraits of people the photographer met at 2022s Folkemødet, from local homeless people to visiting hijabi women and some of the country’s most influential decision-makers, highlighting the diversity of the festival’s participants.
Our Editor and Founder, Lyndsay Jensen, participated in a historic debate at Folkemødet this year. Together with representatives from Dansk Industri (DI) and a Bornholm-based international, Yana Grundke, she discussed the challenges internationals face in Denmark. Indeed, with recent statistics showing that approximately 10% of
the population of Denmark are non-citizens, it has never been more relevant for internationals and Danes alike to work on issues of democracy, which ultimately affects all areas of society. Søren Kjærsgaard Høfler, Chefkonsulent at Dansk Industri, said there was no doubt that international labour is a crucial component to the success they have seen in the Danish labour market over the last ten years. He mentioned that almost half of the increase in the labour market came from internationals. During the debate, Lyndsay called for businesses in Denmark to recognise the existing talent of internationals already living here, be they accompanying spouses, refugees, or international graduates from Danish universities. She has named them as the “forgotten gold of Denmark”.
Upon reflection, Lyndsay’s favourite question came from the moderator to both business and municipality: “What can you do to make your business or municipality
more attractive and welcoming when you wake up on Monday morning?” We want to extend this call to our Danish readers to also make a positive impact with internationals. Make international residents feel welcome and wanted and promote ongoing, active cultural change for the better. Folkemødet and this debate clarified one thing for Internationals: sammearbejde, working together, is the way forward. Denmark needs internationals to move here and stay and have the best experiences. So that takes a combined effort of our Danish family, friends, colleagues and neighbours. Let’s work together to make Denmark more welcoming and inclusive for everyone! THE-INTL
"LET'S WORK TOGETHER TO MAKE DENMARK MORE WELCOMING AND INCLUSIVE FOR EVERYONE!."
RRETURNING TO SCHOOL after the summer vacation is always a time of new beginnings, hopes, and aspirations. It can also be a daunting time if a child starts 'big' school for the first time. This anxiety is lessened in Denmark because of an interesting, forward-looking set-up.
MAJBØRN
The innovative opportunity available to young children in Danish schools is to start in May. These preschool children are known as 'Majbørn'. Children start as early as March in some bi-lingual international schools in the country.
This allows children to acclimate to school life before starting in primary 1. Children are introduced to the school's culture and practices/procedures in a gradual and non-pressurised way. This helps a child build a sense of security and understanding of school life before August and allows for some basic pre-teaching. Starting school in August is then less of a traumatic step; instead, it is a return to a known place and something to look forward to.
PRACTICES
The children develop their ability to be self-sufficient. In the first instance, this means an acceptance of separating from their parents to function in a different environment with a new adult, their teacher. It includes practising simple, set procedures such as hand washing after outside breaks and before mealtimes, using the toilet alone, putting on and taking off their coats and shoes, lining up and walking over to another location in the school, eating at fixed times and managing food boxes. They slowly learn to keep their possessions methodically on pegs, in pencil cases, and in their personal tray.
The teachers organise structured and unstructured play inside and outside the building so students work on a rudimentary understanding of playing fairly, sharing, and interacting harmoniously. A more significant part of the day is taken up with play-based learning activities that support physical agility and stimulate the senses. A child can also experience after-school care, known as 'skolefritidsordning', SFO, which also involves a lot of play.
A typical day involves gathering in their classroom, morning greeting, and the presentation of the day's schedule in a visible way so a child has a road map. Some fundamental teachings are worked upon throughout the week, such as learning the days of the week and the months of the year through song, recalling numbers from 1-10, holding a pencil, forming letters, and writing their name. They also listen to stories and appreciate that they must raise their hands to answer questions and share thoughts. The children enjoy music classes, artwork involving colouring, cutting, and sticking, and special-themed activities.
It is usual to have two teachers or a teacher and a pedagogue per
class with complementary skill sets who work hard to create a secure, friendly, and stimulating environment where children can thrive. Much energy is devoted to building trusting relationships so the children feel loved and safe.
A primary 1 teacher connects with the preschoolers by coming to their classroom and engaging in bridging activities. The children have the chance to meet their next teacher and make connections. It is common for primary 1 students to interact with preschool students through reading activities, play, or outings. This provides preschoolers with an insight as to what is to come.
Students exposed to this experience are in a much stronger position to start primary 1. They are far more comfortable in their environment and have grasped school procedures. They know who their next teacher will be. They have the knowledge and skills to give them a phenomenal start. Through these experiences, considerable anxiety and emotional stress have been removed. It is a favourable situation for the students, and their parents, who can see their child is happy to come to school, allowing for a seamless transition. THE-INTL
Sources: https://humlebaek-lilleskole.skoleporten.dk/sp/274263/file/ Inpage/34cf5498-0832-4a26-b507-64a81ec67f56
https://oerestadskole.aula.dk/majboern
https://www.odenseinternationalschool.com/primary-school/preschool/ about
"A child can also experience after-school care, known as 'skolefritidsordning', SFO, which also involves a lot of play."
Monika comes from the London area of the UK, where she worked in the state system and the international school system, as an English teacher of 11-18 students and then a high school principal. She has also worked in leadership roles in Germany and in Denmark. She has an overview of the British, International, American, and the Danish system. She has many years of experience and continues to enjoy the profession. She has relocated to Copenhagen and enjoys the city and summer house life with her Danish husband.
@monikapedersen@monikapedersen
@monikapedersen
IIN 2019, A people's movement fighting for the rights of people with disabilities and their families was founded in Denmark, carrying the name #enmillionstemmer (#onemillionvoices).
And in May 2023, it inspired the launch of its counterpart in Greenland - #titusindstemmer (#tenthousandvoices).
#TITUSINDSTEMMER
In 2017, the Government of Greenland established Tilioq - a politically independent national disability advocacy organisation. Tilioq's primary purpose is to advance the rights of people with disabilities in Greenland and work towards fully implementing the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. Tilioq aims to ensure that all citizens, regardless of their disabilities, can participate in society and that Greenland takes measures to ensure an equal and inclusive society. Inspired by the #enmillionstemmer movement in Denmark, Tillioq has recently started a counterpart campaign in Greenland- #titusindstemmer.
In their press release, Tilioq stated that the #titusindstemmer campaign "must end decades of marginalisation and discrimination against people with disabilities. The aim of the campaign is to improve conditions for people with disabilities. This must be done by putting pressure on politicians, who the initiators believe have not sufficiently prioritised people with disabilities."
The organisation emphasises that disability advocacy and policy impact more people than one would think. In fact, the name of the campaign, #titusindestemmer or "ten thousand voices", refers to the approximately 15% of Greenland's citizens with some form of disability. However, This percentage is the tip of the iceberg since it doesn't consider family members or relatives who have someone in their lives who has experienced challenges or inequality due to a disability.
The press release quoted Anja Hynne Nielsen, the spokesperson for people with disabilities in Greenland: "I also hope, of course, that our politicians will think about how many of the people they represent actually live with a disability, and therefore that working for the rights of people with disabilities is, in fact, a popular agenda, that you as a politician no longer can ignore."
She continued: "Greenland lags behind in living up to our international obligations in disability. So it is clear that much more public focus and political will is needed in this area. I very much hope that the campaign can help show popular support for our politicians so that they adopt an ambitious action plan in the field of disability that aligns with our international obligations and a dignified view of humanity."
The campaign gives an open platform in the form of an open Facebook group to anyone affected by a disability who would like to take the opportunity to share their experiences. Tilioq hopes that the campaign will help to break down the taboo and stigmatisation that surrounds disability and that this, in turn, will help people with disabilities to
realise that they are not alone in their struggles. Furthermore, it is hoped that the campaign can help people with a disability by focusing on how their struggles result from the lack of equality for people with disabilities.
Anja sees great value in the shared experiences which arise from the campaign, "No policy should be decided without hearing the people who are affected – that is why the slogan for our seminar this year is "Nothing about us without us" ".
The #titusindstemmer campaign came as a culmination of a seminar and conference on disability policies that took place in Ilulissat on May 13-15 and welcomed about 100 politicians, heads of departments, social workers, and of course the Tilioq organisation, and with the primary purpose of strengthening the commitment to upholding the UN disability convention in Greenland.
The conference consisted of workshops and panel discussions to share experiences and proposals for improving living conditions for people with disabilities. Before the conference, Anja said: "We gather authorities, experts, and disability organisations from all over the country to look each other in the eye and find out how we can ensure that Greenland is a place where there is room for everyone regardless of disability."
Tilioq shared that one of the most recurring topics of the conference was problems with case processing and the lack of legal certainty for people with a disability. One of the major takeaways was a broad agreement that there's a need to build a more accessible and much more straightforward process where people know their rights and options for assistance and where authorities support people who need it.
One of the primary take-home messages from the conference was that the welfare system needs to be redesigned to recognise people with disabilities as individuals instead of trying to force them into boxes. Anja stated: "Like everyone else, people with disabilities are all different - and if we are to ensure the right to self-determination and live up to our international obligations, such as the UN disability convention, then we need to be able to embrace that diversity. We must provide the opportunity for individual solutions and put the individual in focus. This is done elsewhere in the world. We can, of course, also do this in Greenland." THE-INTL
MICHAELA MEDVEDOVÁ comes from Slovakia and moved to Denmark 3 years ago to study for her Master's degree. She says living in Odense is the perfect city for her because it's not too large to be intimidating, but still exciting! She works at Umbraco as a Magical Copy Whisperer and started a podcast with her friends - @humans.of.sdu. She loves watching and talking about movies, Harry Potter, karaoke nights (even though she can't sing to save her life), and pub quizzes (winning them, to be specific).
SARA R. NEWELL is from Canada, went to high-school in Costa Rica, and has worked and studied in Iceland and Denmark. She is a disability rights activist and has a master's degree in Technological Business Development and Biomedical Engineering from Aarhus University. Sara has lived in Denmark since 2003, and lives with her husband and daughter. She hopes to contribute and share insights with others who have children with disabilities. https://www.linkedin.com/in/sararose-newell-b1904726 / https://m.facebook.com/groups/bakopomdepaarorende
DDATING AND RELATIONSHIPS, what a familiar and colossal realm. Most of us have had some good and bad experiences in the dating scene. I cannot stress enough the importance of having boundaries at any stage of dating, relationship, or marriage. While boundaries do not mean putting up a concrete wall of an ‘all-or-none’, unforgiving approach, it is a firm line to let your partner into your world, almost like a guidebook for working with you. It is so often, and easy, to become a peoplepleaser, lower your requirements, or let the other person get away with things that bother you because many are so afraid of the risk of losing that person you are attracted to. But why would you want to be with someone who does not respect you and your boundaries and constantly diminishes your needs?
While I’m not a psychologist or dating coach, I’ve been in toxic relationships and dating scenarios where calling the other person a bad name is pretty accurate. In hindsight, I was not standing up for myself and voicing my needs, sharing my thoughts and emotions while resenting being taken for granted. It is not a selfgaslighting or self-pitying scenario while looking back, but a lesson learnt through heartbreaks. When we value or are attracted to someone, it is natural to want to give it all and do everything in our power to make it work and make the other person happy. But is that the key to a happy relationship? If forgetting our needs and losing ourselves while keeping them happy is a way to go, it is going nowhere but a heartbreak hotel. We want it so badly that we don’t even dare to say no or disagree, risking jeopardising the potentially most incredible love story of all time. But is it? How great will that be if you have to constantly diminish yourself and walk on eggshells? Like many things in life, it all comes down to our fear of rejection or missing out on a potentially great partner. I understand that. No one wants to be and feel rejected. However, as cliché as it sounds, the right partner will not require
you to act as such, and you will be accepted for who you are and how you are. All of you, the good and the bad. If someone rejects you because they don’t get what they want, or you’ve put a boundary, you need to consider whether this is a good match.
Sure, we all have standards, likes, preferences, wants and needs etc., while we are not going to be a diva or a condescending King, you need to know how far things can go, and it only has to matter to you. In the dating scene, we talk about strangers meeting and exploring the potential of a partnership - two people with entirely different mindsets, backgrounds and upbringings. Every single thing needs to be negotiated, expressed and communicated kindly. Nothing is too insignificant to set a boundary on if it means something to you. If you don’t want to get physical too soon, say it, and don’t feel pressured about anything. You don’t owe anyone anything. Just because they bought you a lovely dinner does not mean you need to give them a goodnight kiss if you don’t feel like it. It’s the same for the other person, too - while you’re hoping your boundaries are expected, be sure to reciprocate and respect theirs too. There’s no onesize-fits-all guidebook - the only thing is
you need to know what you like and don’t like and speak up for yourself. Because if you don’t, no one will do that for you, and no one can figure out what’s on your mind without your help.
If you value something fundamental to you in a relationship, casual or serious, bring it up as early as possible so you allow the other person to get to know you better and give them a chance to see if the two of you share similar values. While it’s about you when you date and find a partner, it’s also about the other persontalk about everything from a place of trying to understand each other. You will thank yourself when you do that because it quickly filters out those who do not intend to stick around or are disrespectful, saving you so much time and potential heartbreak. In this constant communication of boundaries and respect, you also get a glimpse into how the other person is - are they empathetic? Are they understanding? Are they frustrated? Do they seem passive-aggressive? These tell-tale signs could make or break your partnership in the long run. So you need to be clear about where you draw the line on everything while you date, what’s acceptable, what’s a deal-breaker, and be ready to walk away if it doesn’t work. THE-INTL
Like her hometown Hong Kong, Ophelia has a diverse background and upbringing. She moved to Copenhagen in 2019 after 10 years of living in London. Her fashion and journalism career began in 2007 at ELLE Hong Kong magazine, and later on as an online stylist at Net-A-Porter.com in the UK; she has worked with all sorts of creatives, brands and celebrities globally. She now works on everything fashion and communicationrelated. With her love of travelling and places her work brought her to, people she met from all walks of life inspired her to start her own business M for Minimal: a place to raise the awareness of going back to basics through conscious consumption and mindfulness with a touch of spirituality - something she has been practising since her teenage years.
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"NOTHING IS TOO INSIGNIFICANT TO SET A BOUNDARY ON IF IT MEANS SOMETHING TO YOU."
WWHEN I PROPOSED the idea of writing about living as an LGBTQ+ expat in Denmark to my editor, little did I know that I was embarking on a research journey that would expand my knowledge of the mental strain of living as a minority expat.
My initial assumption was that Denmark, with its liberal mindset and progressive legislation, would be a utopia for LGBTQ+ individuals. However, as I delved deeper into the topic, my preconceptions of Denmark as a liberal country where LGBTQ+ expats would automatically thrive were challenged. Even if Denmark provides a high degree of rights and acceptance to sexual minorities relative to other countries, how much did I truly understand about the experiences of LGBTQ+ individuals, regardless of their nationality and residential status?
As a family and couple therapist who sees expats in my clinic and conducts workshops on diversity, culture shock, inclusion, and emotional agility, I know the hidden costs of global mobility. Expats often struggle with mental health challenges, such as anxiety and depression, and face higher divorce rates.
Before diving into the research, I sought insights from my friend Benjamin Schenkel, an American and LGBTQ+ spokesperson living in Copenhagen. Benjamin emphasised that while Denmark might be welcoming to the LGBTQ+ community, and he never felt the need to hide his sexual orientation at work, it was still something he preferred to downplay at first. "In my experience, being LGBTQ+ is not seen as a big deal. But this acceptance has a flip side: we can do better in Denmark at promoting active inclusion and not coast on passive tolerance."
In my quest for a deeper understanding, I encountered a thought-provoking podcast featuring Christian Graugaard, whose work with Project Sexus, an individual-based, prospective cohort study exploring sexual health among approximately 63.000 respondents, also exposes the divide in somatic and mental health between heterosexuals and the approximate 7% male and 10% female who define themselves as "non-heterosexual" individuals.
The research revealed alarming statistics related to loneliness, self-harm, anxiety, depression, and an increased risk of suicide among LGBTQ+ individuals. The study reports that 9% of heterosexual women, 26% of homo-sexual women and 45% of bi-sexual women have exposed themselves to self-harm. The study clearly indicates that the sense of not belonging to either group (bi-sexual women) is a heavy mental burden causing 45 % to self-harm. Adding what we know about the struggles for expats to feel a sense of belonging, there is a need to address these mental health issues for the LGBTQ+ expat community.
Moreover, the concept of minority stress, stemming from trans and homo negativity, adds to the burden faced by individuals who already grapple with cultural differences.
Despite Denmark's reputation for progressiveness, it is crucial to recognise that the journey to full acceptance is not yet at its destination.
Conversations with Benjamin also illuminated the complexities of Denmark's liberal identity. While the country has historically supported the LGBTQ+ community, the recent push among companies to back such initiatives is not without pitfalls. For one, there is the risk of "pinkwashing", wherein companies superficially embrace LGBTQ+ causes. Less obvious and just as relevant in this discussion, Benjamin noted, was the feeling of minority pressure that can accompany these well-intended initiatives. Benjamin did not give much thought to his gay identity when he started his career in Denmark nine years ago.
For some members of the LGBTQ+ community in Denmark, an overlooked side-effect of increased focus in D&I is the pressure of attention a minority group like LGBTQ+ individuals can feel when organisations begin to market themselves as "pink organisations". The potential backlash is also significant, as we have recently seen with the Danish company Christian Hansen's attempt to balance their LGBTQ+ profile on the US market.
Although, compared to many other countries where homosexuality and gender fluidity are not accepted or even banned illegally, Denmark is not without challenges concerning the inclusion and acceptance of sexual minorities. In the Project Sexus study, One-fourth of middle-aged men expressed trans and homo-sexual negativity - one-fourth!
The country's cultural values of acceptance and tolerance make it an attractive destination for LGBTQ+ expats, but it also comes with navigating a society that may sometimes take its progressive reputation for granted.
We all have a responsibility to continue the conversation of navigating healthy inclusion – both at the workplace and in Danish society, and we must not take it for granted that because structural and legislative conditions are relatively better in Denmark than in many other countries where LGBTQ+ individuals experience prejudices, that there is not work to be done to increase mental health for LGBTQ+ expats living in Denmark. THE-INTL
Nanna Hauch is a Danish fourtime former expat, mother of three Third Culture Kids, licensed couple and family therapist, MPF specialised in the psychological aspects of expat life, global transitions and intercultural organisational dynamics.
She is a warm and analytical therapist and an experienced speaker and workshop facilitator and additionally holds a M.Sc. in Intercultural Management.
Nanna founded Expat Hero in 2018 to support internationals and their families to adjust to transitional life and increase mental health when living globally mobile lives.
You can read more on www. expathero.dk and connect with Nanna at +45 40110459 or email: welcome@expathero.dk
Let’s connect on social:
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"THE COUNTRY'S CULTURAL VALUES OF ACCEPTANCE AND TOLERANCE MAKE IT AN ATTRACTIVE DESTINATION FOR LGBTQ+ EXPATS."PHOTOGRAPHS PEXELS TEXT NANNA HAUCH
IIT’S 9 A.M. MONDAY morning and a friendly American expat named Jason wanders into a downtown Copenhagen office. “I just started working upstairs and wanted to introduce myself,” he says to the front desk attendant. “Gosh, your coffee smells amazing,” he adds after some polite small talk. When she offers him a cup, he accepts and laments about his lingering jet lag and the broken coffee machine in his office that won’t be fixed until Friday. She invites him to return for coffee every morning that week.
Over the next few days, Jason learns which cleaning service the company employs, and when they arrive, he clones the attendant’s RFID badge and swipes a company lanyard. From a nearby cafe, he watches the cleaning staff arrive through the back entrance and uses his stolen badge to scan into the front entrance. Donning the stolen lanyard, he pretends to be a poor employee working late into the evening while lockpicking his way into every employee locker, stealing corporate documents, pilfering project source code, and planting bugging devices.
But Jason is neither thief nor spy. His name isn’t even Jason. He’s Brian Harris, a physical and cybersecurity penetration tester hired by the company to break into its own office. It’s an unusual profession, one that Brian has honed by breaking into major companies, government facilities, and critical infrastructure across the globe over the past decade — and, for the past three years, in Denmark.
Less than a year before Brian relocated to Denmark, the Nordic nation’s largest telecommunications company was the target of a high-profile case of corporate espionage. In March 2019, TDC Holdings was ready to award Ericsson with a lucrative contract to upgrade its network to 5G. At the last minute, Huawei surprised TDC with an updated bid undercutting Ericsson — despite the confidentiality of the competing companies’ proposals.
“The resulting investigation by TDC would, over the next four weeks, take the company into a kind of paranoid twilight zone,” reported Bloomberg News. “Its senior management fell under suspicion; its offices were potentially compromised; and employees reported being tailed by shadowy strangers.”
TDC ultimately selected Ericsson for the contract, but the event illustrates the importance of physical security in a world that has spent decades enhancing cybersecurity.
Physical security is the protection of personnel and property, networks and data, and hardware and software from
physical attacks. However, Brian says, most companies have never done a physical pentest to determine vulnerability to such an attack.
“Many companies think they’re safe as long as they have locks and alarms,” he says. “Imagine if companies thought they were safe from cybersecurity threats as long as they have firewalls and antivirus, without ever testing these systems.”
However, a company’s physical security is often easier to compromise than its cybersecurity, Brian says. “In my earlier example, I was able to compromise that company in less than a week,” he says. “Could you have done that through the internet? Probably, but you’d have to be very sophisticated and very lucky to do so that quickly and completely.”
To expand the expertise required for successful physical pentests — a rare combination of covert entry, cybersecurity, and charisma — Brian has taught a course on the subject for several years. His five-day course covers everything from lockpicking and safecracking to alarm bypassing and social engineering.
Jessika, a professional in Denmark’s transportation industry, attended the course to better contribute to her employer’s growing investment in physical security assessments. “A one-hour discussion with Brian was already enough to know that five days would significantly improve my technical knowledge,” she says. “I’m very impressed by the amount of information we got on the technical side of black teaming, and I’m looking forward to using it in real-life cases.”
Another former student, Andrada Son, a cybersecurity headhunter, says her new skills will prepare her for what she anticipates to be a growing market in her industry. “Many companies are opening their eyes to the importance of physical security,” she says. “Already, some European countries are making rules and regulations for companies that require a high degree of security, such as critical infrastructure. First, the companies under pressure of legislation and regulations will start demanding [these services] from their suppliers, and it will be a chain reaction as other companies follow their lead. Soon [physical security] will be a booming market.” THE-INTL Students interested in Brian’s course or companies interested in his security services can find him on LinkedIn (in/brian-harris-a3838199).
Cultural observation is key to the social engineering aspect of Brian’s work. “When I travel for an assignment, I play tourist for a while to see how people treat one another, how situationally aware they are, what the cultural norms seem to be,” he says. “For example, Danes are generally friendly, helpful, and trusting. This makes them very vulnerable to what I do.” However, every culture has its vulnerabilities. In Germany, for example, Brian might opt for an authoritative approach. “Official-looking documents and badges, citing bureaucratic procedure, and acting like an authority figure are more likely to work in Germany, but I would never take such an authoritarian approach in Denmark.”
Although Brian’s foreignness might present a challenge to blend in, he says it’s more of an asset than a liability. “I’d never pretend to be Danish,” he says. “But I can feign naivete in a way that a Dane can’t. By playing the role of a tourist or a new arrival — like I did in the example I gave you — I have an excuse to ask questions and break cultural norms.”
Originally from the American Midwest, Sarah’s work has taken her all over the world, from Amsterdam to Zambia and many places in between. She’s worked in print, broadcast, and online newsrooms; produced documentaries and virtual reality news experiences; and developed innovative journalism curricula for her alma mater, the University of Missouri—all for the sake of telling a good story. Sarah has travelled to more than 50 countries, reported from at least a dozen, and lived in several before settling in Copenhagen with her partner and their two (well-travelled) cats.
"IF YOU HAVE NO PHYSICAL SECURITY, YOU HAVE NO CYBER SECURITY.” - BRIAN HARRISPHOTOGRAPHS BRIAN HARRIS TEXT SARAH REDOHL
OOUR FIRST YEAR living in Denmark has genuinely been a roller coaster ride, with the views at times dazzling. When I proffered this, the very subject matter of my first piece for The International, someone close to me asked, 'What good is there to say?' This is all too bleak, a pessimist's take, despite the many battles my family and I have encountered. Relocation would never be straightforward – however, we could never have expected how hard it would be.
Relocating from Germany, we ended up in a small town on Fyn, where the house was not ready, old and shambolic, where the owner came and went as he pleased, and where nothing was up to scratch - it was falling apart. Besides that, and as well as taking care of our young family, my wife and I were locked into a battle to regain our deposit from the German landlords of our last home there, navigating their bizarre games (side note – Dear Landlords, must it be so?). That took until late 2022 to resolve. We are still in a similar and seemingly never-ending battle with the landlord on Fyn to get part of our deposit back. A tenancy association aided us in having the case taken to a board, who ruled in our favour, and still, no return payment was forthcoming. Naturally, Fyn is presently a source of mixed feelings for us.
On the plus side, people have been welcoming, helping us with work and moving us a second time in three months – from Fyn to Jylland across the splendid New Little Belt Bridge. Danes invite you into their homes, greet you, immediately switching to English when necessary – which has been our experience for the most part. Their level of English is astonishing – nevertheless, they are encouraging, even helpful, regarding non-natives using and improving their Danish.
We endured issues with sorting out paperwork to reside here. Subsequently, MitIDs, bank accounts, and all the necessary administration to exist and func -
tion successfully in a new life somewhere was MIA. This included mistakes, endless waiting periods, and the feeling that we had landed somewhere we did not feel accepted. Børnepenge and CPR problems took months to resolve, leaving us startled, waiting to feel like we had even properly arrived.
The weather is, as expected, somewhat cooler than further south in Europe, with the nearby sea filtering into existence here, an immense part of Danish life. The cuisine, too, felt closer to British and Polish, with far more in common than we had grown used to.
We had no car, old bikes, and many things nearby, but we struggled to explore Denmark any deeper, as we had longed to. We weathered the prolonged pandemic, as we could not move around much. Everything needed to meet a family's basic requirements within a limited radius. The nearest city is within striking distance by public transport, and there is access to education, healthcare, church, shopping, work, and numerous beaches, all close at hand. Simply put, settling in takes time and plenty of it.
The hyggeligt Danish lights were everywhere all year round – indoors, in gardens, on driveways, and embellishing houses. It
felt distinct, warm, homely, and essential. Summer was almost perennially lit up by wild hours of daylight, night almost abroad, on holiday in the middle of the year.
Winter was long and grey and, at times, miserable. We witnessed an exceedingly wet first winter, more than average many a Dane would tell us, though it felt loaded with the sea, almost encroaching upon, and creeping and crawling towards the land, to embrace it in its wild arms.
Summer could be hot and sunny as well as cloudy and windy ‒ an occasional brief storm would rear its head. Dancing, unpredictable clouds like I had never seen before would arrive and depart as if in a fleeting dream. It always kept you on your toes.
Of all the countries I have lived in, Denmark is the one where I am most excited about my own relationship with the people, the land, and the future we will share together.
If ever a move was a crash landing from which we survived, this was it. Luckily, we escaped the wreckage intact, and Denmark is a great place to settle into a new life. THE-INTL
WRITER / MUSICIAN / ARTIST
Dominic J Stevenson is a 3-time published author and the creator of the Literary Portrait / Visual Artwork project. He comes from Nottingham, England (Robin Hood land) and is a husband and father. He is a writer, musician, and artist. His writing has been published on many platforms - both online and in magazine format. He has lived in Denmark since 2022, in several European countries before that, and has recorded one album as Vincent Bella (The Dark Side Pulling At Us) and speaks fluent Spanish. He is enjoying learning Danish, albeit rather slowly. He loves the arts (music, film/ TV, literature, impressionism and more), tennis, football (Nottingham Forest FC), travel, languages, laughter, and Lego.
Dominic J Stevenson"OURFIRST YEAR LIVING IN DENMARK HAS GENUINELY BEEN A ROLLER COASTER RIDE."