CPH Post 25 March - 22 April 2021 by The Copenhagen Post

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At the fulcrum of Danish life, family time is precious and togetherness is key: so this is why they leave the office so early every day

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DANISH NEWS IN ENGLISH CPHPOST.DK VOL 24 ISSUE 03 25 March - 22 April 2021

LOCAL

Policing and fleecing Outrage at hefty fines for walking on 40 cm-thick ice

POLITICS Farvel Far: Haard to see anyone breaking his ministerial record

3 FEATURE

Sweet smell of ... shit Don’t dish it until you regain your senses post-corona

4-5

ANOTHER ROUND?

CULTURE Rounding up the awards: History beckons for 'Druk'

10 FEATURE

Feminism at last? Has #MeToo finally provided the impetus for a movement?

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Doing their best to disrupt Whether it’s the large gatherings, riots, arson or poorly worn facemasks, the authorities’ patience is wearing thin BEN HAMILTON

NTI-VAXXERS, anti-corona restrictions, anti-facemasks, anti-testing … it’s been a long list of complaints this past year about the actions of a government that has, to be fair, taken far fewer stringent measures than the

majority of European countries. No curfews, no visiting bans, no driving restrictions, no workplace ultimatums – some might say that it’s not surprising that it has reached a point of no more patience in the face of all the no common sense. Smasher-up locked up ACROSS the board, sentences for crimes connected to corona, particularly if they are anti-government, are being doubled: for CONTINUED on page 2

8 Financially vulnerable

Population rise

ALMOST a third of unemployed people say they are financially vulnerable, according to the 2020 Living Conditions Survey. Most blame loan repayments. In contrast, 4 percent of employed people are vulnerable, 4 percent of OAPs and 12 percent of students.

DENMARK’S population rose by 0.3 percent in 2020 to stand at 5,840,045 people. Despite a net immigration of 10,920 people, Copenhagen saw a drop of 4,560, including 2,418 fewer Americans.

Third happiest DENMARK slipped from second to third on the latest World Happiness Report, trailing Finland and Iceland. Much of the report assessed the impact of COVID-19, but the rankings weren’t too affected.

Bereaved parent help A CITIZENS’ proposal to provide more help to parents whose babies die will be heard by Parliament after gaining enough signatures in three days. Some 1,026 babies died between 2016 and 2020, compared to 92 kids aged 1-5.

LOCAL

THE COPENHAGEN POST | CPHPOST.DK

25 March - April 22 2021

Sign scam: Police targeting ice walkers

ONLINE THIS WEEK Development work AMONG this year’s urban developments, City Hall will spend 200 million kroner on giving 17 streets a facelift in 2021; seven city centre streets will be car-free over the summer as part of a pilot; Svanemølleværket in Nordhavn, the new home of the Technical Museum of Denmark, will become a hub for tech trailblazers; and Søren Kierkegaard's gravestone in Assistens Kierkegård is getting renovated.

Hit-and-run charges

City still increasing COPENHAGEN’S population rose by 5,800 to 638,000 in 2020. Broken down, there were 6,550 new-borns and a net gain from other countries of 2,750, minus a net migration to other municipalities of 3,400. The growth was 3,650 fewer than expected.

Wolt strike

DAVE SMITH

CANADIAN national was stunned to be fined 1,000 kroner for walking on the ice of the southern part of Sankt Jørgens Sø on February 14. Although the ice was 40 cm thick, there were no municipal signs permitting the public to walk on it. However, where thousands of Copenhageners gathered on the northern part of the lake, it was virtually impossible to see the municipal signs at the edge of the lake through the wall of bodies. CONTINUED from page 1 compensation fraudsters, rioters and, most recently, a woman who told a Men in Black demo on January 9 to “smash up the city”. She got two years in prison a sentence that former minister Simon Emil Ammitzbøll-Bille said was far less than people “who have committed incest and violence against children”.

A BOMB alert closed off the area outside the US Embassy in Østerbro on February 17. A bottle wrapped in duct tape was left near the entrance.

Now that’s a party While Men in Black have been regularly meeting at Rådhuspladsen on Saturdays, their gatherings could not compete with the 7,000-plus anticipated at a party at Thorvaldsens Plads near Parliament on March 11 organised by Malue Montclairre of Frihedsbevægelsens Fællesråd, the 'Freedom Movement'. Bad weather forecasts led to it

Editorial offices: International House, Gyldenløvesgade 11, 1600 Copenhagen Denmark

WOLT EMPLOYEES gathered at Kongens Nytorv as part of a strike on February 26 in protest at a new pay scheme.

US Embassy alert

Afraid of real crime TED, WHO declined to give his full name, told CPH POST how he and his girlfriend had checked the municipality’s website before continuing their journey from the north to the south of the lake. “I don't want to blow my own horn, but we’re kind of used to walking on ice in Canada, and the idea we were in any danger is crazy,” he said. “I tried to explain this to the police, but as soon as they detected we were foreign, they asked us for our IDs like we were criminals.The only criminal act in my view is this endemic pursuit of fining people for petty offences because they don’t want to tackle real crime.”

Tivoli reopening TIVOLI is opening on March 27 for the entire Easter period and then on long weekends for the rest of April. Reservations and corona tests, which can be taken onsite, are needed to enter. Bakken is opening on March 26.

Christiania arrests Impossible to see signs

Corona breeding ground INSTAGRAM was awash with commenters questioning the absence of the authorities at the northern part of the lake where many were contravening the coronavirus regulations. “How about fining people for gathering in their thousands?” added Ted. FACEBOOK/ LISELOTTE SCHULTZ

THE 21-YEAR-OLD subject of a citywide manhunt last October, after a five-year-old girl was run over in Frederiksberg, has been charged in connection with her death. In related news, a 27-year-old Greenlandic woman has been charged with murdering her 61-year-old partner in Solrød Strand.

The only criminals at the Lakes were the officers, claims disgruntled Canadian resident

being cancelled – just in time for coaches from all over Denmark to turn back. Weather gods again SOMEBODY even tried to set fire to a coronavirus test centre in Ballerup, a northwestern suburb of Copenhagen, on March 15. One or two perpetrators attempted to ignite a flammable liquid at the Energivej site, but it fizzled out. Recent rain and sleet – again, the weather to the rescue! – had left the ground pretty damp. The right to party NEVERTHELESS, City Hall has not turned its back on its people’s needs “Copenhageners should be allowed to party,” said mayor for integration and employment, Cecilia Lonning-Skovgaard, in response to an “insane” plan to reopen the city’s

ONLINE THIS WEEK

Incendiary words

nightlife with heavy restrictions. Opposed by a majority of the municipal council, it proposed shutting down the city at midnight to reduce noise pollution, rubbish on the streets and calls to the emergency services. “We must have an open city with joy and nightlife, and we must support a profession that is under pressure,” said Lonning-Skovgaard.

POLICE arrested 19 people suspected of continuing to sell cannabis in Christiania in March despite the ongoing ban on loitering. The police suspect they sold from a stand set up to inform people of the ban.

Attached to tache PHOTOS of Eldina Jaganjac, 31, a Bosnian expat in Copenhagen, went viral last month because she refuses to shave off her moustache to fit in. She told Unilad it helps to “weed out” bad dates.

Prison fake THE MURDERER Peter Madsen has been sentenced to an additional 21 months in prison in relation to his failed escape attempt last October, during which he was a free man for around six minutes. The court heard how he made a fake gun and bomb.

Metro legal dispute A LEGAL battle between the Metro company and the main contractor could raise the cost of the 25.3 billion kroner City Ring by an extra 6 billion.

Joyride in hotel lobby A MAN WAS arrested in February after driving a car around the lobby of the Tivoli Hotel in the city centre.

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25 March - April 22 2021

ONLINE THIS WEEK Ambassador in quicksand CARLA Sands, the former US ambassador, will likely face charges in connection to tweets in which it is alleged she violated the Hatch Act, which stipulates that all federal government officials should not be partisan in their statements. Not only did Sands use the embassy's official Twitter account, but she also shared tweets made by groups with strong right-wing ties.

Minister lined up THE FOREIGN Ministry intends to appoint its former minister, Kristian Jensen, as a special envoy tasked with securing Denmark a seat on the 15-member UN Security Council from 2025-2026 – a body it last sat on from 20052006. The government recently changed the rules to enable the foreign service to employ former politicians.

Far and Mor departing Parliament Denmark's two most senior MPs, Bertel Haarder and Marianne Jelved, call time on their distinguished careers

a year and four days.

BEN HAMILTON

WO FORMER culture ministers confirmed they would be stepping down from political life within hours of one another in February. Aptly, perhaps, one of them is the country’s longest-serving MP, and the other is the eldest – by

Farvel Far! BERTEL Haarder, 76, first became an MP in 1975, and he has been in charge of eight different ministries – the first in 1982, the last until 2016. In total, he has been an MP for 41 years and an MEP for seven years. He is Denmark's longest serving cabinet minister of the 20th and 21st centuries.

Hej-hej Mor! FORMER Radikale leader Marianne Jelved, 77, was elected as an MP in 1987. She led the party from 1990 to 2007, but resigned in the same year that two of her MPs (Naser Khader and Anders Samuelsen) broke away to form the Liberal Alliance. She served as a minister from 1993 to 2001, and then as culture minister from 2012 to 2015 under Helle Thorning-Schmidt's government.

Støjberg revives business

DF inquiry to conclude

Game over

FORMER Venstre chair Inger Støjberg has revived the consultancy business she closed down in 2001 and renamed it ‘Inger Støjberg – Til kamp for danske værdier’ (IS – to fight for Danish values). Meanwhile, her close pal Pernille Roth has resigned from Venstre expressing dissatisfaction with its new leader Jakob Ellemann-Jensen.

THE JUSTICE minister, Nick Hækkerup, has confirmed that the SØIK investigation into Dansk Folkeparti deputy chair Morten Messerschmidt’s alleged misuse of EU funds while he was an MEP will be concluded by the end of June. Its findings will determine whether he will face prosecution. Investigations began in 2015.

STATSKUNDSKAB, the University of Copenhagen’s department of political science, has discontinued its ‘lande-lege’ (country game) following accusations of racism. Teams were made to choose clothing evocative of a culture or nation, with one team representing Thailand choosing to dress as ladyboys.

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ONLINE THIS WEEK Leaving Parliament FORMER Radikale leader Morten Østergaard, 44, who stepped down last year following a number of #MeToo allegations, will not be running for office at the next general election. He has been on sick leave since October 12. He was first elected to Parliament in 2005. Before his political career, he worked as a marketing manager.

Six charges credible THE LAW firm Kromann Reumert has concluded that former Copenhagen Mayor Frank Jensen subjected women to “unwanted physical or verbal contact” in six out of 12 alleged cases between January 2010 and October 2020. Seven of the alleged incidents took place at a julefrokost in 2011 and another “the absolute wettest kiss on the cheek” in the woman’s life.

FEATURE

THE COPENHAGEN POST | CPHPOST.DK

25 March - April 22 2021

Can the vaccination after-effects be any worse than the fallout of the virus itself?

BEN HAMILTON

HIS ARTICLE is personal because that’s how big the coronavirus has become: it’s personal to all of us. By now, we don’t need the media to tell us how serious this is. Let me explain. I was talking to a friend who lives in a country that I won’t mention the name of ... because this is hearsay and

a little damning. It’s rumoured, he told me, that the country is cooking its infection figures to maintain its position in the top 100 worst affected countries in the world. Inclusion is lucrative, apparently. It’s a country with a small, fear-mongered population, currently in the height of summer, which is clocking up hundreds of cases per day despite heavy precautions. “So how many people do you know who’ve had it?” I asked. The answer said it all. “None,” he replied.

How do you feel today? I HEARD the same question on a train in southern England last summer: a father talking to his son about how the whole thing was made up. But this is no make-believe: without even making enquiries, we knew that at least five Copenhagen Post employees, past and present, had been infected. We contacted them to see if they would share their personal stories: of how they contracted the virus. But more importantly we wanted to raise awareness of how for many, getting the virus

GOT IN early. I was one of the first people in my circle to get COVID-19. In fact, I’m writing this on 16 March 2021, one year to the day since I contracted the virus. And what a year it has been. After just barely surviving the virus itself, losing 11 kilos in less than two weeks and enduring fevers of unknown temperatures, I got ‘better’. Better being an extremely relative term.

Ray Weaver Age: 60s Nationality: American Contracted corona: March 2020 CPH POST capacity: former journalist

Paul McNamara Age: 30s Nationality: Irish Contracted corona: December 2020 CPH POST: former intern

FIRST fell ill the day after the second lockdown started – December 9. I had to do a stock-take in the bar and soon

It’s made me old I’M A LONG-HAULER: one of the people who have endured after-effects from the virus that are still being researched. The difference in my physical appearance is amazing. And, frankly, depressing. Last year, I was a hale and hearty 64-year-old. I went to the gym at least four times a week and ran regularly. Post-COVID, I was too weak to do much felt more tired than normal from lifting crates, kegs and boxes. By the time I was finished that day I had what I would call extreme aches and pains all over my body. I hadn’t at the time heard of anyone having this as a symptom of COVID -19 so I thought it was only a bad cold coming on – after all I had no respiratory symptoms, no fever, no cough, no shortness of breath, no runny nose, no sore throat nor breathing difficulties of any sort. Penny starts to drop HOWEVER, that night as I lay exhausted on the couch feeling sorry for myself, a good friend of mine who is a nurse and works with coronavirus patients told me she had tested positive for the virus and that I should be tested. It’s hard to say whether I contracted it

PIXABAY

The majority still fully recover, but growing numbers don’t. Months after falling ill, they wonder whether they’ll ever feel normal again

As much as we stare, we can't wish it away

is only the beginning. In two of the five cases, their discomfort continues today. Viruses like COVID-19, by

more than walk around my garden. These days, I’m an old man. I am always short of breath now. I have started to add some moderate exercise back into my daily routine, but 20-25 minutes is all I can manage. Daily headaches SOMETHING, perhaps the fevers, really played havoc with my hearing. I was fitted for hearing aids in November. I had taken a hearing test the year before and it showed nothing more than the normal loss of a man my age. Now, it is much, much worse. I’m tired, cannot focus and find it difficult to get through a day without an afternoon nap. I have what we long-haulers call the ‘Corona headache’ most days. It starts in the back of my neck and runs around to my forehead, like someone from her because working in a bar I meet hundreds of people. Also at this point, the gyms were still open and how well the equipment was cleaned varied from person to person. The next day my housemate and his girlfriend also tested positive along with some other close friends. Relatively routine THE INTERESTING thing to me was how different everyone’s symptoms were. At that point, eight people I knew had tested positive, but I was the only one to have aches and pains. Some had lost their smell and taste, others had terrible headaches and exhaustion, and one or two a runny nose and the sense they weren’t really ill at all. I quarantined for 11 days, but pretty

their nature, may be impersonal, but when they strike like this, we all feel them on a deeply personal level.

with very large hands is squeezing my head as tightly as they can. Stomach ulcers THE WORST for me are the gastro-intestinal issues. I have stomach ulcers, another ailment I had not had previously. There is a good chance, actually, that I caused them myself because while I was in my fever-induced states of delirium, I lost track of how many Ibuprofen tablets I was gulping down, completely trashing my stomach lining and intestines. I have good days and bad days, but there is no question my health is not what it was 365 days ago. I’m a victim of my own hubris, in fact. I was so healthy that I was sure there was no way a virus was going to lay me low. I was wrong. much felt back to normal after seven days. Christmas and New Year’s Eve came and went without a blip of the virus and I didn’t think about it again until mid-January. Something’s wrong I WAS ON a bike ride and I began to struggle. My heart was pounding in my chest so much I thought I could hear it. Additionally, I couldn’t find the strength to maintain a good speed. It was only a casual bike ride and nothing strenuous, so I was surprised when I looked at my watch and saw my heart rate was up to 155 bpm. This happened two or three times in January, but while it was extremely uncomfortable, I didn’t give it much thought because it stopped just as suddenly as it started.

FEATURE

25 March - April 22 2021

Then it started to occur when I was relaxing – watching television or lying down at night to sleep. But the penny didn’t drop that it could be related to COVID until my housemate texted me to say he had to get off his bike cycling to the shop because his heart was beating so hard. It turns out this was going to become

Peter Stanners Age: 30s Nationality: British Contracted corona: December 2020 CPH POST: former senior journalist

ETER! Peter!!” I awoke with a start from a deep slumber to find my girlfriend screaming my name and slapping my face. Hard. Complete disorientation “WHERE am I?!” I was disorientated and my heart raced. I slowly registered that I was on my bedroom floor and that I had

Leslea Pedersen Age: 50s Nationality: British Contracted corona: December 2020 CPH POST: columnist

MILD COUGH and sniffles – a typical cold, I thought. By chance I had already booked a COVID test – but I never expected my test would be positive. With most viruses like a cold or flu, you pretty much know the drill – but

a semi-regular thing for both of us, and not just while exercising. Exhaustion too I WOULD also randomly get sudden waves of exhaustion: an overwhelming feeling of tiredness and need to lie down. It could be any time of day and didn’t seem to matter what I was in the middle fainted. I could remember writing a text in the kitchen and suddenly feeling the blood drain from my body. I staggered toward my bed but didn’t make it. My girlfriend watched me keel over on the floor. For the 20 seconds I lay there limp, with blue lips and a white face, she thought I was dead. I wasn’t, of course. I just had COVID-19. Or at least that’s what we thought. My symptoms started a week before, on a Saturday night in early December. The headache set in as the evening wore on. A mild pressure at the front of my skull morphed into a throbbing thud, which kept me awake most of the night. In the early morning I awoke in a pool of sweat, shivering, feverish. My joints and muscles ached like I’d run a marathon. I got a test on Monday but by Wednesday I still hadn’t got an answer. I never did – they lost it. Cardboard for lunch ON THURSDAY, my girlfriend and I woke up and made coffee. And as she sipped it, she inhaled deeply through her nose. And again. She couldn’t smell it. I buried my nose in the packet of

of. This was to me just as strange as the palpitations because I’ve always been active or worked long hours, and I’m usually full of energy. I’m not alone. I’ve now met quite a few people who’ve had COVID, and half report still having problems three to four week after ‘recovering’. These have ranged from heart palpitations

like me, to extreme exhaustion and a severe loss of fitness. One even struggles to find the right words when speaking sometimes. Though I still get the palpitations two or three times a week – and I never had them before contracting COVID – it’s not something I worry about regularly anymore, as they are less severe.

coffee. Nothing. Peeled open a clementine. Nothing. Just air. We bought pizza for lunch. It was like eating cardboard. The nausea had been creeping up on both of us during the week and by Friday we were eating very little. Without a sense of smell, food lost its appeal. All we drank was water to wash down headache pills. Our heads felt filled with lead. When I fainted the next day we called 112 and soon an ambulance was outside. I answered the door to a man in a bright yellow hazmat suit who took me away to Bispebjerg Hospital. They did a test and I was positive for SARS-COV-2. Blood tests showed I hadn’t been eating properly, but the scan of my lungs came back clear. I breathed a sigh of relief.

it felt like it would last forever. But it didn’t. Within three weeks the symptoms had lifted. Our sense of smell had returned. I went for short slow runs and my lungs slowly recovered. Within five weeks I was back to normal. It’s unlike any other illness I’ve had. Slowly developing, from a fever and aches, to nausea and a headache, and finally my lungs. I understand how it can grind some people down, how it can leave them with long-term damage. I read how it’s happened to people like me – fit, healthy and in their 30s.

Struggling to breathe IT WAS premature. Several days later I started to cough. My lungs had space for half the air. I had to take short shallow breaths. It was terrifying – still nauseous and aching almost two weeks after the first onset of symptoms. We’d done all the puzzles, watched all four seasons of ‘The Crown’. It was scary and boring and

Shit: smells like victory I’M LEFT with a real appreciation of my sense of smell. Just two weeks without it made me realise how much I depended on it. I try to savour every last whiff – from the aroma of a lemon or the tangy whiff of asphalt on a warm day. I took all smells for granted. When they returned, it was one of the happiest moments of my life. Sitting down, scrolling on my phone, flaring my nostrils and, suddenly, identifying the distinct stench of faeces. For that one brief moment, it was the sweetest perfume.

with COVID, you are stepping into the unknown. For a split-second I was nervous but when your son tests positive too, you must get on with it and sort out the living conditions to keep your husband – who tested negative – safe.

the severity of this virus, when I got the test results I must say that I felt a little bit scared. But it was not as much about my health, but about the people I had met during those days. Also, I didn't know how my body would react.

Overall fortunate IN QUARANTINE and in the lounge for 19 days with no company other than Netflix was fine, and apart from a few days of intense nausea and a persistent cough, the worst experience for me was the loss of taste and smell. The effects lasted until Christmas Day, when thankfully some taste returned so I could enjoy the turkey! Not being able to leave my home and do my usual exercise routine means I am still working on my fitness. I get breathless easily, and my taste is not back yet fully, with certain foods tasting ‘odd’, but I’m grateful that my symptoms overall are mild, which was not the case for some of my friends and family.

Fear of the unknown THE FIRST symptom I felt was my chest burning and a deep cough that lasted for two days. I had no high fever but I did develop anosmia, a loss of smell and taste, which stayed with me for weeks even after I had recovered. Overall, the most painful and maybe alarming part of my experience was the body aches and the pressure on my chest. I could feel my muscles as stiff as a stone. However, the psychological impact was bigger than the physical one. Being alone for weeks with an unclear mind, scared that I was the cause of someone's else unwellness, left me extremely affected.

Valmira Gjoni Age: 30s Nationality: Greek Contracted corona: January 2021 CPH POST: former intern

AM ONE of the lucky ones – I didn't have a severe brush with COVID. However, the perception of physiological pain differs from person to person, so I shouldn't underestimate it. Given all the media downpour about

NATIONAL

THE COPENHAGEN POST | CPHPOST.DK

ONLINE THIS WEEK

PARLIAMENT has banned religious marriages involving minors and pretty much doubled punishments for those who keep people locked in marriage by force. The new law, introduced on March 15, will make it easier to prosecute clerics and parents who condone such marriages.

Fewer cases of violence THERE were 28,186 victims of violence last year, according to Danmark Statistik – a 4 percent decline on 2019. However, the number of cases involving threats, blackmail, the illegal use of force and psychological violence have increased.

Fertility treatment rise IN 2019, 2,260 WOMEN became pregnant via fertilisation treatment using frozen eggs, according to Sundhedsdatastyrelsen. The number is a fourfold increase on the 526 women fertilised in 2013. During that time the success rate of the treatments has doubled from 16.7 to 30 percent.

Speak up, passengers! YOUNGSTERS aged 17-24 are three to four times more likely to die or be seriously injured in a traffic accident than their parents, according to an Epinion survey for Rådet for Sikker Trafik and TrygFonden. Half of the age group has experienced dangerous driving over the past year, but while 60 percent complained, 33 percent remained silent.

Living with the folks THE SHARE of young adults aged 18-21 who live at home with at least one of their parents has increased over the past decade from 57 to 64 percent. Boys are more likely to live at home than girls.

Both parents involved DIGITAL mail pertaining to children will be sent to the eBoks of both parents, regardless of whether they live together or not. The law will come into effect when the state embraces a new digital mail solution in November 2021.

A thinly-veiled law proposal targeted at extremist preachers would severely inconvenience non-Danish preachers, claims local vicar

ONLINE THIS WEEK BEV LLOYD ROBERTS

Minors can’t marry

Sermons on the word count

25 March - April 22 2021

BEN HAMILTON

HINLY-VEILED law proposals aimed at stopping practices within the country's Muslim community have been par for the course for two decades in Denmark, but they have a habit of impacting other communities overlooked by the legislators. Robert Innes, who as Bishop in Europe is one of the Anglican faith’s most senior clergy figures outside the UK, has expressed grave concerns about one such proposal. Entitled ‘Lov om prædikener på andre sprog end dansk’, it would require a Danish translation of a foreign-language sermon to be submitted to the government before it is delivered.

PARLIAMENT has banned donations that seek to undermine democracy in Denmark. The move aims to prevent potentially extremist forces from using donations to erode basic freedom and human rights. The Immigration Ministry will oversee a blacklist of donors and beneficiaries.

Uni’s strength in depth Revd Prasadam (second left) is among those concerned

Dangerous precedent SHE IS concerned that Den-

mark could set a dangerous precedent that could be adopted by other European countries – and it is particularly ironic to note that it is Denmark considering such legislation. “As a child I grew up in a prestigious theological college served by Danish missionaries,” she recalled. “Had a similar law been introduced in 19th century India, I regret not (m)any Danes would have fulfilled their mission to make Christ known there.” It is unclear when Parliament will consider the bill. Reports in January suggested late February, but it would appear to have been postponed – most probably due to coronavirus matters.

Sugardating acceptance

HPV vaccine success

Danish needed for cabbies

AROUND 50 percent of Danes aged 18-30 think sugardating is acceptable, according to a VIVE survey, and 7 percent have considered doing it. Last year, 15 municipalities registered teenagers and children as young as 12 providing sexual services to middle-aged men in return for reward. Grooming is not illegal, so the men are legally entitled to make contact online.

MOST 12-YEAR-OLDS are getting vaccinated against HPV, an STD infection that can cause various cancers. Some 85 and 82 percent of 12-year-old girls and boys received at least one jab last year, according to Statens Serum Institut. Initially offered to girls due to the risk of cervical cancer, the jabs were offered to boys in 2019 – primarily due to risks associated with sex.

PARLIAMENT has agreed to adjust the Taxi Law so that drivers must demonstrate an acceptable level of Danish in order to take the taxi course. The Taxi Law could again be adjusted in 2022 to address how taxis service rural districts. Non-western immigrants and their descendants account for a high share of taxi drivers in Denmark.

Fewer church exits

Double standards

Candy chomping champs

THE EXODUS from the Danish National Church has stalled, according to Danmarks Statistik. Just 9,053 people left last year. Meanwhile, marriage numbers fell by 7 percent and church weddings by 23 percent. The most popular date was 10-10-2020, when 800 happy pairs got hitched. And 4,400 people in Denmark celebrated their diamond wedding anniversary in 2020 – the highest ever number in a calendar year.

AHEAD of Poul Madsen retiring as the chief editor of Ekstra Bladet (see page 15), he had room for one more controversy. The paper paid tribute to him becoming a father again at the age of 58, and Benedikte Kiær, the mayor of Helsingør could not resist comparing the paper’s praise with the disgust it greeted her pregnancy with in 2018 when she was 48 years old. “Congrats on being a man,” she told him on Twitter.

THE AVERAGE Dane consumes a world-beating 6.6 kilos of candy a year, according to a DTU analysis of Euromonitor data. When chocolate is thrown into the mix, only Ireland and Germany consume more. The average Dane purchases 35 kilos of sweet ingestibles a year – down from 38 kilos in 2005 – and 127 litres of sweet beverages, compared to 106 litres in 2004.

No room for improv THE PROPOSAL would particularly hit those who only use notes to give a sermon, Innes argued, and with the high quota

Donation clause

of idiom and nuance involved, translation would prove to be pretty expensive as well. This worries Revd Smitha Prasadam, the Anglican chaplain of St Albans Church in Churchillparken, who confirmed to CPH POST that translations would require “a degree of sophistication that would demand more professional skill, which would then carry time and financial implications”. Revd Prasadam often “preaches off the cuff as prompted by the Holy Spirit – and in response to the people before me and their engagement with what I am preaching”.

IN THE 2021 QS World University Rankings by subject index, the University of Copenhagen ranked in the top 100 for four of the five main subject areas and enjoyed a top 50 ranking in 16. Aarhus University and DTU both had five subjects in the top 50, while CBS and Aalborg University both had two.

Biker link to killing A TV2 DOCUMENTARY, ‘Drabet i skoven’ (the killing in the woods), questions whether Thorsten Thomsen was wrongfully imprisoned for killing supposed love rival Anders Mark Hansen in 2012. Instead it suggests Hansen’s murder was linked to his activities on the fringe of the Bandidos biker gang. Crucial data has been mysteriously deleted by the police.

Revenge for sedation? IT TURNS out that Timo Nellemose, the 56-year-old man who murdered Doctor Charlotte Asperud in her own home in April 2019, knew his victim. The doctor was among a group of medical personnel who sedated the defendant after he was admitted to hospital in 2014 following a traffic accident and became violent. Nellemose received an indefinite life sentence.

GP ruse coining it in IT EMERGED in mid-February that every time your GP sends the results of your corona test, days after most people have looked them up online, they benefit to the tune of 45.72 kroner. Kommunernes Landsforening, the association of the country’s 98 municipalities, confirmed that the racket has so far cost it 23.4 million kroner.

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THE MUNICIPALITIES of Aalborg, Viborg, and Skive are trialing Japanese LOVOT social robots to see what effect their interaction can have on their eldercare – primarily on its treatment of patients with dementia. In related news, Hans Christian Andersen Airport near Odense recently trialled a four-legged robot, ‘Spot’, which patrolled its perimeter fencing checking for damage.

Steering in Mars USING Danish camera equipment, researchers at the Niels Bohr Institute at the University of Copenhagen will steer the rover that searches the Martian landscape as part of the NASA mission that safely landed on the Red Planet in mid-February. In related news, NASA has ordered another space ergometer from Danish Aerospace Company – its 18th since 1992.

Life science leader DENMARK ranks second behind Switzerland when it comes to patent activity per capita within life sciences since 2010, according to a report from the Danish Patent and Trademark Office. However, the report warns that the likes of China and the US are closing in, and that Danish development tends to rely too heavily on big companies like Novozymes and Novo Nordisk.

COPD patient pledge RIGSHOSPITALET in Copenhagen is upping the number of surgical procedures to help COPD patients aged 45-75 with shortness of breath.

V Day: As uncertain as Normandy The date by when the nation will be fully vaccinated has already been changed five times BEN HAMILTON

HE EXACT date of D Day kept on changing, and so is V Day, the point by which the whole of Denmark, or at least those who wish to be, will be vaccinated. First of all it was June 27, then briefly July 4 before reverting back to June 27. Vaccine distribution problems were blamed for pushing it to July 18, which was then swiftly followed by a worst case scenario of August 15. This has since been changed to July 25.

Could be anytime in the middle

At least ten European countries have postponed their AZ jabs, including Denmark, Sweden, Latvia, the Netherlands, Spain, France, Italy, Norway, Iceland and Germany. Most of them are awaiting the results of a European Medicines Agency investigation.

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Robot trials

SCIENCE

sation ends, new bookings will be able to be made via vacciner.dk. Booked times regarding the Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna vaccines will not be changed.

AstraZeneca inquiry MOST OF the blame lies with AstraZeneca, the Swedish-British vaccine, following the death of a Danish recipient who developed worrying blood clots. Three similar, non-fatal cases have been reported in Norway, and many others have reported side-effects.

Incomplete for now THE POSTPONEMENT means that people in Denmark who have been given the first jab from the AstraZeneca vaccine may have to wait longer than expected to get the second injection. All previously-booked times involving the AstraZeneca vaccine have been cancelled for now. At some point, if and when the ces-

Janssen is here AND THERE is now a fourth vaccine in play, as the EU has approved the use of the Johnson & Johnson version, Denmark has pre-ordered 8.2 million doses of the ‘Janssen vaccine’, which only requires a single jab and does not have to be stored at freezing temperatures. Some 323,878 people in Denmark are fully vaccinated, while a further 316,810 have had one jab.

Fanø best for nature

Cardiac breakthrough

Dual purpose farming

IN CO-OPERATION with Naturfredningsforening, a team at Aarhus University have mapped and ranked the country’s 98 municipalities in accordance to how much nature is available. Fanø finished top with a score of 87, followed by Læsø (81), Tårnby (75), Lyngby-Taarbæk (64) and Furesø (57). Other notables included Copenhagen (27th), Aalborg (33), Aarhus (77), Odense (87) and Frederiksberg (97).

A TEAM at Aarhus University have established a new genetic explanation for cardiac arrests and unexpected deaths among children and adolescents. In related news, a study of 25,000 baby hearts revealed that eight out of every thousand are born with congenital heart defects. In most cases, the left ventricle valve consisted of only two flaps, instead of the normal three.

USING vertical photovoltaic systems, a team at Aarhus University are working on a project to pull both energy and crops out of the same agricultural area. In related news, the DTU is developing a mobile CO2 capture plant that can be connected to a functioning biogas plant, and an initiative has been set up to use renewable energy to reduce CO2 emissions in Greater Copenhagen.

As cold as Canada ACCORDING to the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research, should the North Atlantic Current (the continuation of the Gulf Stream) weaken further, it could cause colder winters, longer summer heatwaves and less precipitation. Without its proximity, Denmark would be as cold as Canada. It has not been this weak for 1,000 years.

Brown fruit not bad IT’S BEEN another busy month for research at the University of Copenhagen. Among the findings are that brown fruit is not bad, blood donations can be contaminated with bacteria if the donor has the gum disease periodontitis, and the genetic basis of our lungs and limbs existed over 50 million years ago in primitive fish.

Fighting ADHD THE RISK of children developing ADHD may be reduced by growing up close to green space, according to an iPSYCH study. In other research news, infections could be an early sign of dementia (Nature Aging) and bosses who give good assessments to their employees are better at motivating them and increasing productivity (Aarhus University).

Alcohol disease decrease THE NUMBER of people diagnosed with alcohol-related liver diseases has decreased over the last 10 years, reports Aarhus University Hospital. Such patients tend to live longer and have fewer hospital admissions.

COVID-19

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SINCE March 1, Bornhom residents have enjoyed far greater freedoms than the rest of Denmark, but fewer are getting tested than expected. The reopening plans envisaged weekly tests at 11 provided centres, but they have only been used at half-capacity.

Hospitals emptying MARCH 17 saw hospitalisations fall to their lowest level since November 9. Just 196 were in hospital, including 41 in intensive care of which 25 were on respirators.

Charged over photo A 29-YEAR-OLD woman from Aarhus who posted a photo of a burning effigy of Mette Frederiksen on Facebook has been charged with making threats against the PM. The photo constitutes a threat of violence against individuals in public service.

New Epidemic Law THE GOVERNMENT has slightly amended the Epidemic Law, which gives it the legal right to impose assembly bans, visitation restrictions and school closures – among other actions.

New test order IN MID-FEBRUARY, the government confirmed it had ordered 10 million so-called 'lightning tests', which involve putting a tube only 2 or 3 cm up the patient’s nose. Previous tests required tubes reaching deep into the nasal cavity.

First Brazilian case THE FIRST case of the Brazilian COVID-19 mutation, known as P1, was discovered in Denmark in February, but since then there have only been 2 more cases.

Up to 11 percent SO FAR 640,688 people in Denmark have received their first jab, so 11 percent of the population, of which 323,878 (5.5 percent) are fully vaccinated.

Cinema and dinner come May

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Buggar Bornholm!

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Reopening plan will require everyone to use an app to demonstrate they’re not a corona risk BEN HAMILTON

UST MINUTES before midnight on Monday, the government confirmed a partial reopening plan for Denmark, which PM Mette Frederiksen confirmed are pretty much in line with society fully reopening once everyone over the age of 50 has been vaccinated. It is good news for education, face-to-face proprietorships, shopping centres and restaurants, but not so good for bars, gyms, travel, large events and the nightlife arena, as there are no goal-posts in sight. Almost all the parties agreed to the plans – a marked change from late February, when many accused the PM of dictating a position based on worst-case scenarios outlined by experts that have proved to be way off the mark.

After-effect clinics CLINICS are being established nationwide to treat the after-effects of corona (see pages 4-5). Breathing issues, memory loss, a loss of smell and taste, headaches and concentration are among the long-term symptoms. In Sweden, a large number of youngsters are reported to be affected.

Passenger freefall The scene come April 21. Bikes make room!

which will provide a corona pass to everyone who has been vaccinated, had a negative corona test in the last 72 hours or been previously infected. From April 6, the pass will enable holders to visit faceto-face proprietorships such as hairdressers, and then later outdoor dining at restaurants (April 21), indoor dining, cinemas and theatres (May 6) and indoor sports (May 21 – from April 21 for under-18s).

16-19) at a 50 percent capacity; university students at 20-50 percent capacity. And from April 13, stores in small shopping centres will be able to open, providing the mall is less than 15,000 sqm in size, and from April 21, all shopping centres will be permitted to open.

THE NUMBER of passengers departing from Danish airports fell by 75 percent from 18.2 to 4.6 million last year, according to Danmarks Statistik.

Ready to test DANISH pharma company Bavarian Nordic is ready to test its COVID-19 vaccine on humans. It is confident the vaccine will be able to effectively deal with the current mutations doing the rounds.

Mortality rate rose … just

Haircuts and dining A MAJOR component of the plans will be the MyHealth app,

Education and stores ADDITIONALLY, from April 6, more young people will be able to return to their education: grades 5-8 (ages 11-15) and gymnasium students (ages

New gathering limit FROM MONDAY, the gathering limit for outdoor activities (including sports) was raised from 25 to 50. And since March 15, efterskole students have been able to return, along with grades 5-8 for one day a week and graduating students at a 50 percent capacity.

Help for festivals

Circles of corona

Cancer concerns

A PARLIAMENTARY majority supports a 530 million kroner compensation package for festival organisers who are brave enough to not cancel their plans. The package will cover the fixed costs and salaries of all events attended by more than 350 people up to and including September, providing they were planned before 6 March 2020.

PEOPLE in Denmark are more likely to contract coronavirus through their close circle of friends, colleagues and family than any other means, according to a study carried out by Nordsjællands Hospital last autumn of 90,000 people, of which over a quarter were infected. Some 69 percent of those infected blame a close contact at work (27), at home (23) or socially (19).

PM METTE Frederiksen has conceded that Denmark’s healthcare system needs a rethink in light of the fewer cancer screenings conducted during the Coronavirus Crisis. Patients in the Capital Region have waited up to 58 days to find out the results of breast cancer screenings – far in excess of the normal 14-day waiting time.

DESPITE fears that the lockdown was leading to more couples separating, the number of divorces in Denmark in 2020 was on a par with the average of the last decade, according to Danmarks Statistik. In total, there were 15,700, which is 1 percent below average.

Sparrows with cannons

AI mortality assessment

Staying at home

A QUARTER of parents were not in favour of their teenage children being regularly tested, according to an Epinion survey for DR carried out in early March. One parent compared testing children in areas with low infection rates to “shooting sparrows with cannons”.

USING patient data, AI can predict with a 90 percent accuracy if a person infected with COVID-19 will die, claim researchers at the University of Copenhagen following their assessment of nearly 4,000 corona patients. BMI, gender and high blood pressure are found to be the main indicators.

THE FOREIGN Ministry has warned everyone in Denmark to celebrate Easter at home. Meanwhile, a Voxmeter survey has revealed that 75 percent of Danes are planning to stay home this summer. Meanwhile, a CPH Post survey via Instagram has confirmed this only applies to 40 percent of internationals.

MORE PEOPLE did die last year than in 2019, but only just. The mortality rate rose by 1.3 percent – the equivalent of 687 more people. Compared to the average of the previous three years, the rise was just 0.9 percent.

No spike in divorces

10 percent in reality NEARLY one in ten people in Denmark have been infected with the coronavirus, according to antibody analyses carried out by the national blood donor register. Officially, just 4 percent of the population have been infected.

Testing the engines ON FEBRUARY 26, Denmark handed out jabs to 35,900 – a testing of the engines ahead of its bid to vaccinate the entire country by July 27.

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NINE MEN and five women arrested over the weekend of February 6-8, mostly in Denmark, are suspected of being involved in a huge terror plot that the authorities in Denmark and Germany have been trying to stop since last year. Seven have been charged under the terrorism clause. Many of the suspects, including three brothers believed to be Syrian, are related.

Corona for horses DR HAS reported how a Danish equestrian family are locked down in Spain dealing with an outbreak of the herpes virus EHV-1, which has been described as “coronavirus for horses”. It has led to equestrian events in 12 European countries being cancelled until April 12.

Deployed to fight pirates THE DEFENCE Ministry will deploy a warship to the Gulf of Guinea in late 2021 in a bid to curb piracy in a region that accounts for 40 percent of the world’s cases. About 40 Danish-operated vessels pass through the gulf every day. The mission requires the approval of Parliament.

Stay at home, folks! THE FOREIGN Ministry has taken to Twitter to tell everyone in Denmark that it hopes they will be sensible about their plans to celebrate the Easter holiday, which this year will last from April 1-5. It advises against all foreign travel.

Holidaying in Thailand SEVERAL Danes were among a group of wealthy tourists permitted to holiday in Thailand recently, reports the New Straits Times. As part of the bubble arrangement, the tourists were quarantined in luxury villas at the five-star Sri Panwa Hotel in Phuket, which has its own private beach.

Storm over Syrians sent home Denmark accused of using far-right immigration policies. “We’ve always been open and honest,” responds minister BEN HAMILTON

ENMARK has gone far-right on refugees,” claims an op-ed penned by Michala Clante Bendixen, the chair of Refugees Welcome, on politico.eu. “What has happened to Denmark? Once renowned as a liberal, tolerant, open-minded society with respect for human rights and a strong and humane welfare state, we have now become the first country in Europe to revoke residence permits for Syrian refugees,” she wrote. In total, 94 are being pressured to move back following the government’s ruling that Damascus is now a safe area of Syria to live in – making Denmark the first EU country to say law-abiding refugees can be sent back. It raises the question whether Syrians are welcome in Denmark.

Greenland to the polls A GREENLANDIC general election on April 4 will vote in a replacement for premier Kim Kielsen, 54, who lost his leadership of the Siumut party late last year. The favourite to replace him is not Siumut’s new leader Erik Jensen, but Inuit Ataqatigiit chair Múte Bourup Egede. Local elections will take place on the same day.

Help for Slovakia There's a darkness at the heart of Denmark's immigration policy

Stopping the source THE GOVERNMENT has

meanwhile joined a European co-operation aimed at curbing migration streams and human trafficking along the eastern Mediterranean to the EU, which also includes Germany, Austria and the Czech Republic. Greece alone has seen about 90,000 migrants enter from Turkey along this route since 2019. The co-operation will focus on solutions in regards to border control, returning asylum-seekers back to their countries, human trafficking and improving the conditions for asylum-seekers. “Every year, thousands drown while trying to cross the Mediterranean and many who reach the EU don’t require protection,” said Tesfaye. “And despite that, it is often difficult to send back rejected asylum-seekers. This is completely untenable.” Denmark has future plans to appoint a migration ambassador and establish an asylum processing centre in the regions fostering mass irregular migration – such as in east and north Africa.

Bill similar to Oz?

Radioactive visitor

Equality = happiness

THE CULTURE minister, Joy Mogensen, has been busy preparing a bill that would require tech giants like Facebook to do deals with old media, so news producers are rewarded for the content they produce. Facebook recently encountered such a bill in Australia. Initially it banned the sharing of news links on its platform. However, it has since done a deal with News Corp.

THE SAHARAN dust cloud that entered Danish airspace on February 22, turning Instagram into a feeding frenzy of tangerine sunsets and marmalade skies, might well have contained minute doses of the radioactive substance cesium-137. Sourced from France’s nuclear testing in the desert 61 years ago, they compare miserably with what Chernobyl dumped on Denmark.

SAN FRANCISCO news outlet 48hills.org recently praised Denmark for its lack of inequality, suggesting it is one of the main reasons for its people being so happy. In related news, the Daily Express has reported that a Dexit is on the cards (it isn’t) and the Daily Telegraph, despite its right-wing leanings, has berated Denmark for making it “almost impossible” for foreigners to become citizens.

Pressured to leave ACCORDING to Arab News, the 94 Syrians will not be forcefully deported, but they have been moved to deportation camps, where human rights groups argue they will feel pressured to leave voluntarily. However, Mattias Tesfaye, the minister for immigration and integration, insists that Denmark has been "open and honest” since their arrival.

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Huge terror plot

INTERNATIONAL

"We have made it clear to the Syrian refugees that their residence permits were temporary. It could be withdrawn if protection was no longer needed," he said. In other countries, Syrians who have broken the law have been deported, but never before those who haven’t. Going home voluntarily LAST YEAR, Denmark assisted 137 Syrians in returning home – up from 100 in 2019. “More Syrians are travelling home with a bag of money from the Danish state. That’s good news as it shows that our steadfast repatriation policy works,” said Tesfaye. In total, 349 people received financial support to voluntarily return home last year – down from 502 in 2019. Second on the repatriation list in 2020 were Turks (55), followed by Bosnia-Herzegovinians (31), Thais (26) and Serbians (22).

DENMARK has deployed a team of doctors and nurses to Slovakia to help the country overcome its struggles with COVID-19. In related news, 125 million kroner in aid has been pledged to help alleviate the humanitarian crisis in Yemen, where 16 million people are on the brink of starvation.

Minimum wage confusion? ARGUING for an increase in the US minimum wage, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, the high-profile Democrat of Puerto Rican heritage who Donald Trump told "go back and help fix" the country she came from, recently praised Denmark for the high salaries of its McDonald's workers. However, critics were quick to remind her that Denmark doesn’t have a minimum wage.

Fines for employers? SINCE January 1, Swedes who work in Denmark, but spend most of their working week at home, have been obliged to pay taxes in their home countries. Danish employers (without a base in Sweden) are required to register them with the Swedish tax authority and face fines for failing to do so. However, Øresunddirekt expects leniency during the transitional period.

Friendly with Austria PM METTE Frederiksen recently travelled to Israel with Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz on a mission to acquire any excess corona vaccines that might be going spare, and it would appear they have struck up a good friendship. Frederiksen said Denmark might follow Austria’s lead and get its school children to test themselves.

10 CULTURE

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AT ODDS of 200/1, Denmark are the sixth least likely entry to win Eurovision, according to bookies. Melodi Grand Prix winners Fyr & Flamme have confirmed they will be performing in Danish. The likes of Sweden and Finland gave their 2020 entries the chance to compete in the qualifier again, but Ben & Tan were denied a place because DR said their new song “was not strong enough”.

Amazon targets Nordics THE STREAMING service Amazon Prime Video has confirmed it intends to invest far more in supplying titles, both English language and home grown, to Nordic subscribers. Hitherto, Amazon Prime Video has not really marketed its presence in the Nordics, where it has been available since 2016. Only 2 percent of Danes use it at least once a week.

Tivoli’s Faroese guests TIVOLI has confirmed that the Faroese restaurant KOKS will be opening a pop-up version in its Japanese Tower this summer. KOKS, which has two Michelin stars, will be open from mid-July to the end of August. AOC, a Michelin star restaurant located on Dronningens Tværgade in the centre of Copenhagen, has also confirmed a pop-up at Tivoli this summer.

Bodil up for a Bodil NO SURPRISES in the Bodil nominations ahead of the ceremony on May 8. Just like the Roberts, the five shortlisted films are ‘Druk, ‘Retfærdighedens ryttere’, ‘En helt almindelig familie’, ‘Shorta’ and ‘Vores mand i Amerika’. Among the oddities, Sidse Babett Knudsen has a Best Supporting Actress nod for ‘Kød & Blod’, in which she plays a character called Bodil.

Endeared by Denmark, dedicated to his daughter For ‘Druk’ director Thomas Vinterberg, an Academy Award would be the perfect tribute to his beloved Ida

Cinema is a cutesy GRAND Teatret cinema, which is located on a side-street off Stroget close to Rådhuspladsen, has been placed 43rd on Time Out’s list of the 50 most beautiful cinemas in the world. “You can still feel the history in its bones,” purred Time Out before applauding the cinema for servicing “hip young Danes” with “first dibs on the latest art house gems”.

BEN HAMILTON

ARL THEODOR Dreyer, Lars von Trier, Billie August, Gabriel Axel, Susanne Bier ... Vinterberg has already surpassed them all! Since announcing himself on the world stage with the unforgettable ‘Festen’ as one of the co-founders of the Dogme 95 movement, the Danish director has been a name to look out for. His 2012 production ‘Jagten’ came close to landing the greatest prize available to Danish movies, the Oscar for ‘Best Foreign Language Film’, and now, almost a decade later, his latest creation, ‘Druk’ (‘Another Round’), is a raging hot favourite to take the award. Not only that, but Vinterberg has grabbed a ‘Best Director’ nomination, becoming the first Dane in history to do so. Sweden has previously picked up six nods, and Norway one, but never before a Dane.

Fake history scorned Unlikely to win Best Director, certain to do his daughter proud

Gonner at the Globes SHOULD the 4/11 shot persevere, it will have the Academy’s rules to thank. Because while the Korean language film ‘Minari’ beat ‘Druk’ to win the Golden Globe for ‘Best Foreign Language Feature’, it is ineligible to compete in the Oscars’ ‘Best International Feature’ category (renamed in 2019) because it is US-produced. Heading into the Globes, Vinterberg was hoping it would be third time lucky following ‘Festen’ and ‘Jagten’. But despite his homeland’s good record, it was not to be. Indeed, Danish films not made by Vinterberg have three wins from six nominations!

2/1 to upset the odds, so who knows: maybe it will bring home the bacon. With promo shots resembling the classic 1980s film 'Field of Dreams', 'Minari' is being lauded as one of the films of the year. It has an impressive Metacritic score of 88 from 33 reviews – seven points more than 'Druk'. Although … look over your shoulder … as the Bosnian contender ‘Quo Vadis: Aida’ has a score of 96 and is 3/1 to win the Oscar.

Korean ‘Field of Dreams’ AHEAD of the Oscars ‘Druk’ will test the waters at the BAFTAs, where it has been shortlisted for four awards: best foreign language film, director, original screenplay (Vinterberg and Tobias Lindholm) and actor (Mads Mikkelsen). Again ‘Minari’, which has six nominations, will stand in its way. At the Globes, ‘Druk’ was

Four Danish noms IN OTHER Oscar news, Mikkel EG Nielsen has been nominated for best film editing for 'Sound of Metal'. Nielsen, who has also been nominated for a BAFTA in the same category, is the third most likely to win the award, according to the Gold Derby tipping website. While another Danish filmmaker, Elvira Lind, has been nominated in the category of Best Short Film for 'The Letter Room'. Based in New York, her husband is the 'Star Wars' actor Oscar Isaac.

Record crowds

Filling the void

Dining Week moved again

THE COPENHAGEN Light Festival enjoyed a record attendance of 750,000 in February, as thousands braved the cold to enjoy exhibitions such as ‘Interactive Trampolines’ and ‘Bridge over Bubbled Water’.

THE VOID International Animation Film Festival was never going to let a pandemic get in the way of showing the Scandinavian public another array of fine films. This year’s festival drew record numbers to its online line-up, which was available until March 25.

COPENHAGEN Dining Week had been scheduled to start in February, and then in late March, but now it will take place from April 30 to May 16. Reservations are ongoing at diningweek.dk, and be quick, as many are quickly selling out.

In dedication to FOR VINTERBERG, winning an Oscar with ‘Druk’ will not only prove to be his finest moment, but also his most poignant. He chose to film many of its scenes at the school attended by his daughter Ida, but while many of her friends starred in it, she did not. Ida, who played a large role in persuading her father to make ‘Druk’, had been tragically killed in a car accident in Belgium several months earlier. The film is accordingly dedicated to her memory.

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Tanned at Eurovision

25 March - April 22 2021

DANISH actor Søren Pilmark is among the stars of ‘Atlantic Crossing', a Norwegian series co-produced by DR, which has been bashed by author Tor Bomann-Larsen for depicting “fake history” as the main characters, Franklin D Roosevelt and Norwegian Crown Princess Märtha, did not meet during the depicted timeframe.

No Anglo winners NONE OF the Anglophone theatre groups nominated for CPH Culture theatre awards this year ended up winning. The winner of the best adaptation of foreign drama, the Årets Nye Skuespil Efter Udenlandsk Forlæg award, went to Huset Teater for its adaptation of Det store stilehæfte, a French-language play written by Hungarian playwright Ágota Kristóf.

Disney vs Netflix MANY ARE predicting that Disney + will challenge Netflix’s dominant streaming position with its introduction of ‘Star’, a new range aimed at adults. It added 300 titles to its library in February, with 800 more to follow this year. The monthly subscription cost has risen from 59 to 79 kroner.

Don’t delete it! NOT CONTENT with seeing its spring program fall victim to the coronavirus, Why Not Theatre Company launched a web series in mid-February called ‘Delete this!’. Penned by resident playwright Tanja Mastilo and featuring most of its regular actors, the five-minute clips can be downloaded via the company’s media platforms.

SPORT

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DANISH FIFA player Anders Vejrgang, 15, finally lost a match following a world record 535 victories in a row. He lost 1-5 to Black United, whose manager Damian Sitaram celebrated with a tweet that quickly gathered 17,000-plus likes. Vejrgang’s record was set over 18 weekends, 30 games at a time.

No to bikini ban BEACH volleyball pairing Cecilie Køllner Olsen and Sofia Bisgaard were among those who defied a bikini ban introduced by the International Volleyball Federation to appease Qatar, the host nation of the Katara Cup. The federation reversed the ban on International Women's Day. The Danes were knocked out in the first round.

Cyclist wins classic MADS PEDERSEN won the Belgian semi-classic race Kuurne-Bruxelles-Kuurne in a sprint finish on February 28. Several other Danes, including defending champ Kasper Asgreen and Søren Kragh Andersen, were also in contention.

Inter into Christian EIGHT wins on the trot has seen Inter move 6 points clear at the top of Serie A, with Christian Eriksen now playing a pivotal role in a five-man midfield. Mostly sidelined since his move in January 2020, Eriksen seized his chance 12 months later to cement a starting position.

ONLINE THIS WEEK FACEBOOK/CLARA TAUSON

535 victories in a row

Clara’s classy … now she needs a nickname Tauson takes first WTA title just 22 days shy of Caroline Wozniacki’s mark. But to truly emulate her fellow Dane, she needs a moniker or two BEN HAMILTON

EW TENNIS players have had as many nicknames as Caroline Wozniacki: Little Miss Sunshine, Woz, Caro … and not all of them were positive. ‘The Wall’ and ‘Snoozniacki’ were aired a few times after she beat minnows 6-1, 6-1, but still managed to hit fewer winners. And then there was Wozzilroy, a name her boyfriend had inscribed on a wedge that he presented to her. Digging deep BUT NOW Clara Tauson has won her first WTA title at the age of 18 years and 76 days – just 22 days short of Wozniacki’s march, she’ll need a nickname of her own to be truly considered a big name on the tour.

In top 100 TAUSON ousted Viktorija

‘The Lord’ retires NICKLAS Bendtner, 33, has retired from football. He had been expected to seal a deal in China before the coronavirus took hold, but since then a TV career alongside girlfriend Philine Roepstorf has taken over. His last professional game was for FC Copenhagen in 2019. Bendtner has previously said he intends to pursue a career in coaching.

Kojo finds his mojo

Woz close to tears?

Cla and Taus don’t have an instant ring to them, while Clara ‘Tornado’ Tauson and Clara ‘The Terminator’ Tauson sound better suited to snooker and darts respectively. Given her big wallop of a forehand, and this newspaper’s fondness for classic 1970s movies, how about ‘the Tauson Inferno’? Or perhaps even better, given her thunderbolt of a serve, how about a liberal pronunciation of Thor?

Golubic 6-4, 6-1 in the final of the ATP Lyon Open, where she didn’t drop a single set, knocking out the world numbers 33, 73, 81, 105 and 130 on the way. The win saw the 2019 junior Australian Open champion jump from 139 to 96 in the world rankings. And that’s interesting because the top 104 in the world automatically qualify for the Grand Slam tournaments – the next being the French Open in May, which like the ATP Lyon Open is contested on clay.

Viktor for a good reason

Brøndby head table

He’s coming home

DENMARK recently retained the European Mixed Team Badminton Championship, a biennial tournament it has now won 17 times. It beat France 3-0 in the final. Meanwhile, one of its stars, Viktor Axelsen, the world number two, had only dropped three sets in 2021 going into the All England. During this time he won three tournaments, but ended up losing the All England final.

BRØNDBY are top of a tight Superliga table, two points ahead of FCM and ten clear of rivals FC Copenhagen, who they beat in controversial fashion on March 7. Brøndby last won the title in 2005. In related news, Bo Rygaard is in April stepping down as chair of FCK’s owner Parken Sport & Entertainment after six years in charge.

HANDBALL legend Mikkel Hansen, 33, will next year move from Paris St Germain, his club for the past decade, to Aalborg. He has won the French league seven times but never the EHF Champions League. Meanwhile, team-mate Johan Hansen, 26, is tipped to swap Hannover-Burgdorf for another German outfit, Flensburg-Handewitt, in 2022.

KOJO MUSAH finished last in the final of the 60 metres at the European Indoor Athletics Championships in Torun, Poland. His finishing time of 6.68 was 0.05 slower than his effort in the semis. Last month he set a new Danish record of 6.61. Meanwhile, Astrid Glenner-Frandsen set a new Danish record of 7.32 seconds in the semis of the women’s event.

Olympic vax pledge DENMARK will vaccinate the 150 sports people and 200 officials taking part in this year’s Olympics in Tokyo. However, none of them will jump the queue – even though the deadline to vaccinate the nation keeps changing. The Olympics start on July 23.

Fight over Faghir VEJLE Boldklub’s 17-year-old forward Wahid Faghir, who has scored five goals, is weighing up his international options: Denmark or Afghanistan, the birthplace of both his parents. Faghir has already represented Denmark for several youth teams, including the under-18s.

12 BUSINESS

THE COPENHAGEN POST | CPHPOST.DK

ONLINE THIS WEEK

THE PUBLIC has been warned off Skatteguiden, an app that enabled 80,000 to find out their tax returns for 2020 ahead of the official unveiling in the past fortnight. TV2 spoke to experts who questioned why personal information was held onto for longer than promised. In related news, the remainder of the holiday money was unfrozen on March 1.

Runaway success BUSINESS at Umami Games, a Vesterbro-based company started by three Danes in 2019, is booming. Some 2.5 million downloads of its mobile game 'ABC Runner' in just one month has seen it soar into the top three of Apple's chart in the US. It makes most of its revenue from ads exposed to gamers.

Tourism boost THE FOREIGN Ministry, Copenhagen Municipality and Wonderful Copenhagen has launched a new 70 million kroner initiative to boost tourism in the nation’s capital called Comeback Copenhagen.

Second Brit charged ANOTHER Brit suspected of defrauding the Danish state of 9 billion kroner by exploiting a share dividend tax loophole has been named on charge sheets. Anthony Mark Patterson, 49, reportedly faces 12 years in prison for allegedly helping ringmaster Sanjay Shah. In total, the scam deprived the state treasury of over 12 billion.

Shares like sex: men fast, women considered

ONLINE THIS WEEK PIXABAY

Warned off app

25 March - April 22 2021

Rise in female investors highlights differences when it comes to playing the stock market

THE PRICE of mink in Denmark has risen by 79 percent, according to Copenhagen Fur’s opening auction of the year – the first since 17 million mink were culled in November.

LAUREN BEAUCHAMP

T’S NOT only Reddit readers: more women are buying shares, and they are more likely to be longer-term, greener investments than men, reports DR. They are more likely to make fewer trades as well and therefore pay fewer transaction fees. The company VP reports that women accounted for 619,000 share trades in 2020 (twice the number in 2019), Nordnet reported a more than doubling of female investors, and Lunar noted a 65 percent rise in women buying shares. The Moneypenny and More network, which acquired 10,000 members from 2016-19, welcomed 25,000 new members last year. Mostly young women in their 20s, they say they are partly driven to buy shares because they’d

Soaring price of mink

Strong for soft power

Unlike our male colleagues, she takes her time before choosing a good match

rather lose money that way than see savings eaten away by inflation and negative interest rates – a trend seen among young men too. And bigger pensions MEANWHILE, women who have entered the labour market in Denmark in the last decade are on track to have larger pensions than their male counterparts by the time they retire, reports Insurance & Pension Europe (IPE). The findings are in contrast to today's average earnings as

men make 22 percent more than women, but the tide has been turning since the 1960s. “Young women have overtaken men in higher education. With education also comes higher wages and greater job security," explained IPD chief executive, Kent Damsgaard, to ipe.com. IPE’s Danish division analysed the data of employer-administered and private pension savings from the Danish Research Institute for Economic Analysis and Modelling.

Fat loss for Tivoli

Lucrative grants

GDP down, inflation steady

TIVOLI made a loss of 143 million kroner in 2019 as visitor numbers fell by 3 million, compared to a profit of 167 million the year before. It had just 1.63 million visitors, and revenue more than halved to 478 million kroner. It was open for 199 days, compared to 270 days in 2019, and it cut 20 percent of its employees: around 440 jobs. For 2021, it expects a loss of 75-100 million.

DENMARK is the world's second best-funded nation for startup businesses, according to the Innovation Investment Index compiled by money.co.uk. Some 1.034 million euros was made available via five business grants last year, placing Denmark second behind only the US. Denmark has 0.17 registered businesses per person, and 3.64 percent are startups.

DENMARK’S GDP fell by 3.7 percent in 2020, according to Danmarks Statistik. While it represents the biggest fall since 2009, it is a long way off the 10 percent dip predicted by Nationalbanken in April. Most other countries in Europe have fared far worse. In related news, inflation remained stable at 0.4 percent in January, whilst most EU rates soared.

SOFT POWER is the ability to influence preferences and behaviours through attraction or persuasion rather than coercion, and Denmark has ranked 15th in Brand Finance’s Global Soft Power Index 2021. Germany topped the list, replacing the US, which fell to sixth.

Vestas profits rise VESTAS profits rose by 10 percent in 2020 – up 71 million euros to 771 million. Revenue increased by 22 percent to 14.8 billion kroner. Vestas, meanwhile, is developing a new giant turbine that will be able to power around 20,000 European households a year.

Brexit hits UK trade BREXIT has struck! Between December 2020 and January 2021, the value of exports of Danish goods and services to the UK fell by 24 percent while imports dipped by 17 percent. Goods exports fell by 30 percent and imports by 45 percent.

Summerhouse bonanza DANMARKS Statistik has confirmed that property prices rose across the board in 2020, with summerhouses leading the way with a 8.2 percent surge. Bornholm saw a 14.9 percent increase in holiday home sales.

INTRODUCTION

DON’T LET EASTER BE PASSED OVER!

PIXABAY

Timed this year to coincide with the advent of spring, start April as you mean to go on by getting the most out of Denmark

By Ben Hamilton If I’ve learned one thing about this time of year living in Denmark, it’s that the Danish for Passover is jødiske påske – Jewish Easter. Just say what you see Now normally the Danish way of saying it like they see it is, at the very least, accurate. Nobody can deny that your gums (tandkød) are indeed tooth meat (Hannibal Lector would certainly agree) and that your fridge (koleskåb) is a cold cabinet (as would Jeffrey Dahmer). But Jewish Easter! That’s about as accurate as translating a bar mitzvah as a Jewish sweet 16 party or a bagel as a Jewish polo mint. Moses sings the stones Next you’ll be telling me that the Danish for Yom Kippur is Moses sings the stones: I can’t get no

Arafat action! Cause I Sinai and I Sinai and I Sinai and I Sinai. No, I think Jewish Dia de los Muertos would be a more accurate description. Of course, I don’t want to conjure up any anti-Jewish sentiment. Let’s just say the Passover (a blessed relief after the plague of frogs – unless you’re French) and the original Easter (no chocolate for Jesus, although it’s rumoured Mary Magdalene shared her egg) were a couple of rare wins on what has been a trying journey to the promised land. Do as the Romans! I learned this glancing through my daughter’s Easter-themed homework, a most enlightening read that rewrites history whilst dumbing it down for pre-teens. It quite sensationally claims Jesus rose from the dead three days after dying on the cross, so on the Monday during Jerusalem rush hour, which might explain why nobody actually saw him. All of this sounds like a cue to

EASTER GUIDE SPR I NG 2 021

recruit the correctional services of John Cleese’s centurion from ‘Life of Brian’ to remind the Danish school system we stopped counting the Roman way when we stepped out of their shadow to take Europe into … the Dark Ages. Just when I thought I was out That’s a little bit like how Denmark manages to take us out of winter and then straight back in again. Cue Michael Corleone clenching his gloveless, blistered fists and yelling: “Just when I thought I could feel my hands again, I need to retrieve all my woolens from storage!” And even if it does start to get warmer, and bring the pollen season with it, we can always count on it being windy – every which way you go.

issue than the start of spring, as Easter will soon be upon us, and unlike many other countries, Denmark offers up Maundy Thursday as a bank holiday, making it a five-day break for pretty much everyone (check out page 3 for our guide to the Danish Easter). It is almost everybody, as all the regular weekend workers – pubs, restaurants and nightclubs – will be off, while others (clergy and clubs) will be restricted to their homes. But that doesn’t mean there aren’t plenty of options for those of you brave enough to venture outside this Easter weekend – all in adherence with the coronavirus restrictions.

But did you know that there’s a logical reason why some days it feels like we’re cycling into the wind every direction we go! Henrik Vedel, a senior scientist at DMI, explains more (pages 4-5).

We’ve assembled a selection of some of the best options (pages 6-7) in the hope that you’ll spend Easter as you mean to go on: embracing Denmark for all the potential it has to offer, indoors and out.

Embrace the big outdoors Of course, there’s more to this

Oh, and happy Jewish Easter as well!

Publisher: CPH POST • Editor: Hans Hermansen • Info: hans@cphpost.dk • Tel: +45 2420 2411

OPINION FACEBOOK/ MØLLEBÆKKENS KØBMANDSGÅRD

SURVIVING THE DANISH EASTER

By Kirsten Louise Pedersen An insider’s tips on how to best prepare for and endure Holy Week As Easter is approaching it occurred to me how differently it is celebrated around the world. It’s yet another festive season originally rooted in religion – crucifixion, Lent and suchlike – which a lot of people clearly no longer relate to as they stuff their faces with chocolate, get legless on Easter brew and enjoy the long weekend! Seasonal crossroads In Denmark, Easter is a spring event signalling that summer is near. In the Southern Hemisphere, Easter marks the end of it. In New Zealand it’s said that if you’re still swimming in the sea during Easter weekend, it’s been a good summer. Festive seasons in Denmark naturally involve arts and crafts. Decorated ‘troldegrene’ (troll branches), intricately curly branches with painted eggs and coloured ribbons, are a common sight in Danish homes. Daffodils and snowdrop flowers are indicators of spring in Denmark and have therefore become synonymous with Easter. Easter Valentine cards A ‘gækkebrev’, occasionally referred

to as a ‘snowdrop letter’ in English, is an Easter tradition that in Danish history dates back as far as the 17th century. First a decoration is made from cutting shapes off a folded up piece of paper to create a pretty symmetrical pattern when unfolded. And then inside the decoration a poem is written, often including the words: “Mit navn det står med prikker, pas på det ikke stikker” (my name is written in dots, careful they don’t sting – this phrase rhymes in Danish!). The poem is then signed with dots instead of letters – each dot represents a letter in the sender’s name – and sneakily dropped into the mailbox (showing my age) of an unsuspecting recipient. If they are unsuccessful in guessing the creator of the gækkebrev, they are obliged to give them a chocolate Easter egg! Needless to say, grandma got carpet-bombed. Egg-cellent fun for all Easter in Denmark tends to include some sort of egg game, whether it’s hiding chocolate ones for a hunt, or rolling real ones down a (small) hill. Eggpainting is popular, but traditions vary from family to family. Some, for example, might sit down on

the morning of Easter Sunday and paint their soft-boiled eggs before eating them. More universal is a big meal – normally a classic Danish lunch enjoyed with your extended family with schnapps and beer. Traditional Danish lunches are world famous for being scrumptious and are enjoyed throughout the year at various key occasions. Stuffing your face with chocolate eggs, on the other hand, is a rather global tradition these days.

In New Zealand, for example, it is illegal to sell alcohol on Good Friday and Easter Sunday. Alcohol can be served in restaurants – but only if accompanied by food. Heads up, a sneaky bowl of shoestring fries won’t cut it (I’ve tried). No cap will come off a bottle of booze unless a sensible, full meal is ordered! This piece was originally published in March 2018

As well as the mountains of Easter eggs, many English-speaking countries around the world will serve up ‘hot cross buns’ (sweet, spiced fruit buns with a symbolic cross glazed on top) as an Easter treat. The hot cross bun originally marked the end of Lent. To drink or not to drink Denmark is never one to pass up an opportunity to brew beer! A number of special beers are launched over Easter – often spiced and much stronger than your usual ranges. Needless to say Easter is a jolly season in Denmark! Unlike beer-swiggin’ Denmark, resilient religious rules still prevail over Easter in some countries.

KIRSTEN LOUISE PEDERSEN Born and raised in Denmark and a resident of New Zealand for over 14 years, Kirsten has lived a pretty nomadic life since her early 20s. A physiotherapist, yoga teacher and keen home cook, she is passionate about food, good living and natural health. Follow her on Instagram @ kirstenlouiseyoga.

EASTER GUIDE S P R ING 2 02 1

FEATURE

ANY WAY THE WIND BLOWS!

FLICKR/GARY KNIGHT

DMI’s finest sets the record straight on why cyclists always seem to be struggling into a force 12 hurricane at this time of year

By Roselyne Min As far as complaints go in Copenhagen, it’s right up there with “You’re killing the hygge”.

“maybe not the best wind expert, but the most fanatical biker at DMI”. He commutes by bike every day, travelling over 20 km, and he even has a small computer attached to the bike for scientific purposes. He has to be the man with the answer to that eternal question.

Why, oh why, oh why does it feel like we’re cycling into the wind on our way to work, and then cycling into the wind on the way back? Show me the wool! They say March comes in like a lion but leaves like a lamb, but we’ve seen no evidence of that at the CPH POST offices, which are located just around the corner from the always blustery Copenhagen Harbour. Every day is like fighting off a lion trying to undress you … with no lambs in sight! Given how gusty it’s been lately, we thought there was no time like the present to consult an expert on all matters wind. DMI’s finest Henrik Vedel is a senior scientist at the Danmarks Meteorologiske Institute (DMI), the national weather forecaster, who describes himself as

EASTER GUIDE SPR I NG 2 021

Henrik Vedel

Are we always cycling into the wind, or is it just a false impression? No. We do not always cycle into the wind. But it’s not totally a false impression. It is fairly easy to feel like that because most people will have ‘something’ against them. It’s because we bike faster than the typical inland wind speed in Denmark. Commuters bike on average at 20 km/h and the wind blows at 18km/h, 1.5 metres above the ground. Therefore, more often than not you face a headwind rather than a tailwind, resulting in wind resistance instead of a push. So if you bike at 25km/h and the relative wind is 4m/s (14.4 km/h), you are faster, so the wind is against you in both directions. Is the wind resistance always dominant? There are different factors that interrupt biking, depending on your speed. If the bike speed is fast enough, the bike is mainly affected by the wind resistance, but if the bike goes slow, there would be other resistances, for example, the rolling resistance of the wheels. In fact, the wind resistance increases in correspondence to the square of the along-track relative wind speed. So if you double the wind speed, the resistance becomes four times bigger. This means that even small changes may cause a considerable impact on the power needed to maintain a certain bike speed. For instance, a very modest

INTRODUCTION

LET THE GOOD TIMES ROLL!

VISIT DENMARK/ NICLAS JESSEN

Easter marks the beginning of the bank holiday season: a minimum of six days off and all-out family fun

By Ben Hamilton When you consider Danish life in general – from the hygge and the Jantelovn, to the short prison sentences for murderers and the liberal attitudes to sex and nudity – you start to realise that most of this stems from what is a rather unique childhood (see pages 4-5). In regards to bringing up their kids, the Danes are steadfastly against going with the flow, as if they’re saying: “You’re disgusted by a TV show that shows weirdlooking naked adults (in one case with a world-record breaking penis) to pre-teens … fine, you deal with the fallout when an entire generation thinks perfect is the norm” and “Children need

to see what the inside of a giraffe looks like.”

Denmark to the art of espionage and subterfuge.

As long-stay expats in Denmark, foreign parents face a challenge ensuring their offspring retain their nationality. And sometimes the easiest option is to just give in and let your children absorb their surroundings.

Let’s face it: we don’t really know our kids until they’ve been put in a position in which they really want something. Dangle the Easter carrot of untold chocolate in their face, and they will employ hitherto unknown quantities of deviousness to ensure their supply won’t run dry until June.

Orientated to kids Easter is a good time to initiate them. As well as borrowing some of the activities seen in most countries the world over, such as egg hunts involving enough chocolate for Augustus Gloop to drown in, there are plenty of other traditions unique to Denmark. The pick, of course, is the ‘gækkebrev’, a Valentine’s Day-like ‘who am I’ greeting with a twist, which ably introduces children in

FAMILY GUIDE SPR I NG 202 1

It starts with the need to identify the weakest adult they know, which isn’t too dissimilar to the way young lions pick off the antelope with a slight limp. Many ruthlessly opt for Grandma, but as they get older, they realise their friends’ parents are a little more unsuspecting … and embarrassed into silence in case they’re wrong. Bank holiday season The family fun doesn’t stop there

of course, as the Easter holiday provides us with five whole days to enjoy. Not only that, but it’s the signal that the bank holiday season is going to start. Great Prayer Day will follow over the weekend of April 30-May 2, followed by Ascension (May 1316), for which everyone takes off a sneaky Friday, and then finally Pentecost (May 22-24). The total sum, which is six bank holidays – and two more (three with Ascension Friday) if May Day and Constitution Day don’t fall at the weekend (aaaargh ... they do this year!) – means that most of us (not ski bums) can save our five-week holiday allocation until July and beyond. That’s more time to share with the family and for letting the unique times roll.

Publisher: CPH POST • Editor: Hans Hermansen • Info: hans@cphpost.dk • Tel: +45 2420 2411

FACEBOOK/COPENHAGEN LIGHT FESTIVAL

Copenhagen Light Festival last month set a record for the most attended event in Danish history. Spread over 21 days in February, an estimated 750,000 people visited, according to figures based on police estimates and app usage. The official population of Copenhagen Municipality is only 630,000!

Unspoiled nature. Clean water. And green energy. You’ll find it all in Iceland. And thereby also the perfect conditions to grow and produce food of high quality and flavour. With access to green energy and clean natural resources in the Arctic and North Atlantic regions, we constantly challenge the boundaries of traditional food production.

FEATURE

VISIT DENMARK/ ROBIN SKJOLDBORG

HOW DANISH CHILDHOODS ARE TRULY UNIQUE AND INCREASINGLY MIMICKED Whether it’s learning from play, the efterskole boarding schools, or finishing it all off aboard a deathtrap truck, the traditions are wild and varied

By Ben Hamilton Childhoods and bizarre customs go hand-inhand around the world. In Solapur, India, it starts early. At the age of two months, babies are tossed off the roof of a ten metre-high shrine and caught in a hammock – a leap of faith apparently. In Greece, some godparents are instructed to make infants cry on purpose during their christening ceremony, because it’s bad luck if they don’t. Certain Kenyan tribes, including the Kisli and Gusli, discourage eye contact between mothers and children because it gives the youngsters power. Studies claim the children are less attention-seeking as a result. In Egypt, it’s considered rude to ever show the soles of your shoes to someone, as it sends the message that you think they are beneath you.

FAMILY GUIDE SPR I NG 202 1

While the Wolof tribe in Mauritania spit on a new-born to give them luck. The mother aims for the cheeks, while Dad is expected to let fly in the baby’s ear, after which the saliva is rubbed all over the face.

And that’s only scratching the surface of the uniqueness of the Danish childhood. Here is a selection of the highlights of a highly traditional upbringing that other nations are increasingly trying to ape.

Denmark’s fair share In Denmark, most customs are perhaps more palatable, but no less bizarre.

Early starters The most unique aspect of Danish childcare is how early the kids start.

Fastelavn, for example, is perfectly nuts. In February or March every year, depending on Easter, kids line up to smash a barrel full of sweets to pieces. In olden days, it used to contain a live cat … In the build-up to Easter, kids write a gaekkebrev (fool’s letter) that requires the recipient to guess the identity of the sender. Failure will cost them a chocolate egg. But there do tend to be clues.

Thanks to a heavily-subsidised system that makes it affordable for nearly all parents, it is not uncommon for infants to start attending a nursery before their first birthday.

Danish advent calendars often have bigger windows than their overseas counterparts. It’s not unheard of for the kids to get a present every single day of December, although a gift every Sunday is more common.

Once they start nursery, and then at kindergarten from the age of three to six, the children won’t be schooled. For example, there is no introduction to the alphabet or times table, although English tuition is creeping in!

And let’s not forget that when men turn 25, they are doused in cinnamon if they are still unmarried. As a flammable spice, it’s not unheard of for them to go up in flames.

Of course, that’s only if they’re lucky enough to get a place. In the meantime, many start with a dagplejemore, a home-based professional with typically five or six children under their care.

But they are learning through their play – chiefly about empathy, and this is one of the elements of Danish childcare that sets itself out from other countries.

FEATURE Finally some learning The subtle lessons in humanity continue at the public school, where the first year (ages 6-7) is actually called the kindergarten class. Beyond learning the alphabet, the focus is again on play, with another agenda at work: acceptance. At this point, should children be outwardly different – behaviourally, ethnically or even disabled – an adult (teacher or parent) will address this, so there are no unspoken assumptions or misconceptions. Parents play a large role in their children’s schooling. In constant contact with one another and the teachers, they organise social events and address issues when they arise. It’s no exaggeration to note that some are more heart-broken than their kids when the final day of school arrives, such is the strength of some of their friendships with the other parents! The Danish education is far less focused on rote learning and being competitive, giving the children the space to develop. Exams are as rare as anxiety, and nowhere is this more apparent than at aftenskole.

VISIT DENMARK/ NICLAS JESSEN

The after-school clubs, which are hosted by the schools themselves for the first four grades (ages 6-10), play a large role in the students’ development, giving them a chance to explore interests in arts and crafts, subjects not covered in the classroom, and lots of cultural activities. Throughout the school day, the atmosphere is always informal, with children addressing the teachers by their christian names – and even nicknames in some cases! Boarding school The teacher-student relationship is even closer at the efterskole boarding schools attended by teenagers (ages 14-17) for one year, normally as a stop-gap between elementary and upper-secondary schooling – after all, they are with each other all day, and part of the night if the students behave like Harry Potter and his friends! Every year, around 30,000 students in Denmark embark on their ‘ninth and a half grade’ – a full year of both academic and vocational pursuits – at one of the country’s 250 efterskoles. The fees will set back parents between 50,000 and 100,000 kroner for the full year depending on their financial situation, as there are substantial state subsidies provided. Denmark’s first efterskole was founded in 1879 with the belief that education should be geared to producing fully-rounded human

beings and not just learning by rote. Since the 1980s some schools have specialised in specific areas, such as sport or music, or catering to students with particular needs, such as those with dyslexia or even late-developers. The children are expected to spend the entire week at the efterskole, but are free to leave over the weekend. However, most require them to not to leave for the first fortnight, whilst foregoing their mobile phones, in order to embed them into the style of living. Dazed and confused The upper-secondary gymnasiums, like US high schools, educate children for three years, so in Denmark, with an extra year spent at efterskole, it’s not uncommon for some 20-year-old graduates among the leavers. They leave in some style, spending a whole day and night in late June on a ‘vogntur’

aboard an open-air truck – there has been the odd accident! – as they visit the homes of every student to enjoy a drink. With music blahing, and the students cheering, they are quite a sight! Now, unlike public school, students can attend gymnasium anywhere in Denmark, regardless of where they live, so these truck odysseys can go on for quite some time. Gymnasium students, with their reputation for debauchery enshrined in the constitution thanks to their riotous final-year trips to the likes of Prague and Krakow, really know how to party. And on graduation day, they know how to dress too. Their unique graduation caps are proudly displayed on their heads between finishing their exams and the ‘vogntur’ – if they survive that night they’re then safely stored away for posterity. FAMILY GUIDE S P R ING 2 02 1

OPINION

VISIT DENMARK/ JESPER GRØNNEMARK

SCARED THE LIVING DAYLIGHTS OUT OF ME By Adrian Mackinder Some of us live to work, others work to live, but it’s not something that many of us would admit to – either way! I’ve hosted many events in my time. From big spaces to intimate venues, I’ve MC’d major corporate events, stand-up clubs, cabaret nights, festivals, countless weddings, new act competitions and a great many quizzes. Tough crowd I’ve handled rowdy drunk punters, battled indifferent audiences and roused empty rooms, but this month I hosted the most intimidating and terrifying gig of my career: the cake auction at my son’s nursery summer party. We were fortunate to get the Tiny Dictator into a small vuggestue in the heart of the city. To do this we held out until he was a little bit older than average to begin nursery, but it was worth it. With fewer kids per teacher, and smaller groups overall, resources go further and they get more attention and care. It’s a relatively quiet place and surprisingly calm. But that humid Friday afternoon, the place was rammed.

FAMILY GUIDE SPR I NG 202 1

Party of the damned A nursery summer party is a curious spectacle to be a part of. If you were having a party, chances are your list of invitees wouldn’t include people you didn’t know and the under-fives – parents with nothing in common except a basic need for childcare awkwardly shuffled around the playground trying to make small talk. All around, various fun activities were being run by volunteers who now clearly regretted volunteering. At one end, a lethal bout of dodgeball threatened to decapitate the slower children; in one corner, two toddlers came to angry blows over who deserved victory in the paddling pool fish pond; and in another, overexuberant face-painters were transforming kids into extras from ‘Dawn of the Dead’. Hopped up on fruit juice and sweets, they all ran amok like a swarm of massive wasps, while mums sipped wine in plastic cups and dads pretended their lukewarm Tuborg actually tasted nice. Which, of course, it doesn’t. Cake, the money and run Round about 5pm it was my turn to shine. And by ‘shine’, I mean haul myself up onto the climbing frame with the grace of a tranquilised panda, then scream currency at a group of bewildered Danes … in English.

The money was being raised to upgrade the playground and, because I quite like being the centre of attention, I was genuinely happy to help. But the fact I was not doing so in Danish made me nervous. You’d think three years in that I would have mastered the language, but no. They had told me beforehand it was fine that I host the auction in my native tongue, but I still felt guilty. I will go back to lessons, I swear. Just as soon as life stops getting in the way. He was not amused Anyway. Half an hour later it was over. And it went well. Some parents clearly loved the idea of a bidding war over homemade treats, and enough were game to make it a fun little endeavour. By the end we’d raised a healthy sum and everyone was happy – except my son who was confused as to why all these people were in HIS playground. After a few chats with some of the parents, I left feeling more a part of a community, which is always good if you’re an expat. I was told they’d happily invite me back next year. Maybe I’ll do it in Danish. Maybe. This article was first published in July 2018

OPINION

VISIT DENMARK/ JESPER GRØNNEMARK

DANISH BABIES … DON’T CRY-YI-YI By Jessica Alexander Not only has Denmark been voted one of the happiest countries in the world for over 40 years, but apparently Danish babies cry less as well! Blubbering British babies A meta-analysis published in the Journal of Pediatrics looked at parental reports of fussing or crying among newborns assessed by 28 different studies covering countries such as the US, Australia and Japan, among others. The researchers looked at the average fussiness in the data found for over 8,690 infants. What they concluded was that Danish babies cry significantly less than children in the other countries included in the study. The fussiest babies, interestingly enough, were found in the UK and Italy. As the co-author of ‘The Danish Way of Parenting’ and a mom who deeply believes in this philosophy as a way to raise happier children and adults, it seems that ‘the Danish Way’ results in happier babies too! Peered at as people Danes generally see

their

children

completely competent from the time they are born and able to communicate. This is a change from how babies were seen in the past. The idea is that they try to collaborate and connect with children throughout their lives with respect and curiosity rather than expecting obedience or wanting to control them. “Babies are social from birth. They need to be seen for who they are, not what parents want them to be,” explained Helle Jensen, a Danish clinical psychologist and family therapist. This is the foundation for feeling valuable for who you are as a person, and babies are not excluded! When children feel seen, heard and that their needs are met, they feel happier and they cry less. With this respect-based philosophy, it’s perhaps no surprise that the teen years go more smoothly in Denmark as well. Prioritising parenthood Of course, a year of maternity leave and generous paternity leave doesn’t hurt in terms of keeping Danish parents’ stress levels low (that children then mirror). Statistics also show that over 99 percent of Danish

women breastfeed. Those numbers are quite impressive. In her book ‘Being There: Why Prioritizing Motherhood in the First Three Years Matters’, psychoanalyst Erica Komisar presents a great deal of scientific research to support why a mother’s emotional and physical presence during the first years of life gives children a greater chance of growing up emotionally healthy, happy, secure and resilient. Judging by Denmark’s standing in the happiness reports year after year, I can’t help but agree that there is something to this. When you have a whole country that believes in the importance of being extremely present during the first year of life, it helps mums and dads focus on that magical transition into one of the most important and difficult jobs in the world. If more countries supported parents in this trying transition of having a baby, and we gave more value to maternity and paternity leave and we aimed to reduce the stress levels in our babies’ lives, we might all have less to cry about in the future. This article was first published in October 2017 FAMILY GUIDE S P R ING 2 02 1

Guidance for visitors

Postpone your visit and self-isolate if you have symptoms, have tested positive or are a close contact of someone who is infected with novel coronavirus.

Do not shake hands, hug or kiss as a greeting.

Wash your hands often or use hand sanitiser - and always when you arrive and before you leave.

Cough or sneeze into your sleeve - not your hands.

Touch as few things as possible during your visit - for example table tops, door handles, etc.

Keep a safe distance to your relative, other residents, visitors, and the staff.

It is a good idea to get tested before your visit

29.01.2021

en.coronasmitte.dk

sst.dk/en

FEATURE change from 20 to 22 km/h leads to 21 percent more wind resistance – but of course this doesn’t necessarily mean you need to make 21 percent more effort. Does the wind direction change twice a day exactly when people leave home and get back? The answer is again: No. As we move faster than the wind, we may feel it’s coming into our face, but that can happen no matter which direction the relative wind is blowing – except the crosswind that comes from the side. In fact, the crosswind does not cause wind resistance nor slow you down. But it can be hard for you to keep your balance.

VISIT DENMARK/ VIGGO LUNDBERG

If not twice a day, how often does the wind direction change? The wind direction usually changes gradually, and the same direction may remain for several days in a row. Although moderate changes are often seen, large changes from east to west or north to south in just one day are uncommon. It often makes me sweat a lot to bike in wintertime, so I often wear a baggy sweater to both keep the heat and ventilate. What outfit would you recommend? It’s always recommended to be as slim and smooth as possible. The smaller your area against the wind the less resistance is. The clothes should be tight as well, since loose outfits can easily increase the resistance. It’s better to take off your jacket than having it open. Big sweaters that let in air are the worst choice! Does that mean that it is easier to cycle if you are small, and that bigger people have more difficulties? In a controlled condition, the answer is yes, because smaller people experience less wind resistance. But in general they are also less strong. In typical flat-land situations, larger and stronger bikers will have a benefit against the wind. I commute to Central Copenhagen by bike and it’s less windy as I get surrounded by the buildings. Do buildings in Copenhagen somehow lessen the impact of the wind? In general, obstacles reduce wind speed. For example, it’s lower in the forest than in a field, and more in the sea than on land. This is because of the so-called ‘roughness length’. In general, buildings also reduce wind speed. However, depending on the wind direction, large buildings can locally redirect the wind, either creating a lee, or speeding up the wind. If obstacles reduce the wind speed, does that explain why we feel more wind in this flat country? Yes. Since Denmark has a lot of open fields and coasts, we feel the effect of the wind more. We have many fields with relatively low vegetation like wheat. We also have a lot of coasts: if you are at a coast where you have the wind coming in

from the sea you will always have more wind. In western Jutland this effect is very strong because the westerly wind is dominant. I find it easier to bike in the city. Why is that? It may be because the other commuters protect you from the strong wind resistance. When the relative wind speed is fast enough that the wind resistance is dominant, having other commuters as a lee helps you a lot with the amplified resistance. This is why racing bikes always go in line. The faster the relative wind is, the better the effect is – hide behind the other commuters when the wind is too strong! Why is the Danish wind so gusty? It’s quite different from day to day. Some days can be gustier than other days, depending on the weather fronts. On the days when the warm front passes, the wind is relatively stable. And the cold front comes afterwards, when you typically have showers and the wind becomes gustier. It’s more irritating to bike because you need to adjust to the force. And if it’s in town, gusts in different directions can make it more difficult for you to keep your balance. When the wind passes fast over a building it creates turbulence, and sometimes this turbulence can bring down air parcels from aloft where the wind speed is higher, resulting in a strong wind gust.

On a windy day, but not during a storm, our editor’s cargo bike got caught by a gust right next to Copenhagen’s Lakes and ended up being flipped over. What do you think happened? It could be an example of turbulence bringing down a very fast-moving air parcel from aloft – more quickly than he could react to. Or possibly also a redirection of the wind by a building. Sometimes I’m scared to bike if it’s too windy. Has the wind ever caused any serious accidents in Denmark? In the old days, there were of course some accidents like deaths from floods or blackouts due to fallen trees bringing down power lines. Nowadays, storms and hurricanes in general rarely cause casualties. Also, the authorities take care of it. An important part of the work of the Danish preparedness authority, Beredskabet, is to warn you and provide evacuation, if necessary, should the sea level rise above what the dikes can withstand. However, using hand-held smartphones while cycling is more dangerous than the wind. In contrast to the wind, we can easily do something about it. Please do so! This interview was originally published in October 2019 EASTER GUIDE S P R ING 2 02 1

EVENTS

NO LIMIT TO THE FUN!

TIVOLI

The dark Danish winter has come to an early halt. The birds and the bees are busy, the buds are blossoming and, in and around the city, a furious frenzy of activity is unfolding, including both children and adults. Granted, this year’s spring-time activities may not be as numerous as in previous years due to the continued restrictions brought on by corona, but there are still many wonders waiting to be discovered for the whole family. No limit to the fun Thanks to the lifting of limits on outdoor gatherings, which has seen the permissible number raised from five to 50 this month, there’s nothing stopping the whole family – and their neighbours, providing they’re not in the same vehicle! – from going out for an afternoon, or even a day-trip. Denmark’s many outdoor themeparks and cultural institutions are open and ready to accommodate you throughout this Easter break.

EASTER GUIDE SPR I NG 2 021

FROLICK WITH THE FLAMINGOS! Copenhagen Zoo, Roskildevej 32, Frederiksberg; open Mon-Fri 10:00-16:00 & Sat-Sun 10:0017:00, March 27-31, 09:00-18:00; zoo.dk Take advantage of the late opening hours from March 27-31 and watch the animals as twilight descends. To avoid the spread of COVID-19, the zoo has updated its digital app for your self-guided tour. The zoo also has an on-site testing centre open every day from 09:00-15:00. Alternatively, you can enter the zoo with a COVID test no older than 72 hours. Children under 15 are exempt from presenting a negative test.

COPENHILL

By Lauren Beauchamp

VISITDENMARK/ VIGGO LUNDBERG

Families spoilt for choice this Easter weekend

HURTLING DOWN THE HILL Copenhill, Vindmøllevej 6C, Cph S; open Mon-Fri 14:0020:00, Sat 10:00-20:00, Sun 10:00-18:00; copenhill.dk In a country of purely flat land, any amount of height is worth celebrating. Copenhill, a manmade mount located on Refshaleøen is one option to get the family together for some mountain sports. The peak has a hiking trail that reaches an altitude of 85 metres overlooking the Øresund. After you’ve reached the summit, you’ll be met with options to ski or snowboard down the turf. For those more inclined to climb rather than to descend, the world’s tallest climbing wall is an alternative activity.

EVENTS

COPENHOT

GAWPING AT THE GIANTS Various suburbs in Greater Cph; any time you’re brave enough Discovering Copenhagen’s neighbouring municipalities might not be the first thing on one’s to-do list, but then you learn about the hidden trolls lurking in its undergrowth. They’re the work of sculptor and artist Thomas Dambo, who reuses scrap wood materials to create mystical figures such as Little Tilde. ‘The

Six Forgotten Giants’ can be found in Rødovre, Hvidovre, Vallensbæk, Ishøj, Albertslund and Høje Taastrup, but more have been added during the pandemic. They are all waiting to be discovered.

VISIT DENMARK

THOMAS DAMBO

FRILANDSMUSEET

OUT THERE IN ‘OLD DENMARK’ Frilandsmuseet (Open Air Museum), Kongevejen 100, Kongens Lyngby; open Tue-Sun 10:00-16:00; natmus.dk A 20-minute drive from the city, or a quick

S-train trip to Sorgenfri, is a journey back in time. Learn about authentic old Danish living experiences in this outdoor history lesson of straw-houses, horse and buggy rides, and old gravel paths. Discover how farmers lived and worked in different regions of Denmark between the 1700-1900s. Offering heaps of outdoor activities and over 100 buildings, Frilandsmuseet will entertain the young-ins during the Easter break. Remember to call in advance if you wish to book a carriage ride.

KNUTHENBORG SAFARIPARK

THRILLS AT THE THEMEPARKS Tivoli, Vesterbrogade 3, Cph V; open 11:00-20:00, March 27-April 5, Fri-Sun until end of April; tivoli. dk After nearly a four-month closure, Tivoli is reopening this weekend. Everyone over the age of 15 needs to present a negative COVID test taken within the previous 72 hours. Additionally, all visitors need to reserve a time before showing up. Be sure to download the official app for more information. Meanwhile, Bakken (Dyrehavevej 62, Klampenborg) has reopened as well.

COPENHOT

STEAMY IN THE SPA Copenhot, Refshalevej 325, Cph K; open WedSun 10:00-21:00; copenhot.com Not far from Copenhill, you can end the day with the Danish version of ‘apres-ski’ at Copenhot. Enjoy a spa at the location or set off into the harbour. For a spa that sits five, it costs 1,300 an hour (as opposed to 300 kroner for individuals on their own). For a more intimate experience, choose the option that includes a bottle of Cava for 1,580 kroner. Or for 2,200 kroner, take one of the two ‘Sailing Hot Tubs’ out for a 90-minute spin in the harbour. Reservations are advised for group bookings.

SWOONING ON SAFARI Knuthenborg Safaripark, Knuthenborg Alle 1, Maribo; open daily 10:00-17:00; adults 230kr, kids 140kr; knuthenborg.dk The Knuthenborg Estate on Lolland is home to wildlife from all over the world – 1,000 different species at the last count. Since 1969, the 500-hectare safari park, which is the biggest of its kind in Denmark, has been drawing them in. The estate has a Dinosaur Park, an amusement park, an old manor house, a castle and countless activities. Don’t miss the tiger area where you can see them up close and personal! Just an hour and a half car ride from Copenhagen – what are you waiting for. EASTER GUIDE S P R ING 2 02 1

BUSINESS OPINION

25 March - April 22 2021

MARTINA FACINO ECONOMICS EXPLAINED Martina Facino works for a leading consultancy firm where she specialises in competition economics and maintains a strong interest in macroeconomics. Using her master’s in economics and finance, she intends to focus on explaining macroeconomic concepts and describing them in the current context.

HE COVID-19 pandemic and related lockdown measures have triggered an economic downturn. As businesses such as shops, restaurants

Billions up for grabs TO HELP European countries recovering from the economic downturn, the European Commission, the European Parliament and EU leaders have agreed to make 750 billion euros available to member states: the so-called EU recovery fund. Around half of this amount will be available to member states in the form of grants (i.e money that is ‘donated’ to the states), while the rest can be provided in the form of loans (i.e money that the EU lends to the member states, which has to be paid back with interest). In order to unlock their allocated share of the fund, member states will need to present national recovery plans (i.e show how they plan to employ the funds).

Where does it come from? TO FINANCE the provision of the fund, the European Commission (on behalf of the EU) will issue bonds on financial markets – so quite similar to how a company would do it. Because the EU is a union of countries and is therefore perceived as safe, it can borrow money at cheaper rates than (most) individual countries. The Commission will then either lend the money to individual member states (at the same interest rate as the one it borrows at) or provide the money as grants. Is it really for free? ALTHOUGH the EU countries that use the grant money will have access to better financing rates, there is always a cost attached to the grant money. Borrowing on the financial markets means that investors (i.e the buyers of the EU bonds) expect a return, which will be paid by the EU budgets in the coming

No taxes on flags, fortunately

years (by the end of 2058). So ultimately the debt will be paid by companies and citizens contributing to the EU budget through different channels (different types of taxes). Green alignment ADDITIONALLY, the European Commission has added new

taxes, including one on plastic waste. This has the objective of not only providing an additional source of funding, but also of nudging companies and consumers towards greener solutions in line with the EU’s objectives on environmental sustainability.

Speak Hellerup Bernstorffsvej 20C 2900 Hellerup Speak Lyngby Klampenborgvej 221 2800 Kgs. Lyngby

speakspeak.dk

Learning Danish is expanding your horizon

Speak Frederiksberg Gammel Kongevej 74D 1850 Frederiksberg

hello@speakspeak.dk +45 3946 3050

PIXABAY

and theatres were forced to close, and travel was forbidden, economies worldwide slowed down, with consequent bankruptcies and increased unemployment.

14 OPINION

THE COPENHAGEN POST | CPHPOST.DK

25 March - April 22 2021

REVD SMITHA PRASADAM

Springtime around the corner

HE PANDEMIC is under control. It is still here and will be forever, but under control.

Testing her limits PERHAPS PM Mette Frederiksen thought she could go to Israel, arm-in-arm with her conservative Austrian counterpart, to visit an Israeli leader with a troubled future, and nobody would bat an eyelid. A photo opportunity of doubtful value was the outcome, but we think she has earned a few days off after a year of practising her best stiff upper-lip and total control of the population. After all, she won ... not only against the pandemic, but also the hearts and minds of the Danes. One cannot help respect-

Not much of anything WE’VE SURVIVED a year of abnormality beyond our imagination when we think back on it. A peculiar effect has been the crime rate going down considerably. No nightlife, no drinking and no human congestion equals no crime. Public spending has been enormous, but private spending has been low: no travel, no shopping, no dining. A lot of money is now waiting to be cut loose from the frozen holiday funds, so when the shopping centres open after Easter, it will be Black Friday for a whole week or more. However, we cannot exclude new mutations disturbing the peace, although we will remain calm after seeing what the world of pharmaceutical science can accomplish. Come springtime, we got scared but did not panic. (ES)

Living Faith

Born in India, adopted by Britain, Smitha (chaplain@ st-albans.dk) is the new chaplain of St Alban’s Church. In the UK, along with being a Church of England priest, she travelled Europe working as an English teacher, trainer and examiner. Smitha continues to work in an advisory and advocacy capacity at a national level on matters of liturgy and social justice.

VER FELT an ass or been called one? No offence to this distinguished readership, but I think we share some of that animal’s reputed stubbornness. We sometimes need a little coaxing, are occasionally lumbered with the donkey work or, dare I say it, notoriously act like a silly ass! Mark of the cross YET THERE’S one more characteristic that is far more significant. Nearly all donkeys bear the mark of a cross on their backs, and Christians are similarly signed with the cross on their forehead at baptism, thus marking the beginning of a journey in faith. In the Holiest of Weeks, it is an ass that takes centre stage as Christ rides into town on a humble donkey and leads a procession of wraggle-taggle fishermen and loose women in a peasant parade along the route Pontius Pilate might have taken in a display of might. Jesus rode into town in a brilliant send-up of Roman rulers trotting on chargers in gleaming armour, leading victorious armies followed by humiliated captives, their spoils of war. However, following Jesus were hundreds who hankered for better times and hopeful futures. Bearing Jesus DONKEYS are reminders of discipleship and the way we ourselves carry Jesus invisibly. On the days when we feel we’re carrying the weight of the world on our shoulders, we would do well to remember that we are also bearing Christ to meet the world’s pain and to give people life. Being a Christian means be-

PIXABAY

Bigger battle to follow VACCINES are doing the rounds – a multitude of brands, and relatively few side-effects so far – and now springtime is coming. We do not fear the virus anymore, but we have learned to respect it. The global village has never been more aptly described. Its next major challenge, fighting climate change, will require global solidarity for humanity to win the battle. In truth, the pandemic might soon be regarded as a dress rehearsal for the real global challenge ahead. For that, our politicians will need to be united, like they have been, more or less, during the pandemic. But in recent weeks, the political theatre has again started to resemble the pre-pandemic democracy and squabbling this country is so used to.

ing her leadership. Her reward lies in the polls, where the blue opposition have no hope in the near future, or even at the next general election. But there is a limit. The proposal to begin forceful testing in the ghettos was left dead in the water. It reminded us that we have performed all the necessary remedies voluntarily, and that very little has required the help of the police and armed forces. Patience has a limit too. Recent demonstrations against the lockdown have developed into violence, and some pretty severe jail verdicts have followed for the cheerleaders saying very much the same as ex-president Trump did on January 6 to the mob in Washington DC.

Little donkey, little donkey on the dusty road

ing outspoken for God – and that task is not always easy or pleasant. Sometimes we find ourselves challenging important people or vested interests. And that is hard. Just like crucifixion. Going with Christ means there are no necessarily easy rides. But there is a promise that God will accompany us: through hardship, trial, agony and death. We know this from personal experience and from the pain of the world as people starve, exploit and kill each other. Most significantly, we know it now in the death toll the coronavirus leaves in its wake. Following Jesus means going to some very dark places. The road to Jerusalem on Palm Sunday led to Golgotha on Good Friday. Light in the darkness HERALDING the birth of Jesus, with lights twinkling all over the city, I wrote “the light shines in the darkness”, and now at Easter I remind us again that “the darkness has not overcome it”. Calvary and COVID-19 are what the light is for. Pandemic pain and the praetorium are exactly where the light has to shine. The crowd’s cry of

"Crucify!" is terrifying as is the silence of isolation. It is when we enter that place, rather than deny it's there, that there's an opening for the light of Christ to transform it. Easter broadcasts the resurrection and the death-defying death of Jesus. God is not defeated. In church, the Paschal candle will proclaim the magnitude of the moment – not just on Easter Sunday but for the whole 50 days to Pentecost. Our inspirational leader JESUS said: “YOU are the light of the world … let YOUR light shine so that people may give glory to your father in heaven” (Matthew 5, 14-16). And for this reason, every baptism candidate is given a lighted candle as those words are said. My baptismal identity means I follow someone who didn't mind dirtying his hands in deep engagement with the world he loved so much that he came to save it. His words and actions were sometimes playful, sometimes painful, but always transformative. I guess you could rightly call me a silly ass! Maybe you are one too??!!

GUEST OPINION

25 March - April 22 2021

Denied a COVID test without a CPR number: Discrimination or misinformation?

ENMARK has mostly been ahead of the curve when it comes to testing for COVID-19. One can simply book online and go to a test centre nearby. Compared to Sweden, where you either have to have symptoms to get tested or pay for it, it seems like an easy and generous system – if you have a CPR number, that is. Plain in black and white I AM IN the not-so-uncommon situation of having a Danish residence permit, but not yet a CPR. This normally causes some minor inconveniences, but for the most part, institutions in and around Copenhagen understand that it takes a while and are accommodating to people like me. Normally, this also applies to getting tested for COVID-19. According to Region Hovedstaden’s website, tourists and those without NemID are able to get tested at all test centres, and as of recently can even get results by signing

up at covidresults.dk. Unfortunately, this was not the case the weekend before last at the region’s pop-up test centre at Nørrebrohallen. But centre says “No” I’VE BEEN tested there before – twice. I even live next door. On March 14, I went there as it was the last day of the popup. The security guard greeted me at the door – I said “Hej!” in my abysmal Danish, and the guard stopped me and said (in English): “Do you have a CPR number?” “I have my residence card,” I said. He let me through. While I was waiting my turn for the infamous throat swab, I noticed the guard stop someone else, who then took their yellow card out and showed it to the guard (whether he asked them to or not, I don’t know). I found all of this odd, as it shouldn’t matter. When it was my turn, I approached the table and showed the receptionist my ID, and he said: “Do you have a Danish CPR?” “I don’t,” I replied. I was then informed that I cannot be

PIXABAY

JODY FISH

tested at this test site. I disagreed and tried to understand why, as I know it’s my right to get tested at all test centres. I was told the test center at Nørrebrohallen has individually decided to stop testing people without a CPR, and that I should go to another centre. Illegality uncontested I CHOSE not to make a fuss; there were a lot of people waiting in line. I’ll call the region on Monday and find out what’s happened, I thought. I called, and I was told what I suspected: They should have tested me. This must be illegal, I said – the woman on the corona hotline agreed. I was then told to send them an email so it could get to the right person. To their credit, I received an apology from the region’s testing organisation and the assurance that they would rectify this, but, unfortunately, no formal explanation. So, I can’t help but wonder: why did this happen in the first place? And who is responsible? Was it discrimination? Misin-

Who 'nose' why these nostrils are ineligible

formation? An honest mistake? Your guess is as good as mine. Jody Fish is an American artist, writer and actor currently living in Copenhagen. He previously founded and edited his own publication, Pupil Magazine, and was a freelance copywriter in Sweden. He is now acting in theatre in Copenhagen during the 2020-21 season.

DAVID MUNIS ZEPERNICK

N MARCH 10, the longest-serving chief editor of a national newspaper, Poul Madsen at the tabloid Ekstra Bladet, announced his resignation after 14 years in charge. A new hope THE OFFICIAL explanation was that he wanted to spend more time with his family. In his goodbye interview he furthermore used the occasion to announce that one of his final decisions would be to terminate the multi-million dollar business marketplace for prostitution he has gradually built up during his time in office. ‘The Sex Empire’ not only includes printed ads for ‘massage’, which have been a part of Ekstra Bladet’s bread and butter for decades and predate Madsen’s term as editor, but also Denmark’s two

leading online ‘massage’ sites. Their true ownership was probably unknown to most Danes until a few months ago, when it was disclosed that the offline and online ads were directly linked to illegal prostitution, victims of trafficking and, consequently, money-laundering and organised crime. Attack on their thrones TO MAKE things even more ‘colourful’, this connection was disclosed by a journalist from the Danish broadsheet daily Politiken, which is part of the same media conglomerate, JP/ Politikens Hus, as Ekstra Bladet. About a month ago, editor Madsen and his boss, JP/Politikens Hus chair Lars Munch, insisted on their legal right to carry on with the sex business. Munch even threatened to prosecute yours truly for accusing him of being involved

in dubious and illegal business transactions, as disclosed in his own newspaper. The last killing? THE ONLINE and offline ads are still there, but following Madsen’s resignation we now wait for the decision to be carried out. It is yet unclear whether the media conglomerate will try to make a last profit and actually sell the ‘Sex Empire’, or whether it will simply close it down, as they have led many to believe. Madsen will not be able to give us the final answer. After all he was only the apprentice, never the master. Rise of the jive talker FOLLOWING Madsen’s resignation, the longest-serving editor of a national newspaper, according to my research, is Ben Hamilton from this distin-

They're all leaving with Madsen. What ... together?

guished newspaper. He has been in charge of the production of The Copenhagen Post for more than 11 years. Contrary to editor Madsen, Hamilton’s sole focus seems to be on running a newspaper. Since his election in 2017, David has represented Radikale on the Frederiksberg Municipal Council. He is also the chair of the Safe and Alive Foundation.

PIXABAY

May the sauce be with you no more at the crumbling 'Sex Empire'

16 FEATURE

THE COPENHAGEN POST | CPHPOST.DK

25 March - April 22 2021

Deciphering ‘gender-equal’ Denmark’s unconventional relationship with feminism WWW.KB.DK

In many ways a utopia for women, its people’s views on the likes of wolfwhistling and #MeToo might surprise many outsiders ALLIA BUKHARI

ENMARK serves as a role model for the rest of the world with its social democratic welfare, narrow gender pay gap, generous parental leave and noteworthy female representation in the government and political sphere. It even has a feminist political party! The country has made tremendous strides for women’s rights since 1915 – when it officially granted them the right to vote – and today they legally enjoy fundamental freedoms and opportunities. Denmark is regularly ranked among the best countries for women. In December, the country even criminalised sex without explicit consent in a move hailed by women’s rights activists – about 11,400 women a year are raped or subjected to attempted rape in Denmark, according to the country’s Justice Ministry. However, not everything is as rosy as it might seem … in fact, something is rotten. Wolves can whistle DESPITE all these positive developments, Denmark is also one of the least feminist nations in the developed world. As few as one in six Danes consider themselves to be feminist, according to a study conducted by the YouGov-Cambridge Globalism Project in collaboration with The Guardian. Furthermore, a third believed that wolf-whistling at women in the street is acceptable, and two in five had an unfavourable view of the #MeToo movement. So why, despite supporting women’s rights to equal opportunities and representation, do Danes hesitate to call themselves

The bare-naked truth is that there hasn't been much interest in feminism in Denmark ... until recently

feminists and back such groups as the Red Stocking Movement? Rooted in stigma The reluctance to embrace feminism is rooted in misconceptions and stigma attached to the word 'feminism' and the various meanings it holds for people, contend experts. Besides, many simply think the fight for gender equality is already won. “I suspect that some Danes are hesitant to label themselves feminists as feminism can carry many meanings or indeed misconceptions [in their eyes]. But if you ask Danes whether they believe in equality between men and women, I believe the vast majority would say yes. The question then becomes: how do we achieve this?” contended Katharina Ó Cathaoir, an Irish PhD scholar and Assistant Professor at the Faculty of Law at the University of Copenhagen (KU). “This is where people start to disagree: some who consider themselves feminists think that over time the market will eventually create equality. Others want intervention to achieve equality faster, such as creating positions earmarked for women or quotas.

The latter can create discomfort among people who generally oppose market regulation.” Wrong perceptions SELF-PROCLAIMED feminist Frederik Uldall Jespersen, a 25-year-old from Aarhus, thinks that many Danes don't understand the term ‘feminism’ because it has a lot of meanings. “It isn't just one ideology, but lots of different ideologies with different meanings [to everyone],” he affirmed. “Most Danes, in my opinion, perceive aggressive Marxist women whenever they think of feminism. And lots of Danes think we won the battle back in the ‘70s.” Jespersen despairs at how Denmark is often regarded as a “utopia” for equality and women’s rights, but in reality many women still have to battle sexism in Denmark a great deal – contrary to what most people think. “We still deal with a lack of equality and it seems as though lots of people, especially men and older women, don’t understand that females still don’t have the same opportunities when it comes to job offers,” he added.

State feminism to blame ON THE other hand, Nischa Don Maak, 36 – the founder of Career Club DK, a community that supports career women in Copenhagen – thinks Denmark has formal equality or state feminism, which means that the public believe in men and women having equal worth and rights. She, however, thinks that this does not mean, in practice, that the latter still have equal opportunities. “This, I believe, is due to the whole system and structures that historically are built by men and for men. Structural changes take time but we will get there,” she predicted, noting that the wage gap is still 15 percent, only 30 percent of all leaders in the public sector are female, with even fewer, 14 percent, in top management positions or on a board of directors. “This is partly due to the very long maternity leave we have in Denmark, which women take the lion’s share of, and our traditional ‘women's’ responsibilities for the household,” she continued. Maak, who considers herself a cultural feminist, believes that

female qualities are the most untapped resource in the world and that they are direly needed along with the capabilities men bring to the table. Her belief is very much aligned with Danish democratic values of which institutionalised gender equality is a cornerstone. The role of denialism KU RESEARCHERS in their paper ‘Danish women put up with less: Gender equality and the politics of denial in Denmark’ point towards a more deep-rooted problem. They argue that this phenomenon is due to a “denialism” in Denmark generated by mass media discourses responsible for “vehemently repudiating and invisibilising while male violence” in society. They affirm that a “convoluted role of gender equality” is highlighted in order to sustain a gender-equal image – and, as a result, the problem does not get the attention it deserves. “The politics of denial and denialism becomes integral to current social theory, especially in the context of rising global activism against sexual harassment

FEATURE

25 March - April 22 2021

of women (such as the #MeToo movement), as a range of political actors and agents come forward to deny male aggression and misconduct as sexual violence,” the research states. In conclusion, it finds that contradictory responses to sexual violence – ranging from the trivialisation of violence (mostly by white men) to the hyper-visibilisation of violence by other men (men from mostly migrant communities) – produce a particular politics of denialism in Denmark. Challenging the ideals ATREYEE Sen, an associate professor at the Department of Anthropology at KU who is one of the authors of the paper, points out that Denmark, along with many other European nation states, believes that “the welfare state, women’s participation in the labour force, women’s safe use of public space, strong policies in favour of women’s maternity rights, its existing history of feminism, etc” have already created a ‘gender equal’ society If there is acknowledgement of white male violence and sexual harassment in Denmark – be it the case of Copenhagen Mayor Frank Jensen resigning, or Peter Madsen murdering Kim Wall aboard his submarine – Sen contends that this acceptance challenges the ideal of Danish society being equal and is in effect denialism. “So if you contest that idea of gender equality, then you are breaking the trust and reciprocity that determines the exceptional nature of so-called

progressive societies like Denmark,” concluded Sen. Problem of violence THE PAPER elaborates that sexual violence is racialised and is perceived more of an issue in the immigrant communities. According to Sen, male violence in Denmark is projected onto migrant and ethnic groups and people from 'backward', patriarchal cultures (including eastern Europeans) who enter Denmark as migrants, low wage workers and refugees and are “considered to be capable of all kinds of violence, from terrorist attacks to domestic violence and the rape of white women”. “This racialisation of violence might be a by-product of global Islamophobia, but it is also a specific denial of the white ethnic Danish man being constructed in public life as violent, aggressive, racist or patriarchal,” she maintained. The European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA) ranked Denmark as the EU country with the highest occurrences of male physical violence, sexual assault, harassment and stalking of women in 2014. Danish media wrote off the report as “grotesque”, “misguided” and “untrustworthy” – a response that the KU paper described as a “state of denial.” #MeToo’s arrival IN AUGUST 2020, the Danish #MeToo movement served as a moment of reckoning and raised conversations over the safety of women in workplaces after tele-

vision presenter Sofie Linde came forward with her experience of sexual harassment. Thousands of women followed suit and shared their accounts of mistreatment, harassment and sexism – a blow to a country considered a “paradise for equality”. Sen contends that current engagement in the #MeToo debate shows the country might be entering into a different kind of post-feminist phase – one in which it might take a critical stance regarding the myths of gender equality promoted through public opinion and popular culture. “This kind of post-feminism will involve promoting gender activism to make issues of sexuality, labour, racism, decolonialism, equality in pay and questions of human rights more visible,” she said. Many women and nation states, continued Sen, think you can fight for gender justice without necessarily attaching your political identities to feminism – for example, you can just be a gender equality activist, without aligning yourself with a particular form of ‘-ism’. Less obvious to some DESPITE the prevalence of denialism, there are international women who have truly found a home and safe haven in Denmark and look pleased with the state of affairs. Take Lili Boesen Hernandez, for instance, who originally hails from Mexico and is convinced there’s gender equality here. “Denmark has given me the

opportunity to feel safe, feel supported by a loving partner and given me the chance to explore other professional options that I would have never considered while living in Mexico,” she said. Rebecca De Andradea, originally from Brazil, shared that view. “I am from a country where women are killed every 13 minutes for being women – I feel very safe in Denmark,” she added. Progya Permita from Bangladesh had a slightly critical view, though. While she thinks definitely women are better off in Denmark compared to eastern countries and maybe even the USA, their emancipation – attempts at procuring social and economic rights – is inadequate, even though it's one of the best. “Looking at Danfoss and ARLA's gender equality policy for a study of my own project disappointed me. I don't feel the rules give any privilege to women – rather they need to work harder,” she said. Room for improvement IN A SIMILAR vein, Cathaoir thinks Denmark is ahead of other European countries when it comes to advancing towards gender equality laws, but that the Nordic country isn’t as progressive as one might expect in other areas – especially when compared to Sweden, which has embraced feminism more extensively. “Take the abortion issue, for example. The right to abortion is only guaranteed to women aged 18 and over and until the 12th week,” she argued.

“If one is aged below 18 and doesn’t have parental consent, or is past 12 weeks, one needs permission from an administrative board.” In such cases, she contended, you can see that women’s autonomy is not as strongly guarded as you might expect in a country without gender issues. Cathaoir emphasises that feminism isn’t just about women’s bodies but also about equality in workplaces and at home. It is there that Denmark, like most other countries, has ample room for improvement. “I fear that feminism has an image problem, not just in Denmark but in many ‘liberal’ countries. There are stereotypes about who is or is not a feminist. Furthermore, we need to have some honest conversations about what true equality would mean,” she concluded.

Allia is a journalist from Pakistan who mostly writes about feminism and women's rights. The Erasmus Mundus scholar is currently pursuing a master's degree on a full-ride scholarship at Aarhus University and the Danish School of Media and Journalism. Follow her on Twitter at @alliabukhari1.

18 COMMUNITY

THE COPENHAGEN POST | CPHPOST.DK

25 March - April 22 2021

Inspired by their teachers and environment, thinking sustainably is their norm

BEN HAMILTON

OU’VE BEEN recycling your plastic … that’s good. You’re producing less by shunning certain brands. Even better. Now ... rummage through that bin and find a place for 10 percent of it in your home!” This might sound like ‘Mission Impossible’ to many adults, but for the children at Copenhagen International School (CIS), this is their norm. They’ll find a way to lose the 10 percent because it’s in their DNA. There he goes: Go green! LIKE MOST teachers in the history of mankind, Daniel D’Andrea has a nickname … psssst ... they call him Mr Green. “It’s not a nickname I’ve ever promoted, but through school assemblies and my focus on sustainability matters, they’ve become familiar with my chant ‘Go green’ and often shout it at me,” the sustainability teacher revealed. “It shows they’re enthused, engaged and excited.” For D’Andrea, enthusiasm is key to nurturing citizens who will take their climate responsibility seriously: “It’s a mindset that is encouraged from an early age, so they’re immersed in the environment around them.” Part of the loop EACH GRADE at CIS has a sustainable focus in accordance with its vision statement and the UN Sustainable Development Goals. It starts with ‘Water for Life’, followed by ‘Reduce, reuse, recycle’ (Grade 2), ‘Biomes’ (3), ‘Renewables and non renewables’ (4) etc. “In ‘Water for Life’ we integrate how water is necessary for all plant and animal life, and

then encourage students to implement what they’ve learned at home, like turning off the tap when they brush their teeth,” explained D’Andrea. “With ‘Reduce, reuse, recycle’, the kids are exposed to alternatives to the linear journey of taking natural resources, making something, and then throwing it away. Instead, with recycling, the journey continues to form a triangular loop.” For example, the children in the junior school take their food scraps to a 3,500 litre tank on campus in the knowledge that Glostrup Municipality will use them to produce methane gas to generate electricity or fertilisers. “The kids witness this is a smart way to reuse what many would consider waste, and they appreciate how it comes back. It’s awesome that they’re part of the loop.” Triangles and trolls D’ANDREA isn’t the only triangular thinker in the faculty, but for kindred spirit David Ferguson, an Australian who teaches design to the middle and senior school classes, the inspiration came from trolls. Not long after arriving in Denmark, he visited the studio of local eco-activist sculptor Thomas Dambo, the creator of the famous trolls that populate green areas on the outskirts of Greater Copenhagen. Inspired by the way Dambo creates sculptures using recycled wood, Ferguson runs his Design program to encourage students to think sustainably and upcycle. “We look at the concept of treating waste as nutrition or source material for future products. Students as young as the sixth grade make toys out of discarded scrap material they’ve found on scavenger hunts around town,” he enthused. Of course, they’re careful as they scavenge. As well as wearing gloves, they’re warned about rummaging through anything that might belong to somebody homeless! Upside of upcycling FERGUSON’S students are

currently building an installation out of the recyclable plastic they’ve sourced from their own homes. So already, before they start creating, they’ve been exposed to the decisions involved in creating the waste – and how much really gets recycled. “It helps to reinforce the idea that recycling should be a last resort, as it's the lowest chink on the food chain in a sense,” he said. “We hope the next time they want to make anything – like a bookshelf or birdhouse – that instead of going to a shop to buy what they need, they’ll instead look around their homes and local environment to source materials. Trash always has the potential to make something new and better. It’s considerably cheaper too!” Encouraging both creative thinking and skills is key, contends Ferguson. “Our students will end up all over the world when they leave us, and hopefully they’ll take that attitude: how can I affect my community?” he said. “It can be overwhelming for a young boy to hear how they can save the planet. No, he can't, he's 10 years old, is the answer. But he can make an impact that will contribute to the bigger picture, starting in his household and local environment.” Key role of Denmark MANY STUDENTS take part in the national cleanup week every April, and some even go collecting with their families, joyfully informing D’Andrea of their efforts the following Monday with a “Go green” and elbow bump. “It's something the kids do because they want to. They understand that litter is not healthy for plants and animals and they want to help. They also think it’s kind of cool,” contended D’Andrea. And there is no doubt the school’s location plays a major role in helping the children to become aware of their footprint – and not just the stunning views from the solar-panelled walls over Øresund. Being in

JACK ZHANG

Along every facet of their educational journey, the children at Copenhagen International School are exposed to the eternal loop of sensible resource usage and recycling. Theirs is a green mindset that will reshape the world

Jack Zhang and his family found 2.5 kg of trash

Denmark also plays a large role. “It really helps that Denmark is one of the world’s frontrunners in sustainable energy and renewable energy forms,” said D’Andrea. “Many will end up leaving the country, and they'll certainly be telling their friends and teachers about their time in Denmark where they saw so many solar panels and wind turbines.” Students in service SCHOOL counsellor Amanda Lopez concurs that Denmark is the ideal place to educate children about sustainability – and also her fellow Americans. “It’s been an education for myself too! I have seven trash cans in my apartment. I tell my mother, a retired science teacher living in Florida, and she is only able to have one … and no opportunity to recycle,” she said. Lopez mostly works with the influx of students who arrive to complete grades 10-12, and for those used to living outside Europe, the ethos of the school is an eye-opener – and one they quickly embrace. From participating in climate marches during school hours, with the blessing of the school administrators, to undertaking ambitious pollution studies, some senior school students even mentor younger students. The students themselves created a platform to match up mentors with students, and some have even ended up mentoring kids from Danish schools. Another recent student-led initiative involved a student making weighted toys for children to be distributed at refugee camps. The work involved a lot of sewing,

which focused on reusing fabrics and materials, but an even bigger challenge, recalled Lopez, were the logistics of getting the toys to the intended recipients. “We’ve held charity concerts and other fundraisers and now we're donating that money. That sounds great and it is great, but we want our students to think beyond donations as an act of service. We want our students to go through the hassle of investigating and identifying needs, along with the headaches of working through logistics and red tape. The idea is that the students learn how to identify real needs and take real action.” Nevertheless, helping the community is not always easy. The school is careful not to tread on anyone’s toes by offering a service that might already be provided by a business or welfare. And often there’s a limit on what can be done without fluency in Danish. A measure of success TOO OFTEN, contends Lopez, people confuse monetary donations with voluntary service, but that’s “not the level of service” CIS has in mind. “We want students to recognise the authentic need for help and to get actively involved, who knows, this might entrench in them a calling – whether it ends up being their career or a lifelong passion,” she said. “Ultimately, success isn’t about making money or simply looking out for one’s own, individual interests. Success is about taking care of each other and the health of our planet. Because if we don’t, we're going to be in real trouble.”

COMMUNITY

25 March - April 22 2021

Banished from their devices for a day, nature obliged them with a silver screen International School of Hellerup’s Virtual Chill Evening true to its name thanks to an unexpected cameo from a snowstorm BEN HAMILTON

“A lot of the teachers were experiencing that their students were fed up with online learning and had lost their energy,” explains Rune Hansen, the organiser of a no screen day at the International School of Hellerup, an international gymnasium located in Østerbro. On Wednesday February 3, classes were cancelled and replaced with the ISH Virtual High School Chill Evening, a lie in-friendly schedule starting with packed lunches at 14:30. In strict adherence with the corona restrictions it took 90 minutes to ensure everybody had a lunch pack, after which the fun and games could begin.

Only a little gentle persuasion was needed to go outdoors. Most of the students had not seen each other since early December

As estimated 90 percent of the student and staff body participated, braving unexpected snowfall to take part in activities that included a fun fact quiz about teachers, a crazy quarantine bingo and a best headdress contest. Endorsed and funded by the school administration, the day ended with the principal confirming everyone was a winner as, at the first opportunity, everyone is invited to a fun day out at Bakken.

Among those rocking it in the snow were Karthikeyan, Adam V for Victory! Or V for Vendetta? Only Krish and Maria and Edoardo. Princes perhaps, but no headdresses in sight. know. It was nice to meet up and all, but you try getting butter to melt on your roll at 15 degrees below zero

20 LOCAL HISTORY THE COPENHAGEN POST | CPHPOST.DK

25 March - April 22 2021

Year of the Gun: How to spark an arms race at a forest kindergarten

FRANK SONDERBORG

WORKED for a time at a Copenhagen forest kindergarten. Space for kindergartens in the city centre was scarce, so kids were bussed out to the outlying northern forests to spend their day running around freely in the wild. This combined both cost-saving and new pedagogic theories about raising children in the fresh, non-polluted forest air. Jobless Joes and Amazons I WAS BRAINWASHED by an Irish system with no concept of kindergartens. If you had kids, the Mums reared them. So when I was drop-kicked into a female-dominated profession with kids from divorced families, I was an Irish alpha-male in an alpha-Danish-female environment. The pedagogues were right on the cutting edge of new thinking: a complete equality of the sexes involving no competition. Pacifism and Social Liberalism with a sprinkling of Maoism was the way forward. I was there to work as a handyman – a job created by Copenhagen Municipality. I was no carpenter, just an unemployed Joe. I could have ended up anywhere within the Copenhagen system, and fate had thrown me into a pit run by a Danish female pedagogue army, whose heroes were the Amazonian warriors of old. Getting on that bus was way over my paygrade. Like Boxer in ‘Animal Farm’ WHEN WE arrived, it was my job to get all the gear from the bus to our house in the forest. I pulled the wheeled wagon, like Boxer in ‘Animal Farm’, loaded with stuff for our time in the forest. The bus would come back

at the end of the day and take us all back to Copenhagen, reborn, testosterone-detoxed, happy new-age bunnies. Some of the boys and girls would jump on board the wagon to get a free ride. I enjoyed this. But I could see it was not going down well with the keepers of the equality flame. “In life, everybody should carry their own load,” was their daily mantra. The kindergarten house sat right on the edge of the forest. So it was never a case of these kids roughing it. Yes, they were out all day. In the cold and rain and snow. But they had a very big warm base to come back to. Enter Sandman I had a small workshop. And here I spent my hours fixing some of the broken toys. I purposely made a division between myself and the pedagogues. I wasn’t there to fix kids, or resolve their very complicated family issues. I was just the handyman. Some of the pedagogues had as many personal issues as the kids. I remember telling one: “You know, you remind me of a mechanic who is fixing all these cars, yet has a string of broken cars outside his own house.” I was not asked for my opinion again. One day Jens turned up outside my workshop. Jens was a very quiet inward-looking boy who normally just sat in a corner and never said anything or joined in any activities. He could also suddenly get very violent, lash out and laugh manically. I was oblivious to all this when I let him just sit and watch me sand all the wooden toys I’d repaired. But when the pedagogues came to check up on Jens, they left him alone when they saw he was occupied and not causing any problems. Decoding ‘Little Jens’ ONE DAY I was informed they would have to stop Jens from attending the group, as he was very disruptive and just not fitting in.

He’d have to go somewhere else to tackle his violent behaviour. I found this very strange, considering all their pedagogic beliefs and training. I was brought up with the idea that there was no such thing as a bad boy, just lousy parents. I defended him and said he was a good kid and that maybe all he needed was something to do. I knew his Mum and Dad were going through a divorce, with pots and pans and the odd punch being thrown at home. Little Jens was right in the firing line. It was agreed they would see what would happen with his new-found interest in wood carving. And hopefully this would pave the way for a new beginning for Jens. Pacifist posturing THIS WAS, after all, the ‘Golden Age of the Pacifist’ in Denmark – a time when it was even suggested that the Danish Army be replaced by an answering machine saying “We surrender” in Russian. I would not consider myself a violent person, but on the few occasions a few Danish guys got heated and screamed in my face, I punched first, asked questions later, at which point my Danish girlfriend confirmed it was just posturing. I, like most Dublin potheads, had seen ‘2001 A Space Odyssey’ and particularly remembered the monkeys screaming at each other. ‘Shit,’ I thought, ‘I’M the monkey with the big stick’. After all, I had tried the pacifist bit in Dublin and got my arse kicked on a bus trip to the Top Hat in Dun Laoghoire for my troubles. Let’s make a gun PERHAPS that’s why it came so easily to me to draw out the shape of an AK47 on a piece of wood and say to Jens: “Let’s make a gun.” So we sawed it out and Jens spent an age sanding it. When he was finished, the delight was obvious on his face. It lit up like the sun. He’d made something

ARMSOFAMERICA.COM

They flocked to the countryside for the fresh non-polluted air. Little did they know they were going to encounter Denmark’s answer to Napalm, the smell of victory

Woody's got a brand new gun

entirely by himself. Then he ran off to the rest of the group who were colouring animals and proceeded to machine gun the lot of them. Arms race begins NEEDLESS to say, this caused a mighty upheaval in the forest kindergarten, as the boys immediately charged down to the workshop and demanded to be tooled up as well. The forest arms race had begun. The pedagogues were horrified and had a series of crisis meetings as to what to do. But they were powerless to resist the winds of change. The weapons factory was in full swing, churning out carved wooden AK47s. The girls now demanded to be armed as well. The forest rang to the sound of boys and girls screaming and shooting and falling down. I even introduced them to the Hollywood action stunt fall. Elbowy end of an area THE PEDAGOGUES, still shellshocked, eventually let it slide. Meetings were held with parents about this sudden interest in guns, but they decided to embrace it and I was never asked to stop. Jens was again playing with the others and everything was still on track for Social Liberalism. Only this time it included wooden AK47s

But like all trends, it ran its course. Sepp Pointek’s football vision of sharp elbows mixed with a new hardened edge of reality was working its magic: the deeply buried idea of winning was once again resurfacing from its long hibernation. Danish Dynamite was on the move. The winds of change were blowing away the last of Social Maoist Liberalism. And I couldn’t help feeling proud at the giant blow for men’s lib that I had struck in what I like to think of as the ‘Year of the Gun’.

Frank Sonderborg was born in Ireland, lives in the UK and does his best to write interesting stories. This particular tale is based on his experience working at an udflytterbørnehave on the corner of Stefansgade and Krogerupgade in Nørrebro from 1984-85. His short stories have appeared in various UK and US publications. He is currently working on a fictional book about the Irish War of Independence.

HISTORY

25 March - April 22 2021

Spectre of Sprogø: the dark chapter Denmark would rather forget

LAUREN BEAUCHAMP

HE GREAT Belt Bridge links Funen and Zealand together, but a small island in between, barely a square kilometre in size, does not have such a harmonious history. Retold in exhibition TODAY, Sprogø is mostly decked out with vacation homes, conference rooms and offices, but rewind six decades and visiting it was far less of a pleasant experience. Between 1923 and 1961, the Sprogø-based Kellersk Institute housed 500 ‘sexually loose’ and ‘mentally ill’ women whose only hope of leaving was agreeing to be sterilised. Their story is a dark chapter in Danish history, and for decades it remained hidden. However, a new exhibition at Dansk Forsorgshistorisk Museum in Slagelse has been shedding light on its macabre past. The exhibition is the result of the hard work of the museum and Danmarks Forsorgsmuseum in Svendborg, although the true hero in this story is the author Birgit Kirkebæk, a doctor in special pedagogy. Her 2004 book, ’Letfærdig og Løsagtig,’ which roughly translates as ‘loose and easy’, has been a huge influence on the research of the museums. “The history of the women's institution is a very black spot in Danish history: a piece of women's history that must never be repeated,” explained Forsorgshistorisk chair Henning Jahn to CPH POST. Eugenics in vogue THE STORY of the Kellersk Institute began in 1923 in a Europe still reeling from World War One and the Russian Revo-

lution, convinced that the very fabric of civilisation was under attack. Unemployment figures had swelled, as had the instances of sexually transmitted disease: ‘loose’ sexual morals were blamed for a myriad of social problems, and there was a focus on sexually active women as the spreaders of disease. The practice of eugenics, which proposed the selection of the fittest and the gradual decline of the genetically weak, came into vogue. It was perceived that there were many women who “had very low sexual morality”, explained Jahn. “It was believed Denmark would be flooded by defective people, so you had to intervene through sterilisation.” A large reason behind the establishment of the Sprogø colony was to reduce the unhealthy production of children who might have ‘degenerate genes’. The island’s ‘architect’, Christian Keller, was a senior consultant at the Kellersk Institute for the Mentally Deficient who had previously founded the Lirø Establishment for Inappropriate Men in 1911. Economic reasons were cited for the bid to halt such births – these ‘unwanted’ children would otherwise be nothing but a burden on society. Women were not the only victims of these societal diagnoses. Between 1911 and 1961, roughly 700 ‘inappropriate’, mostly mentally handicapped men were banished to another island, although they were treated more like regular inmates. Victims of circumstance KIRKEBÆK’S book is based on the doctors’ notes, letters and school reports of 18 Sprogø women, together with newspaper articles, doctor treatments and amendments to the laws of the time. Terms like ‘erotomania’ and ‘hypersexuality’ were often used to send a woman to Sprogø, who were also given an IQ test. Those who scored below 70 were deemed mentally deficient, but

FORSORGSHISTORIEN.DK

How an island now linking the Great Belt Bridge imprisoned up to 500 women of supposed ill virtue between 1923 and 1961 – immorally and in deplorable conditions

Smiles for a group photo hide the sadness most of these girls felt

although this was supposedly the deciding criteria, according to Kirkebæk, in reality the establishment was more for isolating the ‘morally weak’. She writes that most went to an ordinary state school, and even if few of them received exemplary grades, most could at least read and write. “Very few were what we see today as retarded,” she wrote. The women often came from large, dysfunctional homes where alcoholism and violence flourished. Social problems in a family were often taken as an expression of hereditary defects and used as an argument to intervene. Many of the women were incest survivors – something actually used to strengthen the diagnosis; as a child she had already seduced her relative! Because of the reputation of the island and its ‘easy women’, it exuded a fascination for the outside world, and it was not uncommon for fishermen to pick up women from the island to have sex with them, often resulting in pregnancies. A life sentence THOUGH many of the original buildings of the part prison, part work camp and part psychiatric hospital are still standing, there’s not many traces left of the old institution. The gymnastics hall is now a conference room, the

girls’ rooms are offices, and holiday apartments have been built where the old annexes were. A small room on the first floor, just two metres by two metres, stands empty: despite the repainting job, the large scratch and fist marks are clearly visible on the inside of the door. It was used as a cell in the women’s home, where they were locked up for bad behaviour and could be subdued with belts, straitjackets or an injection – a rare occurrence, but one deemed sometimes necessary. Sprogø was run as a farm, and though the women worked without pay, their families received money during their stay. Despite humane intentions to offer women treatment rather than punishment, admittance was indefinite and it was Keller himself who decided when a woman could leave. Two laws in particular affected the women: the Sterilisation Law of 1934, which pretty much made sterilisation a condition of being able to go home, and an amendment to the Marriage Law in 1938, which meant that men and women judged to be mentally deficient were not allowed to marry. Altogether 500 women were admitted to the Sprogø Institute – usually between 40 and 50 at a time. They were there for various reasons – sometimes they’d run

away from home or care, got into trouble with the law, fallen pregnant or simply could not take care of themselves. They remained on the island, on average, for seven years, though one woman languished there for 38 years. Unfitting memorial THROUGHOUT the 1950s, the numbers dwindled until the last Sprogø girl left the island in 1961. Even before the institute was closed down, it was being considered as a home for young criminals, and Birgit Kirkebæk suggests that the thought of deporting and isolating certain aspects of society remains. “Who is most dangerous now?” she asked. “The idea shows up again and again.” Jahn argues that the victims of the institute deserve some kind of memorial and small exhibition on the island. However, the island’s owner, Sund og Bælt, recently told TV2 that they did not want to open up Sprogø to the public. “A memorial site will serve as redress for the women who were placed on the island, but the memorial site will also be an important reminder to us of this dark period,” said Jahn. Shockingly perhaps, the only testament to the crimes carried out on the island prior to the opening of the museum is a statue of Keller himself!

22 EVENTS

THE COPENHAGEN POST | CPHPOST.DK

25 March - April 22 2021

Flag football for beginners NOW Trash Bingo

Screening: ‘Starci na chmelu’ Open knitting café

Drop-in meditation

March 25, 17:30-19:00; Klubhuset, Ved Stadion 25, Gentofte; free adm Get in training clothes and play some high-energy flag football. Unlike its older bro gridiron, it’s low contact and all about technique and tactics. Tackling takes place by pulling flags out of a belt around the waist – you’ve got to think fast! You meet the coach at the clubhouse and play next to the athletics track. (NJB)

April 6, 19:30-21:00; Husets Bio, Rådhusstræde 13, 2th, Cph K; 60kr Screened in Czech with English subtitles, this 1964 classic revolves around the relationship between the charming student Hanka, the boastful premier Honza and the honest and principled, albeit somewhat more peculiar Filip. A tryst in the attic of the school with an insensitive intervention by pedagogical supervision. (NJB)

Every Mon, 17:00-18:30; online event (Zoom ID: 918 9938 9104); free adm The meditations are guided by periods of silence. These evenings are a great way to meet others who meditate. Each session contains the following elements: 40 minutes of meditation, tea break and stretch, dialogue, exchange and study about meditation and everyday life with meditation and insight. (NJB)

Hatha Yoga for all levels March 30, 17:00-18:00; Frederiksberg, online event; free adm Sportsklubben 2000 instructors favour Hatha Yoga, spicing their courses with flow and pulse elements, although they do include exercises inspired by other versions. The teaching is online via Zoom. Registration is required no later than 30 minutes before the class starts, after which you receive a link via email. (NJB)

Danish Tax System Webinar April 8; 17:00-19:00; online event by danskindustri.dk; free adm Join the free webinar this spring and get familiar with the Danish tax system. (NJB)

Transformation Digital Art March 24-26, 17:30-19:30; online event; 350kr The Transformation Digital Art symposium is designed as an opportunity to share best practices concerning both artist-led and institutional strategies geared towards the future presentation of born-digital and software-based art. This year the focus of the symposium will be documenting digital art. (NJB)

March 27, 13:00-15:00; Svanemøllen Strand or a beach of your choice; free adm It's time for spring-cleaning! Not only do our living rooms, basements and wardrobes need a makeover, but also our coastline. So take your family and friends and join us for our first ever trash bingo. It’s a fun way to spend some time outside and do something good for our planet. All you need to join is a trash bingo card from nordicoceanwatch.dk. (NJB)

Easter in Tivoli March 27-April 5; Tivoli, Vesterbrogade 3; from 135kr For Easter, Tivoli is opening its gates and invites you to adventurous Easter experiences in a garden filled with spring flowers. From March 27 to April 5, and then every weekend over the rest of April, the gardens will be transformed into a colourful Easter universe with activities for the whole family – in compliance, of course, with the authorities' recommendations. (NJB)

Virtual Art Classes March 30, 01:00-03:00; online event (email jil.paint@gmail.com for Zoom link); free adm The Pink Berets proudly presents, in partnership with the Bihl Haus Arts: Forward Arts program, the opportunity for veterans to express their emotions through the soothing and therapeutic process of painting through arts immersion. This is a non-intrusive and innovative approach to healing that allows participants to learn from a professional art instructor. (NJB)

Online Open Stage April 2, 19:00; online event at Copenhagen Theatre Circle; free adm Open Stage is back for April in its online format. Copenhagen Theatre Circle’s Open Stage event welcomes performers of all genres: poets, storytellers, stand-up comedians, singers, dancers, clowns, musicians, magicians, etc. A call to artists old and new: this is the space you have been looking for to try out your work in front of an energetic and supportive audience. (NJB)

'Copenhagen' March 27-April 5; online event at Vimeo; 120kr The South Bend Civic Theatre presents a virtual production of ‘Copenhagen’, a full-length play by Michael Frayn. In 1941, German physicist Werner Heisenberg went to Copenhagen to see his Danish counterpart, Niels Bohr. Together they had revolutionised atomic science in the 1920s, but now they are on opposite sides of a world war. Guest directed by the Acting Ensemble’s executive artistic director Melissa Gard. (NJB)

March 25, 15:00; Kulturhuset, Stavnsholtvej 3, Farum; free adm Come and knit together. Meet at the knitting café for free knitting and inspiration on the last Thursday of each month. (NJB)

Copenhagen Harbour Parade April 5; 00-22:00; online event at Harbour ParadeLive; free adm The Copenhagen Harbour Parade is an inter-artistic floating parade that takes place on Constitution Day in Copenhagen's inner harbour. Works of art, performances, installations, music and words sail through the harbour entrance in a cornucopia of colours, sounds, impressions and expressions. The scenes can be experienced from land or water. (NJB)

Make a Japanese pancake March 27; 13:00-14:30; online event by Emix Shokudo in CPH; 100kr Japanese cooking class emix shokudo is returning with online cooking classes. You need very simple ingredients in order to join the cooking session from your own kitchen. For this week’s session, we are going to have an online class on how to make a Japanese fluffy pancake with homemade sauce. (NJB)

Harry Potter April 3, 19:00; online event at DR Koncerthuset; free adm Let music and magic merge when the Cinema Festival Symphonics invites you to an enchanting performance in the concert hall, where the audience will be taken on a flight through John Williams' impressive film music from the Harry Potter series. (NJB)

Wolfheart & co in concert April 14; 23:00-02:00; online event at Pumpehuset; free adm Pumpehuset invites you to an online concert featuring Wolfheart: The Wolves of Karelia. The full line-up for the night is Wolfheart, Mors Pricipum Est, Bloodred Hourglass and Atlas. (NJB)

Extraordinary Earth April 13, 18:30; Huset, Rådhusstræde 13, 2th, Cph K; free adm, registration required Astronomy on Tap is a series of English-language events aimed at making the latest research in astronomy and space accessible to the public. Talks, sometimes a quiz, and plenty of time for mingling. In April they are marking Earth Day with a focus on the interior and atmosphere that make it so special. (NJB)

Love in the age of lockdown April 17; 20:00, online event at Copenhagen Theatre Circle; free adm Join the live stream of an original one-act Zoom production written by Ellen Paulig, Ente Breed and Kate Pemberton. The play is directed by Ellen Paulig. (NJB)

ENGLISH JOB DENMARK Recruitment Announcements Part of The Welcome Group FINANCIAL PLANNING ANALYST FOR FLEET & STRATEGIC BRANDS, MAERSK Location: Deadline: Contact:

Copenhagen 18 April 2021 Maj-Britt Clayon, Recruitment Partner, majbritt.clayton@maersk.com

SKILLED AND DEDICATED PSYCHIATRISTS

The vacant specialist positions are located in the cities of Herning, Horsens and Randers. Location: Region Midtjylland Deadline: 11 April 2021 Contact: Charlotte Stensig, +45 51 35 57 51

HEAD OF MARKETING, PLECTO APS

Plecto is looking for an ambitious and tech-savvy Head of Marketing for our fast growing software-as-a-service startup headquartered in Aarhus. Location: Aarhus Deadline: 17 May 2021 Contact: Justyna Płaczkiewicz, justyna@plecto.com

To advertise your vacancy here and reach 60,000+ readers weekly, contact: info@englishjobdenmark.dk or call 60 70 22 98. For more information about what we can offer: https://englishjobdenmark.dk/

ENGLISH JOB DENMARK

AZURE CLOUD DEVELOPER

Work Supply is seeking on behalf of our client an Azure Cloud developer. 2 years minimum experience required. Location: Copenhagen Deadline: 28 April 2021 Contact: ak@worksupply.dk

DEVOPS ARCHITECT FOR HCBO, DANFOSS Location:

Deadline: Contact:

Nordborg, Kolding, Silkeborg or Copenhagen ASAP danfoss.com/en/aboutdanfoss/careers/

MARKET INTELLIGENCE & FUNDING SPECIALIST, PRO&CO A/S

Do you have the motivation and ambition to make the world a better place? Everfuel is leading the way to a future of zero emission mobility using green hydrogen and are in need of dedicated colleagues to join them on their hydrogen journey. Location: Ikast Deadline: 14 May 2021 Contact: Kristian Reinevald, +45 96 60 32 03

FORKLIFT DRIVERS / EVENING AND NIGHT SHIFTS, HUMANIZER

We are urgently looking for forklift driver to work in warehouse located I Brøndby. Job is picking costumer orders by reach truck or stabler and helping around the warehouse where it is needed. Location: Brøndby Deadline: 14 May 2021 Contact: Margit Olese, +45 53 53 11 99

DATA CENTER FACILITIES TECHNICIAN (ENGINEER),

As an advocate for best practices, you develop creative approaches to reducing operational costs while improving overall data center efficiency. Location: Fredericia Deadline: ASAP Contact: careers.google.com

ADMINISTRATIVE STUDENT ASSISTANT, CARLSBERG

You will work in an international company with people from many different cultures. We imagine that you are a student in the last year of your bachelor or just started can.merc. Location: Copenhagen Deadline: ASAP Contact: Nadia Raun, Executive Assistant to CFO, Nadia.raun@carlsberg.com

GLOBAL LEARNING & DEVELOPMENT COORDINATOR (MATERNITY COVER) DANISH REFUGEE COUNCIL Location: Deadline: Contact:

Copenhagen 28 March 2021 drc.ngo

JOIN THE COMMUNITY (with 20,000+ others) ENGLISH JOB DENMARK CLUB Gain access to articles, webinars, & much more for the price of a few coffees a month! Register today and you will have access to over 500DKK worth of webinars each month! Let us help you take a huge leap forward in your job search. Visit: englishjobdenmark.dk

Working together with internationals and companies to better understand the needs of one another. The Welcome Group has created this page and provides additional services, including an online community supporting employment for internationals on Facebook.

LEARNING DANISH DOESN’T COST

THE WHITE OUT OF YOUR EYES [ “The white out of your eyes” is a strange Danish way of describing expensive things ] Nothing’s free in this world - and neither are we, at Studieskolen. But when you consider the quality of our lessons, the skills and experience of our teachers and our international profile in the centre of Copenhagen, you’ll probably come to the same conclusion: Studieskolen is very fairly priced, and doesn’t cost ‘the white out of your eyes’. Find out more about our new courses for beginners, intermediate or advanced learners at studieskolen.dk.