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DANISH NEWS IN ENGLISH CPHPOST.DK VOL 20 ISSUE 05 31 March - 27 April 2017

NEWS City mourns passing of popular Irish Rover landlord

2

NEWS

Perils of poor English

TRADE RELATIONS How Denmark can thrive as a partner to Israeli ingenuity

9 HISTORY

Still virgin territory Former slave plantation islands continue to wait for an apology

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4-5

Open Sesame! Alibaba yields and China will follow

Norway officially happier

T

HE PRODUCTS of 20 Danish companies are now available to buy on Alibaba.com, the world’s largest online market, thanks to a collaboration deal signed in early March.

With 440 million Chinese customers, the website accounts for 80 percent of the country’s online trade in China, which is worth 2 trillion kroner a year.

Among the Danish companies, which will be given their own page, are Carlsberg, Ecco and Copenhagen Fur. Denmark’s trade with China was worth 120 billion kroner in 2015, and over 50,000 jobs in Denmark are directly tied to exports to China.

High-end joy TRADE is also thriving elsewhere. It appears foreign

consumers are happy to part with their money for goods of a high quality, according to Dansk Industri.

High-end products now account for over 40 percent of Denmark’s export income. By ensuring quality, Danish companies can charge at least 15 percent more than their competition abroad.

According to DI, the high-end goods generate 220 billion kroner annually. Only Ireland, the UK and Luxembourg perform better in Europe.

And fashion exports are also thriving. Last year they were worth 23 billion kroner in the EU. Exports to Germany, for example, have jumped 74 percent since 2007, compared to an EU average of 31 percent.

Potential travel bonanza THE ALIBABA.COM deal followed one between Denmark and the popular Chinese travel portal Dianping, which is used by 300 million Chinese tourists, as part of the 2017 Danish-Chinese tourism year agreement.

Dianping enables its users to find out information about prospective travel destinations – including attractions, restaurants, hotels and shopping.

“We are the first nation in Europe – and one of the first in the world – to gain access to the travel portal,” said the foreign minister, Anders Samuelsen.

“Many Chinese probably don’t know us as a travel destination, so it’s imperative that we get the opportunity to brand Denmark as a tourism nation on the portal.” (CPH POST)

NORWAY has displaced Denmark as the world’s happiest country. Despite its high beer prices, the Scandinavian country is reaping the rewards of investing its North Sea oil wealth for the benefit of future generations, said the World Happiness Report. The top five was completed

by Denmark, Iceland, Switzerland and Finland.

New panda enclosure BJARKE Ingels Group will design the panda enclosure at Copenhagen Zoo, which is expected to be finished sometime in late 2018 at a cost of up to 150 million kroner. From above, it will resemble a yin-yang symbol and be located in the old elephant enclosure. The zoo last had a panda in 1958 – a passing visit for bed and bamboo.

I N S I D E O U R N E X T I S S U E, O U T A P R I L 27

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Painting the cityscape – Art Week takes over Copenhagen's galleries and Metro for ten days straight

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Food glorious food – from new nordic to edible insects – August brings a gust of gastronomic delights with CPH Cooking Festival

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THE COPENHAGEN POST | CPHPOST.DK

31 March - 27 April 2017

City mourns popular publican

ONLINE THIS WEEK THE RADISSON Blu Royal Hotel and the harbour’s waters both turned green on March 17 for St Patrick’s Day. While the hotel was deliberately illuminated, the green hue of the water was the result of disturbed sand by a new construction project at Enghave Brygge. Meanwhile, the 3-Legged Race organisers have confirmed that the event raised 44,100 kroner, taking the grand total since 2007 to 409,150 kroner.

Gun gaffe THE TRIAL of a 63-year-old security guard charged with gross negligence for leaving his loaded gun in a toilet at Parliament has been of major interest to the media because the defendant was a former Copenhagen Police chief. By the time he realised the gaffe, the gun’s discovery had been reported to Parliament’s security chief.

He was found guilty and fined 10,000 kroner.

Baby boom BOOSTED by 10,091 newborns last year, the population of Copenhagen now exceeds 600,000 with forecasters predicting it will be 710,000 by 2030.

There were just 8,554 births in the capital in 2008 as the financial crisis began to take hold. In 2016, 4,446 new citizens came from overseas – from a total of over 35,000 since 2007.

Irish Rover landlord Jonno succumbs to cancer aged just 46 BEN HAMILTON

C

OPENHAGEN was left in shock on St Patrick’s Day as news began to filter through that the Irish community had lost one of its favourite sons: Jonathan ‘Jonno’ Farrelly, the landlord of the Irish Rover.

Very few people knew that Jonno had been battling cancer this past year. He was only 46 years old and had two young children aged 11 and 9. He was buried in his hometown of Lucan in Ireland on March 22.

Infectious enthusiasm JONNO moved to Copenhagen in the 1990s, working first for the Shamrock Inn and the Dubliner before opening the Irish Rover in 2004.

His infectious enthusiasm brought joy and laughter to many people’s lives – one of the

Jonno (right) with his friend Calum McGregor

many online tributes described him as a “genius behind the bar”.

Generous showman JONNO was hugely generous, and this was no more evident than at his famous ‘Irish Day at the Races’ events at Klampenborg Racetrack in early May, for which he arranged free transport for many of the patrons, as well as entertainment for the children.

He was also an undoubted showman, whether it was sharing banter with the punters on J-Dag or St Patrick’s Day, or attracting big-name visitors to the

city such as Eurovision winner Jonny Logan and world snooker champs Mark Selby and John Higgins.

So well liked “HE ALWAYS made people laugh – he was so liked in this city and in his hometown of Lucan,” lamented Anthony Foster, the head chef at Rosie McGee’s, who worked with Jonno for several years at the Dubliner.

“The whole city was in shock on Friday, and with tears and smiles we raised our glasses to him.”

Capital as liveable as ever Copenhagen retains top ten place in Mercer’s Quality of Living rankings

C

POLICE in Copenhagen are closely monitoring gang activity in Malmö, where five people have already been killed this year, as they fear the violence could spill across the Øresund Bridge.

OPENHAGEN has ranked ninth in Mercer’s 2017 Quality of Living rankings, which were once again topped by the Austrian capital Vienna. Copenhagen was the only Nordic city to make the top ten.

Copenhagen ranked fourth for city infrastructure, a new category this year that according to Mercer is an important determinant when “multinationals decide where to establish locations abroad and send expatriate workers”.

And Mercer will no doubt

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Monitoring Malmö

CARSTEN BINDCZUS

Green day

be impressed that the city is building another new bicycle and pedestrian bridge, this time linking Langebro Bridge to Islands Brygge. Work has already started, and the 100 million kroner bridge should open in September 2018.

Jobs for the kids NOT RESTING on its laurels, the capital intends to address one of its biggest eyesores: summer litter. Young workers aged 1317 will be paid this summer to clean up the city parks, streets and beaches. The application deadline is April 30.

And the city is also hiring guards to ensure crowds at Bispebjerg Cemetery in the northwest

of the capital don’t become unruly when thousands turn up in late April to admire its blossoming Japanese cherry trees.

Housing rich and poor SOME OF the anticipated 100,000 visitors might choose to stay at Hotel D’Angleterre, particularly now it has been named one of the 100 best hotels in the world by Canadian travel website FlightNetwork – the 26th best Luxury Hotel in fact.

But for those of you who can’t afford it, there’s good news, as Parliament has passed a bill that will permit temporary student housing in container villages. A 20 sqm pad will cost 3,850 kroner a month. (CPH POST)

ONLINE THIS WEEK Two pro-EU marches TWO PRO-EU marches took place over the weekend. On Saturday, Copenhagen Unite for Europe walked from St Alban’s Church to the British Embassy to voice their opposition to Brexit – a sister march to a major one in London. And on Sunday, the Pulse of Europe movement marched from Europahuset on Gothersgade to Parliament – in solidarity with Pulse members in Germany, France and the Netherlands.

Nej tak Jutland ONLY ONE in four students at business school and university in Copenhagen are interested in working on Funen or in Jutland after graduation, according to a study by CA Karrierepartner and a-kasse. While 71 percent want to stay in Copenhagen, only 14 percent would consider north Jutland.

Tivoli founder honoured GEORG Carstensen, the founder of Tivoli, will have a square in Frederiksberg named after him.

Located near Alhambravej just west of Frederiksberg City Hall Square, the square will be inaugurated in May.

CBS centenary COPENHAGEN Business School is marking its 100th anniversary year with a number of events, including a celebration for dignitaries attended by the Crown Prince Couple that took place on March 24, a party for alumni at its campus on May 19, and a summer party on June 10 for students, neighbours and friends. Some 22,000 students (including 4,300 internationals) attend CBS – up from 168 in 1917.

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31 March - 27 April 2017

ONLINE THIS WEEK

FULL STORIES AT CPHPOST.DK

Turkish tensions

200 Danes under Syrian scrutiny

ON MARCH 12, Turkish PM Binali Yildirim was asked to postpone a visit to Denmark on March 20 due to rising tensions between Turkey and the Netherlands. Many Danes with Turkish roots who oppose the Erdoğan government claim they have been put on a blacklist.

Meanwhile, Daniyelik Ibrahim, 25, a Dane of Uzbek origin, has been arrested in Turkey under suspicion he was involved in the massacre at the Reina nightclub.

OVER 200 Danish citizens are listed in Syrian Air Force Intelligence, reports Berlingske. The Syrian regime has issued arrest warrants for 27 of the Danish nationals, while the others are denied access to the country. The list includes Danish MP Naser Khader.

Unwelcome charity clothes PASSING on your second-hand clothing via charities to African nations is damaging the continent’s garment industry, Politiken reports. In Uganda, 80 percent of the clothing are second-hand items from Western countries, while employee numbers in the Kenyan industry have fallen from 500,000 to 20,000.

Pipeline predicament THE GOVERNMENT is debating whether the Russian gas pipeline Nord Stream 2 can pass through Danish waters in the Baltic. While some parties, like Dansk Folkeparti, approve for commercial reasons, others argue the pipeline is part of Russia’s security policy. Poland and Ukraine oppose the pipeline, but Germany, the main recipient of the gas, supports it.

South Korean VIP extradited DENMARK is extraditing the daughter of the South Korean president’s confidante, who was arrested in Aalborg on January 1. Chung Yoo-ra, 20, is the daughter of Choi Soon-Sil, who was involved in the corruption scandal that led to President Park Geun-Hye’s impeachment.

Serious aid concerns THE GOVERNMENT allocated 0.67 percent of its GNI to development aid in 2016 – way short of the 0.71 percent it pledged, saving almost 800 million kroner. It diverted money towards asylum costs, and then failed to reallocate the funds when refugee projections failed to materialise. Nevertheless, it has recently pledged 310 million kroner to faminestricken east Africa and Yemen.

Faroes’ warmest winter A RECORD warm December that doled out an average temperature of 6.9 degrees helped the Faroe Islands to have its warmest ever winter. The average temperature was 6.1 degrees, beating the previous high of 5.5 set in 2006. Temperatures on the islands rarely fall too low due to their close proximity to the Gulf Stream.

www.cis.dk

Meeting Trump PM LARS Løkke Rasmussen was due to meet his US counterpart, Donald Trump, in Washington DC on March 30, ahead of visiting the US Virgin Islands (see page 20). His visit follows one made by the foreign minister, Anders Samuelsen, who took part in meetings of the coalition against Islamic State. Meanwhile, the defence minister, Claus Hjort Frederiksen, visited Danish troops stationed at Al Asad base in Iraq on March 19.

More Danish-Swedes SOME 1,942 Danes obtained Swedish citizenship in 2016 – a 30 percent rise and considerably more than the 603 who became Swedes in 2014. About 70 percent live in Scania. The Danish Parliament in September 2015 voted to make it possible for Danes to hold dual nationality – a decision that DF said it now regretted.

No longer so cheap THE NUMBER of people moving from Denmark to Scania dipped by 15 percent in the last three months of 2016, compared to 12 months earlier. Heading in the opposite direction, numbers rose 19 percent. Experts attributed the fluctuation to rising house prices in Malmö

Tax threat to commuters SWEDEN wants to raise taxes for commuter Danes. The SINK tax, which kicks in at 425,100 Swedish krona per year, could rise from from 20 to 25 percent.

However, that increase would only generate an extra 370 million Swedish krona for the exchequer, so the government favours lowering the basic threshold – an option that would generate 2.7 billion a year.

EU funding risk SWEDISH MEP Cecilia Wikström has spoken out against EU nations not taking their fair share of refugees, suggesting they should lose EU funding and be fined.

Thanks to an opt-out agreement under the area of freedom, security and justice that was extended in 2006, Denmark is not obliged to fulfil the EU quotas, to which Wikström asked: “Why should we have a whole policy area, namely asylum, which is optional?”

Re-United Nations Our two campuses have re-united and we have opened the doors to our brand new school in Nordhavn. The new campus is now home to our 1,100 students and teachers from more than 80 different nations.

We are very proud of the fact that our new school is one of the world’s most modern teaching facilities. Among the school’s many features you’ll find state-of-the-art classrooms, a restaurant, a fitness center and a dance studio, three gyms, three music rooms, seven science rooms and a 350 seat theater - all powered by 12,000 solar panels.

It’s no wonder that our new campus has been listed as one of the five most innovative and sustainable new buildings, together with Apple’s new Headquarters in California and Tesla’s new Gigafactory in Nevada.

For more information or to arrange a visit, please contact us at cis.dk

3

4 Let the battle begin! EU member states vying for EMA COVER

THE COPENHAGEN POST | CPHPOST.DK

Denmark, Sweden and Ireland give their two Euro cents on the issue LESLIE HAWENER

T

HE BREXIT vote is ushering in a new era – not just for the UK, but also for the entire European Union.

The European Parliament, Commission or Council may be EU institutions familiar to most European citizens, but over the past few months other more specialised bodies have attracted increased coverage: the decentralised agencies that support EU institutions and member states with specialised knowledge.

EMA and EBA TWO OF these are the European Banking Authority (EBA) and the European Medicines Agency (EMA), both of which are situated in London and face relocation when Brexit comes into effect.

For Denmark, particularly the latter is of considerable interest and the Danish mechanisms of policy have begun grinding towards securing support to host the EMA in Copenhagen.

Dream team in place MAYOR Frank Jensen has already called for backing from his colleagues across the Øresund Bridge in Scania, while the foreign minister, Anders Samuelsen, will hit the road to Portugal, Austria and the Czech Republic on April 6-7 in a bid to secure alliances there.

Even the former head of Novo Nordisk, Lars Rebien Sørensen, has been recruited as a potent envoy charged with highlighting Denmark's acumen within medicinal technology and biotech.

The runners and riders BUT THE Danes face plenty of stiff competition.

Last week, officials in Brussels said that six countries – Denmark, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Sweden and the Netherlands – appeared to be the most likely new hosts, although no official criteria has been revealed regarding the decision-making process.

Looking at the 33 decentralised agencies spread out across 23 member states, it becomes apparent that some countries might have a better argument for obtaining hosting duties – at

31 March - 27 April 2017

FACTFILE

least in terms of spreading out hosting duties equally among member states.

Denmark currently hosts one decentralised agency, the European Environment Agency (EEA), as do Ireland and Sweden. Meanwhile, Germany, Italy and the Netherlands all host two agencies.

The three favourites?

BUT THERE are many more indicators in play, and in a bid to shed some light on the situation, CPH POST spoke with Lars Rebien Sørensen, Gabriel Wikström (the Swedish minister for healthcare), and representatives from the department of health of Ireland.

WHAT WOULD BE THE MAIN ADVANTAGE FOR THE EMA BY SETTLING IN YOUR COUNTY? DK: What is most important here

is not what impact this will have on Copenhagen or Denmark.

The most important thing is that by placing EMA in Copenhagen we will provide the best possible conditions for EMA. By doing so we ensure that EMA will continue to deliver work of the highest possible standards to the benefit of European public health. Of course there are also benefits for Copenhagen. It would bring almost 900 highly qualified expats to the city and further underline Copenhagen’s status as the major medicohub in Europe. We already have the Medicon Valley – this would be further strengthened to the benefit of everyone in Denmark and the region.

SWE: I strongly believe that EMA, and the EU as a whole, would benefit from placing EMA in an innovative and thriving life science environment.

The emphasis of the Swedish government on developing its healthcare sector with and building a world-leading life science sector, research and development (especially clinical research), as well as its strong focus on innovation, would provide an excellent working environment for EMA and make use of the life science cluster in the cities of Stockholm and Uppsala.

IRE: The EMA is an extremely

high-functioning and respected agency that plays a key role in protecting the health and well-

SOME NECESSITIES FOR THE NEW EMA LOCATION: • good transport links • large enough building • hotel capacity nearby • sufficient housing • international schools • employment opportunities for partners

OTHER BIDDING COUNTRIES & THEIR STRONGEST ARGUMENT Most of the locations are tried and tested

being of 500 million European citizens. The main advantage of the agency relocating to Dublin is that this offers the best guarantee of ensuring the business continuity of the agency, thereby minimising interruptions to its important work.

WHAT IS THE MOST CONVINCING ARGUMENT FOR RELOCATING THE EMA TO YOUR CAPITAL? DK: There are a lot of strong

contenders, but I do believe that Copenhagen can offer the right package for the EMA. We have studied the objective criteria very carefully and concluded that we are among the best on all relevant criteria. Copenhagen is a very nice place for expats, and it offers a strong professional environment both in terms of public and private research and a strong pharmaceutical sector.

It is also well connected in terms of flights, getting to and from the airport, and hotel capacity.

SWE: Given the mandate of EMA, an efficient and seamless transition is of utmost importance. In this respect, the Swedish Medical Products Agency, among one of the most active partners of the EMA, would be a valuable asset.

Sweden is currently building a world-leading life science sector, and the life science cluster in the region would provide an excellent working environment for EMA. The Karolinska Institute, which hosts the Nobel Assembly that awards the Nobel prize for Medicine, is a top-ranked medical university.

Sweden can offer excellent

working and living conditions in an open and tolerant society.

English is widely spoken here and Stockholm/Uppsala has Europe’s best public transport system. The region has the hotel capacity needed for incoming experts, and, with access to no less than four international airports, it is easy to reach. For the staff and their families, international schools, pre-schools and nurseries are available, and so are programs for partners of the staff.

IRE: The Irish government has

offered Dublin as the new host city for the EMA as it believes that it exceeds all the critical criteria identified for a successful relocation of the agency. Dublin is best placed to attract serving EMA staff and thereby minimise disruption to the work of the agency.

WHEN DO YOU EXPECT A CONFIRMATION ON THE FUTURE OF THE EMA? DK: I believe that there is already

a general consensus that EMA will have to move. All EU agencies are placed within the EU and it is unlikely that EMA could stay in London, especially taking into account the likely future relationship between the EU and the UK. I expect the process to begin soon after the UK formally notifies it will be leaving the EU in accordance with article 50. Ideally a decision should be made before the summer, but most likely it will be in the autumn.

SWE: The government and I support a rapid decision taken

• abstention: Estonia and the Czech Republic • Spain: was the second choice when London was chosen as seat of the EMA • Italy: independent work environment for the agency as there are no pharmaceutic companies around • Austria: strong pharmaceutical industry; 22,000 employees in the pharma sector and Vienna Life Science Cluster • Finland: highly-educated workforce and high-level medical expertise • Germany: already home of the Federal Institute of Drugs and Medical Devices and the German Medicines Manufacturers’ Association • The Netherlands: central location in Europe, good connection to an airport that ensures good international links, good housing and education, and wide knowledge of English

OTHER INTERESTED COUNTRIES: Belgium, France, Luxembourg, Greece, Malta, Cyprus, Slovakia, Slovenia, Portugal, Poland and Hungary by the 27 member states on the relocation, preferably at the European Council in June. The sooner the criteria are presented, the sooner it will be possible to focus on the actual decision of the relocation.

IRE: The Irish government believes that once Article 50 has been triggered, an early decision CONTINUE ON PAGE 5

NEWS

31 March - 27 April 2017

News in Digest: Viking supposition

HOW DO YOU INTEND TO CONVINCE THE EU COUNCIL? DK: Our argument is two-fold.

What we are doing right now is underlining that we need to look at objective criteria. The second part is for us to convince the rest of Europe that Copenhagen is the best choice for EMA. First of all, we have a world-class research environment. Secondly, we have an innovative and vibrant life science cluster.

Thirdly, I would underline our strong focus on patient safety.

Fourthly, the infrastructure in and around Copenhagen is very efficient – both getting around in Copenhagen, but also getting to and from Copenhagen from the rest of Europe. Fifthly – and very importantly in order to ensure that the current staff of EMA stays with the agency – Copenhagen offers high liveability.

SWE: A special EMA secretariat has been set up within the ministry of health and social affairs and they are working in close co-operation with the Stockholm County administrative board, the local county councils and municipalities, the Stockholm chamber of commerce, the Karolinska Institute and our medical products agency in order to arrange for a practical and professional reception of EMA. Bilaterally, we are working very intensely with other member states and institutions in order to promote the Swedish candidature.

IRE: The Irish government will present the case for the relocation of the EMA to Dublin at the appropriate time and will clearly set out why Dublin is the responsible choice as the new home for the agency.

ONLINE THIS WEEK MUSEUM OF SKANDERBORG

on the future of the EMA is vital in order to ensure continuity of its business, and it looks forward to a decision in a short time-frame.

5

Potential of mustard

BY REMOVING the toxins of the mustard plant, Danish researchers believe they have found a new source that could supersede rapeseed as the world’s third largest oil crop. The detoxinated plant would have the edge on rapeseed as it could be grown in warm and dry areas.

The top two largest oil crops are soya bean and sunflower.

Whiskey and more

His opposition on the battlefield must have bridled with anger at his ostentatiousness

Archaeologists adamant they’ve found evidence of a multi-ethnic Viking Denmark BEN HAMILTON

N

OW ONE thing we know at CPH POST is that our readers like stories about Vikings. And also stories about immigrants.

Viking immigrant heaven SO IT’S hardly surprising one of our best read stories this month had the headline “Immigration to Denmark is nothing new … just ask the Vikings”.

It sounds intriguing, doesn’t it: like they’ve found evidence of some 8th century Moroccan women who qualified for family reunification with their rapists.

But no, the immigrants in question were all the way from ... Norway, the other part of the Viking world.

Viking Denmark was “multiethnic”.

Quite a sight A DANISH archaeologist has discovered a grave in Randers and deduces the dead woman was Norwegian because of her teeth. Now English we can understand, but Norwegian?

Apparently her jewellery is also a giveaway she’s from southern Norway, because it’s not like you’d want to stand out at sword practice by wearing some necklace that Bjorn bought back from plundering.

“No give me the stuff made out of Danish turd that we’ve been wearing for generations!” you would say. “Ooh, look at the Norwegian girl showing off with her fancy clobber.”

Apparently the woman had bronze buckles, silver jewellery and glass and metal pearls.

“She must have been quite a sight when she walked through the town,” said the archaeologist, who categorically concludes that a woman’s jewellery cupboard proves without doubt that

He must be a king AND THAT wasn’t the only story. Over in the hamlet of Hørning in Jutland, archaeologists claim they have found a horse bridle that could only have been owned by one of the most powerful people in the kingdom.

Unless it was nicked. Or fashioned by the village blacksmith for himself. Or picked up plundering the east coast of England.

Or taken as a trophy from the field of battle. Or won in a game of dice with a drunk lord.

Still, this archaeologist was pretty sure the owner knew the king, Gorm the Old. The find has been compared to two other sensational finds: the Tollund Man and the Egtved Girl, who recently it was confirmed was in fact German.

How exotic! See, they told you Viking Denmark was “multi-ethnic”.

AALBORG Energie Technik has set up a Scottish biorefinery that converts waste products from local whisky distilleries – the so-called ‘mask’ – into energy.

Located in Rothes, northwest of Aberdeen, the biorefinery is one of 20 that the north Jutland company has delivered to clients abroad.

Wake up call for zoos THE POACHING of a rare white rhino from a zoo in France on March 7 has Danish zoos and wildlife parks on their toes. Ree Park, a safari park near Aarhus, said it would tighten up its security protocols and introduce 24-hour surveillance. The poachers could turn up armed, claims Jesper Stagegaard from the park. “They don’t show up with a nail file,” he told DR.

Denmark shamed ACCORDING to international ocean conservation organisation Oceana, Denmark is one of four nations “strongly opposed” to the inclusion of marine kelp forests on the EU-maintained ‘OSPAR List of Threatened and/ or Declining Species and Habitats’. The other three countries are Iceland, Norway and Ireland, which like Denmark all have major fishing industries.

DTU Space nets award

Boasting backfires

Wolves on Funen

Fierce pollen season

Huge uranium mine

NASA HAS awarded DTU Space, the national space institute, with a ‘Group Achievement Award’ for providing four cameras to the ongoing Juno Mission project, which also enabled precise navigation as well as images of Jupiter. Meanwhile, DTU Space has developed drone technology to more efficiently monitor climate change in the Arctic.

THE EU is holding Denmark to its obligation to reduce the ammonia emissions of its agriculture industry by 24 percent by 2020, even though other member states are only bound to cut them by 2 percent. The government has conceded the original promise in 2013 was “over-ambitious”. It is now feared farmers may have to kill livestock to fulfil the goal.

WOLVES have reached Funen, according to researchers from the University of Copenhagen.

The team analysed DNA traces on the carcass of a dead deer, which confirmed the presence of wolves in Denmark outside Jutland for the first time since 1813. Experts believe the wolf either crossed the Little Belt Bridge from Jutland, or swam.

SOME 550 particles per cubic metre of alder pollen were recorded on March 12 – the highest figure since records began in the 1970s. The alder season started on February 21 – five weeks earlier than 40 years ago. Experts blame climate change. Alder has a long way to go to catch birch, for which counts can exceed 2,000. The birch season starts in mid-April.

A PROPOSED uranium mine in Kvanefjeld in southern Greenland would see over 100 million tonnes of ore crushed to extract radioactive uranium and rare earths over a period of 37 years. Open 24 hours a day, it would employ 800 workers and place the mine’s waste mud at the bottom of a lake that will need to be dammed.

6

NEWS

THE COPENHAGEN POST | CPHPOST.DK

ONLINE THIS WEEK OVER THE last decade, the number of immigrant women getting abortions in Denmark has fallen by a third from 22 to 15 per 1,000, reports Kristeligt Dagblad. The rate among those from a Danish ethnic background has remained steady at 11. Women with Iranian heritage remain the most likely to abort at 26 per 1,000, down from 31 in 2006.

Unqualified to teach A NEW STUDY by AE-rådet on behalf of the Danish Union of Teachers has revealed that one in 10 teachers at public schools do not have an adequate education. This amounts to 5,090 teachers who do not have an education beyond public school, or who only have a upper-secondary school diploma.

Increasing safety THE GOVERNMENT has decided to make it possible for municipalities to reduce speed limits in urban areas to better protect cyclists and pedestrians.

Meanwhile, a survey conducted

by Analyse Danmark for Avisen.dk reveals that 72 percent of Danes think cycle helmets should be compulsory. However, there is no political will to change the law.

LGBT ruling upheld THE SUPREME Court in Denmark has ruled that samesex marriages in church are not against the Danish constitution.

The court upheld a ruling by the Østre Landsrets High Court, which last June dismissed a suit that claimed homosexual weddings in church violate not only the constitution but also the religious freedom of Danish citizens.

Minister: Let them eat cake Støjberg concedes she’s a little out of touch with public opinion STEPHEN GADD

I

NGER STØJBERG was surprised by the negative reaction to her celebrating her half-century of amendments to the immigration law by posing with a cake on Facebook bearing the number 50.

The minister for integration, immigration and housing was attacked by all segments of Danish society – even by members of her own party – as the post attracted over 10,000 comments.

Not hungry, Inger!

VENSTRE’S citizenship spokesman, Jan E Jørgensen, perhaps best summed up the view of the nation when he tweeted: “I’m on a diet.”

“It sounds a bit hollow and smells of pandering to groups of voters who usually belong to other parties,” added Rasmus Hedegaard, a prominent DJ. Good out of bad HOWEVER, the post has at

INGER STØJBERG @ FACEBOOK

Fewer immigrants abort

31 March - 27 April 2017

T

HE NUMBER of Danes who want to prioritise helping refugees, both in Denmark and overseas, has tripled in the last four years, according to a Voxmeter study.

Third most important ASKED to select the most important issue they wanted to fund out of 18 areas, aid to acute disaster zones was number one with 20 percent and fight-

No court for old Nazis TWO DANES identified by the Simon Wiesenthal Centre as war criminals will not be tried, it has been ruled. One of them, who is now a Swedish citizen, is a 91-year-old former member of Frikorps Denmark who was a guard at the Waldlager Camp in Belarus. DF vigorously questioned the decision, demanding answers.

Defence likely soon IN THE ongoing spat between the Defence Ministry and Boeing over the choice of the airline’s rival, the F-35 as its new fighter jet, DefenseNews. com reports that the attorney general will probably present a formal legal defence in April or May. Boeing is suing the Danish government because it says it disagrees with its evaluation of the competing aircraft.

It was a day before her actual birthday. She’s now 44

Google under scrutiny

least had one positive outcome, as it inspired the Danish Red Cross to also put a picture of a cake on social media inviting 50

THE CONSUMER council Forbrugerrådet Tænk has asked the Danish Data Protection Agency to investigate whether Google is breaking privacy laws by not capping the amount of personal data stored on its servers. “We have learned that Google currently has as much as 10 years’ worth of data on users with a Google account,” noted the council.

kroner donations.

And in no time at all, the amount donated had reached 500,000 kroner.

Public warming to refugees As donations increase, it would appear that empathy is steadily rising

ONLINE THIS WEEK

ing disease was second with 13.4 percent.

Supporting refugees then came third with 9.4 percent. In 2016, only 4.5 percent chose it, and in 2012, only 2.3 percent.

Donations to Red Cross collections for refugee welfare in Syria have accordingly increased from 3.5 million kroner in 2013 to 7.9 million kroner in 2016.

Reunification backlog HOWEVER, the state continues to let them down, as new figures from Udlændingestyrelsen, the immigration service, reveal that

the average processing time for a family reunification case has risen from 147 to 437 days in two years.

According to Udlændingestyrelsen, cases should take no longer than ten months to process. However, it has at least turned a corner and is now ruling on more cases than there are being lodged.

At the start of 2016 there were about 12,000 applications, and that’s been reduced to about 8,200 and continues to fall every month. (CPH POST)

Train shambles NATIONAL rail provider DSB had to sideline all of its IC4 trains until March 26 to carry out inspections after a number of hydraulic pump failures. The decision led to severe service disruption. Originally ordered from Italian supplier AnsaldoBreda in 2000, the IC4s did not arrive until 2013, since when they have been beset with problems.

Consultancy-gate

Tax return stampede

Prince Richard is dead

Increasing trends

Suicidal inmates

DESPITE new guidelines being introduced in 2014, the police have failed to adequately tender their consultancy work, with only 38 percent of all jobs between January 2015 to September 2016 having been properly bid for. During this time, 273 million was paid out in fees – often to friends of highranking police officers.

THE TAX authority’s website saw a significant spike in traffic after SKAT announced that citizens were able to access their annual tax returns at skat.dk on Friday March 10. By Saturday morning there had already been 1 million visits despite a wait time of two hours. By Sunday evening the number had risen to 2.5 million.

PRINCE Richard of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg, the husband of the queen’s sister Princess Benedikte, unexpectedly died at his home at Berleburg Castle in central Germany on March 13.

He was 82. Princess Benedikte, whom he married in 1968 and had three children with, was not at home as she was visiting Denmark.

THE NUMBER of Danes choosing to have their final remains scattered at sea, getting divorced past their 60s and living with their parents or in-laws (up 27 percent since 2007) is rising, as is the number of cruise passengers visiting Denmark – 1 million are expected in 2017. While 3,317 over-60s got divorced in 2016, over 5,000 opted for ashes at sea.

EIGHT inmates committed suicide at Danish prisons in 2016 – the highest number since the prison and probation service, Kriminalforsorgen, started keeping track 11 years ago. Meanwhile, children placed in foster care are five to six times more likely to kill themselves than those who are not. Some 25 percent have at some point attempted suicide.

NEWS

31 March - 27 April 2017

ONLINE THIS WEEK World Cup blow DENMARK remain third in their 2018 World Cup group following a goalless draw in Romania on Sunday. Poland lead the group with 13 points, six ahead of Montenegro, with Denmark also on seven points, one ahead of Romania and Armenia. The tight group does not bode well, as the secondplaced team with the worst record, Montenegro at present, will not make the playoffs. Next up is Kazakhstan away in June.

New literary house PLANS have been announced to open a new literary house in Copenhagen in May that will combine a bookstore with a cafe and host a range of cultural events, such as author readings, concerts and lectures. Litteraturhuset ved Vandkunsten will occupy two storeys in an old building at Nybrogade 28 that overlooks Frederiksholms Kanal and Thorvaldsens Museum.

Sakurai the samurai THE DANISH-JAPANESE actor David Sakurai, 37, is emerging as Denmark’s premier actor in action and martial arts films. And now his role as villain Scythe in the Netflix-produced Marvel series ‘Iron Fist’ is expected to put him on Hollywood’s radar. He remains relatively unknown in Denmark, a country he decries for the lack of opportunity it gives Asian actors.

Faith in DR low THE PUBLIC’S faith in DR to deliver on its public broadcaster remit is at a low, with only 17 percent saying they were confident, compared to 28 percent who said they had none. Another 28 percent professed they were confident ‘to a lesser degree’, according to the YouGov poll for Metroxpress.

Riverdance a little late SOME 23 and a half years after it captivated the world during the interval of the 1994 Eurovision Song Contest, its anniversary show ‘Riverdance21’ will return to Copenhagen this autumn. Performing at the Royal Arena on September 15 and 16, tickets cost 400-500 kroner.

Jazz festival in shitstorm Turns out the denial of an Israeli musician was down to English semantics, not anti-Semitism CHRISTIAN WENANDE

C

OPENHAGEN Jazz Festival has landed on thin ice due to its controversial response to a query from an Israeli musician over the weekend.

In response to asking whether it was possible for his jazz band to attend, Alon Farber was informed that the festival did not accept Israeli musicians due to “political reasons”.

Farber then put the response on Facebook and a heated debate ensued.

garding his English formulation.

“The use of the term ‘political reasons’ wasn’t about ‘political’ issues in terms of politics, but rather a ‘policy’ we have internally in the festival that we want to stage concerts that are run properly without security problems,” Hansen told DR. “Alon Farber represents a high-profile Israeli orchestra and it will almost be 100 percent sure that Israeli VIPs will attend such a concert.”

7

ONLINE THIS WEEK Woz charges on CAROLINE Wozniacki’s fine form has continued, and she now finds herself in the Semi-finals of the Miami Open, a tournament often referred to as the fifth grand slam. On Tuesday, she knocked out Lucie Saforova, beating her 6-4, 6-4. Next up is another Czech, Karolina Pliskova. Earlier in March, she lost in the quarters of Indian Wells.

Metallica back again

A misunderstanding KENNETH Hansen, the head of the festival and author of the message, described the incident as a “very unfortunate response”, contending that the issue was down to a misunderstanding re-

Focus on the music!

THE DEPUTY mayor for culture, Carl Christian Ebbesen, has since reminded the festival that the municipality gives it 1 million kroner in support. He has demanded an explanation from Hansen.

“Let the police and PET handle security issues and you can focus on the artistic aspect,” Ebbesen told P1 Radio.

“Obviously, we don’t want to

support the festival with such a significant amount if they are waging political war against certain nations and opinions.

Hansen went on to say that he was currently in dialogue with Farber and the Israeli musician could very well play at the festival this summer after all.

An education in eSports

Top honour for Sandi

Footwear always fashionable

DANISH eSports teams have been making waves with tournament championships in the US and Poland, and now it is making a move into the classroom. Several upper-secondary establishments have decided to offer eSports courses aimed at helping the youngsters to develop their gaming talent. “The course will be a shortcut to a professional existence,” Henrik Selch, a teacher at Københavns Private Gymnasium in Østerbro, told Metroxpress. “Our target is to produce professional eSports gamers for the established professional teams. And to this end we have a close working relationship with teams like Astralis.” (CW)

IN BETWEEN Brexit and overdoing the hygge, the evermisguided British people have been serving themselves hot lashings of ‘Nordic Matters’, a year-long culture fest in 2017 dedicated to the five countries and numerous semi-autonomous, rocky islands to their north. And it was at one of its events recently, ‘Dane Sandi Toksvig’s Mirth Control Goes Nordic’, where the Danish comedian and writer was presented with the Confederation of Scandinavian Studies International Award for 2017. We’ll have to take CoScan’s word for it that this is a “renowned” and “prestigious” award. (BH)

A DISSERTATION written by archaeologist Vivi Lena Andersen has analysed a decade’s worth of shoe discoveries – all 7,205 of them – that have come to light in excavation work in Copenhagen since 2007. If you thought that our forefathers’ shoes were primarily designed to keep their feet warm and protect them against the elements, then think again.

Andersen’s research has found that, just like today, fashion and social status played an important part when it came to choosing one’s footwear. In fact, shoes have arguably become worse for our feet over time, partly due to technical developments.

(SG)

Alon Farber not welcome

READ THE REST OF THESE STORIES AT CPHPOST.DK

Viktor in vacuum

Ready to rock hard?

Skål Søren!

VIKTOR Fischer may have been hoping the sacking of Middlesbrough manager Aitor Karanka might see him return to the first team against Manchester United on March 19, but he didn’t even make the squad chosen by caretaker Steve Agnew. The 3.7 million pound signing from Ajax, who has failed to score in any of his 15 games this season, is even behind Rudy Gestede in the pecking order.

REGISTRATION is open until March 31 for bands to enter Hard Rock Rising, a competition at 125 of the restaurant’s outlets worldwide. To qualify for the May heats, bands need to send in a copy of their best original song. Grand finalists will win 1,000 US dollars and a Fender instruments prize pack, and the winner will get to perform in Miami at a stadium and make their own video.

CAROLINE Wozniaki might buy her countryman Søren Kjeldsen a large drink as the golfer knocked her ex-boyfriend Rory McIlroy out of the WGC Match Play in Austin last week.

Kjeldsen went on to become the only Dane to make the knockout stages, bowing out in the last eight to surprise finalist Jon Rahm, the young 22-year-old Spaniard who is being hailed at the next Seve Ballesteros.

BARELY a month after opening the Royal Arena, Metallica has confirmed it will return to Denmark to play at Jyske Bank Boxen in Herning on 27 March 2018. Also announcing performances this month were US stand-up Jim Norton (May 29, Bremen), US rapper J Cole (Sep 29, TAP1) and Canadian jazz pianist and singer Diana Krall (Sep 30, Opera House).

Crazy times at Kronborg CRAZY Christmas Cabaret creator Vivienne McKee will play Hamlet’s mother Gertrude at Kronborg Castle this summer.

The August 1-19 production is a collaboration between HamletScenen and London Toast Theatre, the company McKee co-owns with her husband Søren Hall. Last year she wrote and directed ‘Shakespeare’s Ghost’ to mark the 400th anniversary of the Bard’s death.

FCK run over FC COPENHAGEN’S run in the Europa League was ended by Ajax on March 23 as they lost 2-0 in Amsterdam in the second leg of their last 16 clash, succumbing 2-3 on aggregate. Danish 19-year-old striker Kasper Dolberg, the former Silkeborg youth player who had scored in the first leg, netted again as Ajax managed ten shots on target to FCK’s two.

China’s painful ban CHINA’S ban on foreign picture books for children has been met with dismay by Danish publishers and authors, as the nation’s children’s books have enjoyed great succes in China in recent years. It is not known whether the ban will extend to all foreign picture books for children or only books not already on the Chinese market.

8

BUSINESS

THE COPENHAGEN POST | CPHPOST.DK

ONLINE THIS WEEK PM LARS Løkke Rasmussen has been busy discussing Brexit ahead of the UK’s activation of Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty on March 29. Around 2,400 companies export goods to the UK, and 53,000 jobs are linked to the trade. Rasmussen emphasised it was important to access the British market “as advantageously as possible, but on balanced terms”.

Fair winds blowing for energy tech MAX PIXEL

Brexit balancing act

31 March - 27 April 2017

Oiling the coffers THE GOVERNMENT has agreed to a North Sea oil deal that could generate up to 26 billion kroner for the state’s coffers by 2042. It will ensure the future of oil production and involve rebuilding the ageing Tyra fields.

Meanwhile, Maersk has said it will no longer make facilitation payments at ports to ensure its ships get preferential treatment.

Taste the world We’re all fans now, as they keep on getting bigger and better

Ambitious island and superturbines the size of the Eiffel Tower at the planning stage

I

T WASN’T long ago that the sustainable energy nay-sayers were saying it was never going to happen. Wind and solar farms, they argued, would fuel thousands of homes, not millions.

But now a project led by Denmark, Germany and the Netherlands plans to build a 10 billion kroner artificial wind turbine island in the North Sea to provide enough energy for 80 million European consumers – the exact population of Germany, in fact.

The 6 sq km island would be located on Dogger Bank, a large sandbank in a shallow area about 100 km off the east coast of the UK, and contain 7,000 wind turbines.

nations with their green transition, create Danish jobs and contribute to growth, prosperity and welfare in Denmark”.

Quickly superseded THE WIND energy sector has come a long way since the world’s first offshore wind farm, Vindeby off Lolland’s northwest coast, opened 25 years ago.

But now its owner Dong Energy has said its 11 wind turbines (2,200 households) are no longer viable, and it is closing it down.

The turbines of tomorrow will be closer in size to the Eiffel Tower than the Arc de Triomphe. Centres in Østerild and Høvsøre will soon start testing super-turbines up to 330 metres high.

Also biting the bullet are three proposed onshore wind farms in Esbjerg Municipality after local residents opposed their construction. Vejen and Tønder municipalities have also recently dropped similar plans.

joint venture with Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and Vestas.

Vestas, meanwhile, has been named the AmCham 2017 Transatlantic Company of the Year and its chairman, Bert Nordberg, has been named the Nordic Chair of the Year 2016 by Styreinformasjon and Føretags Ekonomiska Forening.

AmCham recognised Vestas’s successful growth in the US market, where it is ranked number one for wind turbines with a turnover of over 4 billion euros and employs over 5,000 people.

Energy superpower THE ANNOUNCEMENT preceded one by the government signalling its intention to become “an energy export superpower” by doubling its energy tech exports from 70 to 140 billion kroner by 2030.

The strategy, it noted, “will benefit the climate, help other

Good month for Vestas IN RELATED news, MIH Offshore Wind is hiring 414 new employees at its plants in Nakskov and Lindo thanks to the success of its 8-MW turbine

Back in the race AND FINALLY, it has been announced that Vestas is returning as a sponsor for the prestigious round-the-world yacht race Volvo Ocean Race – also known as the ‘Formula 1 of sailing’.

Vestas is teaming up with the US organisation 11th Hour Racing for the 2017/18 season, which involves sailing a total of 46,000 nautical miles around the world.

The last time Vestas was involved in the race was in 2014/15 when it went under the name Team Vestas Wind and failed to complete the race.

(CPH POST)

See yah NemID!

In debt no longer

Postal lay-offs

Ryanair expansion

THE COUNTRY’S digital authorities have confirmed that the national computer login service NemID will soon be replaced by a different system called MitID. The service, which is used by 4.7 million users, is keen to become more user-friendly and mobile.

The system will be produced in co-operation with Danish banks and the public sector.

ON MARCH 20, Denmark paid off the last instalment of a loan of 1.5 billion US dollars, marking the first time since 1834 that the nation has had no foreign currency debt – and perhaps since 1757, the first time it borrowed from abroad. The state still owes 650 billion kroner in domestic debt, of which foreign investors own about 40 percent.

NATIONAL postal service Postnord intends to lay off around 4,000 employees – roughly 40 percent of its entire staff in Denmark – in its bid to address 2016 losses of 1.5 billion kroner. In the future, regular post will be delivered once a week. In other news, GoBike, the provider of the city bikes, has gone bankrupt after new investors failed to materialise.

RYANAIR is adding and expanding routes from both Copenhagen Airport (to Liverpool and Sevilla) and airports in Jutland: from Aarhus to Eindhoven and Gdansk, and from Aalborg and Billund to London Stansted and Berlin Schönefeld.

To mark their opening, tickets will cost 149 kroner for a limited time.

Laundering shame DANSKE Bank and Nordea have been used for money laundering on an epic scale, according to investigations in Moldova and Latvia reported

by Berlingske. Meanwhile, the FSA has concluded that Danish banks are not doing enough to tackle the practice in foreign tax havens, and SKAT has said all future investigations will be controlled by one department.

Corrupt? Not us!

METROXPRESS had a field day last week detailing some of the attempts to defraud insurance companies – such as the Glostrup self-mutilator. In 2015, the fraud amounted to 488 million kroner – not bad for a country named the least corrupt

by Transparency International.

Funnily enough, Apple product ‘thefts’ tend to soar ahead of a new model launch.

Sold in South Korea FOLLOWING the visit of a delegation to South Korea in early March to boost the Danish food security platform in the country, two deals have been confirmed. Danish liquid eggs will be sold in supermarkets to address a shortfall caused by avian flu. And Danish poultry has returned to the shelves after a four-month absence due to a Danish outbreak of the flu.

ONLINE THIS WEEK

DANISH chef Frank Lantz is the brains behind TastePlease, a global social dining app (available in 14 languages and 190 countries) launched on March 22 to enable shared dining experiences. Elsewhere, nominations for the 2017 Nordic Startup Awards are underway and open to the public until April 7.

FCK’s CL boost PARKEN Sport & Entertainment, the owner of FC Copenhagen, has declared a pre-tax profit of 200 million kroner for 2016, which it partly attributes to the club’s appearance in the Champions League.

Elsewhere, its Lalandia holiday centres in Rødby and Billund yielded profits of 83 million, but its fitness chain Fitness.dk made a loss of 140 million.

Eyeing Kenyan market OVER A dozen Danish companies have signed up for a pilot business project designed to help them navigate the Kenyan market. ‘Africanisation – from Næstved to Nairobi’, a two-year project led by Dansk Industri, will introduce the companies to consultants who can help them identify potential business partners in Kenya.

Lego clan on rich-list LEGO’S owners, the Kirk Kristiansen family, increased their fortune from 13 to 21 billion dollars last year, jumping 30 spots up Forbes’ world’s richest people list to number 35.

On a list topped by Bill Gates, they were followed by Bestseller owner Anders Holch Povlsen (226th; 6.3 bn) and Coloplast owner Niels Peter Louis-Hansen (474th; 3.8 bn).

TRADE RELATIONS

31 March - 27 April 2017

9

Learning to innovate internationally with Israeli-like intuition From its base in Europe’s answer to Silicon Valley, Innovation Centre Denmark can help its country’s startups to fulfil their potential ELLA NAVARRO

P

ARADISIACAL Tel Aviv’s ability to inspire investors and entrepreneurs pursuing new business ideas and ventures extends way beyond the splendorous blue sea visible from its coastline.

Excellent human capital, infrastructure and a ‘chutzpah’ attitude are among the other elements that make Israel a world leader in innovation and a role model for countries like Denmark to follow.

A tech gatekeeper BILL GATES called it when he visited Israel 12 years ago. “It is no exaggeration to say that the kind of innovation that is going on in Israel is critical to the future of the technology business,” he contended, and recent developments have underlined the country’s potential.

For example, this month’s multi-billion dollar purchase of Mobileye – a startup that develops vision technology for Advanced Driver Assistance Systems – by US tech company Intel has really put Israel at the forefront again.

“It’s a great deal: a representation of what Israeli companies are, and one that shows the growth of the Israeli tech sector,” said Avi Hasson, the chief scientist at the Israeli Ministry of Economy.

Louise Vibjerg Thomsen, the commercial counsellor & innovation officer at the recently-established Innovation Centre Denmark (ICDK) in Tel Aviv – one of just seven established worldwide – concurs that the deal was an attention-grabbing one.

“A lot of countries are looking to see what’s the intention of Intel,” she told CPH POST. “The acquisition came as a surprise, but it definitely shows that Israel is a technology centre and there is basically no area or field that Israel can’t play a part on.”

Logical location THE ICDK was set up in Tel Aviv last autumn for good reason. Already known as Silicon

His office looks like any home, his vision could change we live forever

Wadi, the Israeli city has stolen a march on Scandinavia in the race to become Europe’s Silicon Valley, but there is no rivalry, contends Thomsen, only the desire for an ongoing collaboration between the countries to innovate.

The ICDK acts as facilitator, identifying opportunities and bringing together relevant partners in Denmark and Israel.

“There’s no competition between the countries, but more of a complementation,” said Thomsen. “They can be really good partners as Denmark and Israel are not necessarily strong in the same areas. Therefore, the two countries can collaborate and together they can make an alternative to Silicon Valley.”

Complementary collaboration DENMARK might not have that turquoise sea, but nobody can deny the charm of its famous lakes. And in terms of size – like Israel, it doesn’t have a big local home market or natural resources, so its economic drive comes from technology and research.

While Israel has the cutting edge, Denmark’s location affords it a different perspective.

“While we are both strong in the research field, Israel is really strong at commercialising the research, making sure all of this data gets out of the university and doesn’t just stay in a drawer, but is used by society,” contended Thomsen.

Denmark can definitely learn from Israel, but there is also huge interest in Israel to work sideby-side with Denmark, she said.

“Israelis regard Denmark

as an absolute frontrunner in research and a country that is extremely trustworthy,” continued Thomsen. “Everything that comes from Denmark is usually of high quality. Therefore, Israelis see Denmark as a strategic partner for them.”

A water tech deal signed earlier this year and their constant collaboration on digital health prove that the relationship is developing in a fructiferous way.

“In the case of water shortage, Israel is very strong in the area of water-saving solutions,” explained Ann-Christina Lange, the innovation attaché & interim head at the ICDK. “It’s an example of how they see great potential for the Israelis and Danes to offer high-end, cutting-edge solutions to other markets together. We are both strong, but not strong enough to come on our own. Together we could become a great player.”

The startup nation ISRAEL is the ultimate startup nation. Still not 70 years old, its leaders have known from the beginning that innovation, dynamicity and flexibility was key to its survival, particularly given the challenges posed by its nature and neighbours.

Inheriting an arid land, the country’s founders transformed its landscape thanks to the hard work and irrigation ingenuity of the kibbutzim, while its government promoted innovation, establishing an infrastructure for growth and expansion in the areas of science and technology.

Its policies have encouraged startups to be global from day

one. Tax incentives and policies, meanwhile, encourage investors, entrepreneurs and multinational companies to get involved.

“We want the best people to be involved in innovation,” explained Hasson. “We have created an aggressive corporate dividend tax as part of the OECD, for multinationals registering their intellectual property in Israel in order to put an end to the tax shelter and to incentivise them to bring their investment into the country.”

Israel currently has 70 bilateral agreements. Not including the US, Tel Aviv has more startups listed on NASDAQ than any other city. And outside investment continues to grow, with 2016 being yet another record year.

A hotbed of talent IN ISRAEL, entrepreneurs are treated like rockstars and many of its citizens are motivated to become one. It’s seen at the ultimate crowning of the ‘chutzpah’ attitude that no challenge is insurmountable and failure is not an option.

“Israelis don’t like to follow orders, so they have to become ICDK HELPS DK STARTUPS …

• join an Israeli incubator • form an export strategy • look for investors • access technologies • access match-making events

entrepreneurs,” contended Eran Shir, the CEO of startup Nexar.

Compulsory national service instills in young Israelis a multitude of qualities: knowledge, problem-solving skills, an appetite for risk-taking, and the ability to quickly learn from mistakes.

Benjamin Soffer is the CEO of Technion, the Institute of Technology of Israel, where many of the country’s brightest minds come after finishing their national service.

The institute is charged with nurturing a living spirit of entrepreneurship that permeates every corner of the campus. It encourages students to become entrepreneurs and to think globally.

This, according to Thomsen, is another area in which Denmark can imitate Israel.

“We want to teach Danish entrepreneurs and Danish startups to adopt the same kind of worldview,” she said, adding that Israel itself is an excellent choice of stepping stone.

Dismissive of the perceived dangers of the country, Thomsen is adamant that the country has a bright future.

“We really encourage the Danish companies to see the potential because the risk is minimal,” she said.

ISRAEL: NEED TO KNOW • Free trade agreement with Denmark • Biggest markets are the US and Asia-Pacific • 53 percent of exports are hi-tech • World’s leading spender on R&D as a percentage of GDP (4.1) • 85 percent of startup incubator costs are state-funded SUCCESSFUL ISRAELI STARTUPS • Mobileye (autonomous car tech) • Intuition Robotics (eldercare robots) • Airobotics (drones) • Morphisec (cyberattacks)

• access innovation camps

• Zebra (medical diagnoses)

• Contact Louise Thomsen via loutho@um.dk

• Infinity (AR)

• Fifth Dimension (AI)

10 Expats have the skills! After all, it’s all about quality WORK

THE COPENHAGEN POST | CPHPOST.DK

31 March - 27 April 2017

Alex Campbell, a Canadian group sustainability manager at FLSmidth, talks to CPH POST about finding a job in Copenhagen ANDREA DOMINGUEZ

WHAT BROUGHT YOU TO DENMARK TO CONTINUE EXPANDING YOUR CAREER?

In 2013, I was looking to move back to Europe and did some brainstorming about where the best place to live would be. I’d visited friends in Denmark about six times over the course of 15 years, and every single time I visited, I had an absolute blast. I decided to concentrate my efforts on finding a job in Copenhagen and eventually found a position at the United Nations in Nordhavn.

I worked there for two years, before transitioning into the private sector. I now work for FLSmidth, a Danish company with a presence in over 50 countries that has been operating in the cement industry for the past 135 years.

CAN YOU TELL US ABOUT YOUR CURRENT POSITION AND TYPICAL WORKING DAY?

I am currently the group sustainability manager at FLSmidth. I run the program that integrates environmental and social considerations into the heart of the business. As a company that provides equipment and services in the mining and cement industries across the world, the impact on the planet and its people are of an almost unimaginable scale.

When they do business with us, we focus on their environmental footprint, while providing safe working conditions and transparent business practices. The goal of my work is therefore to drive the business in the right direction, understanding that the world has limited resources and that we can help clients to be more productive, while minimising their environmental impacts and allowing them establish a social licence to operate.

WHAT DO YOU LIKE MOST ABOUT YOUR JOB?

My favourite aspect is that I get to make a real difference to the environment and society around the world. FLSmidth acts as a leverage point for change within the mining and cement value chains. If we can develop a piece of equipment that is 15

Canadian group sustainability manager Alex Campbell has found his oasis in Copenhagen

percent more energy-efficient, the avoided carbon emissions at our clients’ sites will amount to taking thousands of cars off the road. If we can innovate in the mining industry and find alternatives to current processes, we can save millions of litres of water every single day from being contaminated. As an environmental scientist, nothing could make me happier.

WHAT CHARACTERISES AN EMPLOYEE AT YOUR COMPANY?

Our company is very diverse, with over 12,000 employees spread across 50 countries. As an engineering company, naturally the average employee is likely to be a mechanical engineer. One aspect that I will be addressing through the sustainability program is the lack of gender diversity. We currently only have 14 percent women in the workforce, which sadly is common throughout the industry: from our suppliers to our peers and our clients. We want to be better, and we will do better.

WHAT IS THE MOST APPEALING THING ABOUT DENMARK FOR YOU?

It’s just got such a great vibe and Copenhagen is such an amazing city. It’s really a cosmopolitan

European capital, so there are so many things to do and events to attend. The mobility within the city is world-class, and I love being able to ride my bike to work. It’s also easy to navigate in English, making it possible to conduct daily business without language barriers. Great restaurants are popping up all over the place as well. The Danes have built a great society and they are satisfied, which makes them happy in the long run. They are also incredibly well-mannered and polite, which makes it very nice to live here.

WHAT HAS SURPRISED YOU THE MOST ABOUT YOUR WORKING LIFE IN DENMARK?

When I started at FLSmidth, I was given a 12-hour training session on how to achieve the Danish world-life balance and it changed my entire perception of what it means to work. I feel so much more productive, relaxed and engaged than I ever felt before. I’m doing more and feeling less stressed about everything.

WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE TO INTERNATIONALS LOOKING FOR WORK IN DENMARK?

I’ve seen a lot of international people struggling to find a position, yet over time every single

one of them has found the right job for their skills. You need to convince an employer that you are the candidate who can help them achieve their goals. It’s not enough to blanket every job on Jobindex with your CV because you won’t stand out and hiring managers know what a generic CV that isn’t tailored to the job looks like.

If you do find an ad for a vacant position, you need to call the hiring manager whose name is listed, be extremely happy and enthusiastic, give them a 30-second summary of your background and say: “I read the vacancy announcement and it potentially looks interesting, but I’d like to ask some questions to see if it would be the right fit for me.” That way they see that you aren’t desperate and that you have the power to choose, and they don’t have all the power by offering. Do your research and come up with a few pertinent questions to ask related to the skills needed for the job, the goal of the work and the team you would work with. From my experience, Danish people think it’s just as important to hire someone who is skilled as someone who will keep the team hygge.

If you find a company you like, but they don’t have a cur-

rent vacancy opening, remember that Danes are generally very easy to get a hold of, so don’t be shy! Figure out who you think the right person to call is by searching on LinkedIn. Then find out something that you think they could do better and offer to come by and pitch your idea. Don’t say: “This is what I did in the past”, say: “This is what I think you can do better and this is how I would help you do it.” You just need to talk to the right person in the right position at the right time.

WHAT CAN EXPAT EMPLOYEES OFFER TO DANISH COMPANIES?

From what I’ve seen, there are many pockets in Danish companies where they do business overseas and they don’t have the right skillsets available.

Some companies might want to buy something from Latin America, or sell something in the Middle East and the majority of job applications they get are from people with a very solid professional background, but they don’t have the right international background. Show them that in order for their company to succeed, they need someone who knows how to do business in Denmark and understands local conditions in other countries.

BUSINESS OPINION

31 March - 27 April 2017

DANIEL K REECE MIND OVER MANAGING Daniel is the managing director of Nordeq Management (nordeqmanagement.com), managing cross-border investment projects with a focus on international corporate and tax law issues.

Educated as a lawyer, Daniel also teaches in the International Business and Global Economics department at DIS Copenhagen.

Daniel is passionate about mindfulness as a means of personal transformation.

No biggie RATHER than concentrate on citizenship, residency, passion or engagement, Danish politicians decided to make a distinction between ‘Danes’ and ‘immigrants and descendants of non-Western backgrounds’.

I’ve lived in Denmark for most of my adult life and have no intention of leaving. When Danish legislation changed in 2015 to allow for dual citizenship, applying for this was a natural step. The notion of whether this would make me ‘half-Danish’ and consequently less ‘British’ has admittedly not taken up much of my mental space.

Strange resolution RESOLUTION No 38 of

February 9 triggered a few interesting thoughts.

Take my mother-in-law, for example. I’d always considered her as Danish through and through. Her parents, however, were both the children of Jewish refugees escaping Russian pogroms of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Russia, in geopolitical terms, is most certainly not a Western country. This means that my mother-in-law, as a descendant of non-Western immigrants, is no longer, according to the wisdom of Danish parliamentarians, ‘Danish’.

Consequently, my wife is no longer ‘Danish’, but in fact half a Dane (my father-in-law’s family all coming from good Nordic stock). And what about my kids?

They were already half and half.

Are they now just one quarter Danish?

Not funny anymore THE MOST amusing result of this is that should my application

Eastt A

ISTOCK

O

N THURSDAY 9 February, the Danish Parliament passed a motion by 55 votes to 54 clarifying what it means to be ‘Danish’.

11

It might not be law, but there’s much to abhor

for Danish citizenship be successful, I will (having thoroughly Western descendants) become more ‘Danish’ than my in-laws.

What is most certainly not amusing in any way is the effect this will have on thousands of immigrants and their families across Denmark who already feel castigated for their origins by certain elements of the Dan-

ish political system. They have now been told by the government itself that they are not an authentic part of the country where their families live, work and contribute to the social good.

Resolution No 38 is as heartless as it is stupid, and everyone who voted for it should be thoroughly ashamed of themselves.

HHy Week and

FEW YEARS ago I heard a quote by the late motivational speaker Jim Rohn: “Work harder on yourself than you do on your job.” The idea was that this ultimately benefitted both you and your employer.

At the time, I was on the wrong career path and the quote didn’t work for me. If I were to work on developing myself it would be with a view to being able to leave my job. And this is at whatParish eventuallyEucharist happened.

at Saint Alban’s Chhch

PHILIP TEES

Palm Sunday, 9 April

PERSONAL BUSINESS

Philip is a technical writer at a technology company and former business editor at the Copenhagen Post. He has a law degree, but prefers to play with words than Westlaw. Get in touch by Commemoration following @currently_pt on Twitter or email holla@philiptees.com.

10.30

Wednesday of Holy Week, 12 April Positive uncertainty BUT MYCommunion thoughts returned at Holy to this last year. The company I had recently moved to went from having an almost of the Last impossibly brightSupper future to at bankruptcy within the space of about six months. As the probAn lems Hour at the Cross emerged, my position (and at everyone else’s at the company) began to look very uncertain.

This wasEaster worrying,Vigil but I at realised that I was no longer

10.30

Maundy Thursday, 13 April 20.00

Good Friday, 14 April

14.00

Easter Eve, 15 April 19.30

Easter Day, 16 April

NEXT ISSUEDay Holy Communion IN 2 ISSUES Easter at 9.00 Easter Day D Sung Eucharist at 10.30

Mind over Managing

Living in an Expat World

Saint Alban’s Anglican/Episcopal Church, Churchillparken 11, 1263 Copenhagen. www.st-albans.dk The Valley of Life

for foreign visitors* You’re important, but post-it notes telling you so is going too far

concerned about my own performance. I was liberated from the thoughts that I might not be good enough and I began producing some of my best work ever.

Working on myself I HAD NO fear that I would underperform and get fired (we eventually all got ‘fired’ anyway). My attention turned to making myself more marketable to potential future employers.

I wrote became a on your purchases. Available for all Everything non-EU residents.

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IN 3 ISSUES

IN 4 ISSUES

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Non-EU residents can shop tax free and furthermore save up to 27% depending on purchase amounts of more than DKK 300.

Collect all your refunds from Denmark at the service centre.

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Give Yourself a Chance CPH Career

12

OPINION

THE COPENHAGEN POST | CPHPOST.DK

31 March - 27 April 2017

Trumping The Donald

O

UR PRIME minister, Lars Løkke Rasmussen, is about to visit the US to meet President Trump. It is somewhat flattering, as it is in the slipstream of Mrs May and Mrs Merkel, and far ahead of many other prominent government heads.

Arctic agenda AT THE same time, it is obvious that Denmark is going to play an important role in the political developments in the Arctic, where the relationship with Russia especially will become crucial. Denmark is a mini-state, but in the far-North, we are second to none.

The Arctic question has clearly not been on the president’s

A Dane Abroad

agenda so far, but will become central, not least because of the pressing issue of environment control.

America not alone SO PRESIDENT Trump may think that America comes first, but our PM will have to teach him – in a modest way – that America is not alone, and that her allies, such as Denmark, have learnt the value of co-operation – and that means interactivity with other nations.

Globalisation is not a buzzword. It has proved that knowledge, money, culture and security are divided and shared by merely pushing a button. If hot and cold water are mixed, we have the inseparable result of a uniform product. The world is coming together whether we realise it or not.

Cake in the face IN THIS respect, our integration minister, Inger Støjberg, made headlines again by baking an austerity cake, commemorating austerity regulation number 50 to make Denmark uninviting as a refugee or immigration land and to make life miserable for those already here.

We believe in harmonising standards for migrants internationally, but we do not appreciate a race to the bottom – and especially bragging about it. (ES)

Join the chat WWW.CPHPOST.DK WWW.FACEBOOK.COM/COPENHAGENPOST WWW.INSTAGRAM.COM/CPHPOST WWW.TWITTER.COM/CPHPOST

Born and raised in Denmark, Kirsten jumped ship in her early 20s to spend the next 12 years living in New Zealand. A physiotherapist, acupuncturist, yogini and foodie, she has a passion for life and well-being.

After a few stints back in the motherland, Kirsten is once again back living in Aotearoa, New Zealand.

VERA KRATOCHVIL

Shared goal in Syria MR RASMUSSEN is a seasoned politician and it would not be unexpected if he returned with operational insights on the major issues at hand.

He will bring to the president the news that the Danish Parliament is willing to increase defence spending in the future.

He does that based on the fact that Denmark has actually put boots on the ground as special forces have been deployed in Iraq/Syria with the task of training local forces and also taking part in sharp-end operations if needed. This is a visiting card of value.

KIRSTEN LOUISE PEDERSEN

Slaughtered lambs and the end of Lent have made way for chicks and chocolate

A

S 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 sticker” (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.

Egg-painting 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.

As well as the mountains of Easter eggs, many Englishspeaking 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. 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!

OPINION

31 March - 27 April 2017

13

NEXT ISSUE

ZACH KHADUDU

Straight Up

Mackindergarten

Zach Khadudu is a Kenyan by birth and a journalist by choice. He is a commentator and an activist with a passion for refugee and human rights. He may share a heritage with a certain US president, but his heart lies elsewhere – in the written and spoken word.

ADRIAN MACKINDER

Straight, No Chaser STEPHEN GADD

IN 2 ISSUES

An Actor’s Life IAN BURNS

Fashion Jam JENNY EGSTEN-ERICSON Perhaps the archives will shed light on why the islands were valued at (in today’s terms) 520 million dollars

E

VERY FEW years a debate re-emerges about whether Denmark should take responsibility for its 250 years of colonialism and slavery in the West Indies.

The blemishing triangle THIS YEAR, the islands of St John, St Thomas and St Croix are celebrating, nay, commemorating 100 years since Denmark sold them off to the United States (for a paltry 25 million dollars).

Like other European powers, Denmark was a big player in the slave trade. The Danish West India Company was established in 1671 to consolidate a Danish tripartite business model: shipping slaves to the West Indies; putting them to work on plantations on the islands; and shipping the commodities to Denmark for profit and to the West African Coast to buy the slaves.

While this depiction of slavery seems overly simplistic, the implications permeate the state of the nation to this day.

Archives of activation IT IS A debate that is ever more divisive in Denmark’s political corridors. The country has

consistently ignored and utterly refused to offer an official apology to the descendants of the enslaved peoples of the West Indies. The extent of the Danish enslavement of people of African heritage has been mired in mystery.

The detailed archives of these dark ages of Danish history have, until recently, remained largely out of the public eye. On March 1 this year, the Danish National Archives opened up archive records on Danish slavery and colonialism that measure over one kilometre in length.

Written in the blood, sweat and tears of generations of people forced out of their lands to work in fields thousands of miles away from their home, can they reawaken the consciousness of a nation?

Victims never forget TODAY immigration remains an emotive issue in Denmark, just like in the rest of the Western World. The rise of the populist voice of the right is calling for a halt to wave of non-Western migrants to the west.

Sure, 100-plus years is a long enough period for the role Denmark played in setting the current world order to fade from

the nation’s collective memory.

But it is not too late to listen to the voices of West Indians who are calling for Denmark to make amends with them.

As argued in this column before, victims never forget. While current generations of Danes may not see the need to atone for the ills of their forbearers, the people of St Thomas, St John and St Croix carry in them the blood of slaves uprooted from Africa under the Danish flag to work in the Caribbean.

The trans-generational trauma of the inhumane treatment of the slaves necessitates closure.

Even if the top echelons of Danish government remain steadfast in their resolve to never publicly acknowledge the wrongs that were done to the slaves, it cannot be denied that the nation remains indebted to her victims past and present.

One thing that we can be sure of: the word ‘neger’ will feature in the archives. “It’s a neutral word in Denmark,” the argument often goes. But its recurring use in the archives is neither neutral nor innocent.

And nor does its usage underline this country’s freedom of expression of which we are so proud.

Or are we?

IN 3 ISSUES

The Road Less Taken JESSICA ALEXANDER

Mishra’s Mishmash MRUTYUANJAI MISHRA

IN 4 ISSUES

‘Mere te’ Vicar?

DARREN MCCALLIG

Crazier than Christmas VIVIENNE MCKEE

14

COMMUNITY

THE COPENHAGEN POST | CPHPOST.DK

31 March - 27 April 2017

ABOUT TOWN

PHOTOS BY HASSE FERROLD

The diplomatic corps were out in force for the celebration of the Pakistani National Day on March 24 at the residence of ambassador Masroor Junejo in Hellerup. Among those in attendance were (left: left-right) Saudi Arabian ambassador Fahad Alruwaily, Brazilian ambassador Carlos Paranhos, Iraqi ambassador Alaa Hussain Musa, Egyptian ambassador Salwa Moufid, the new UAE ambassador Fatima Kamis Al Mazrouei and South Korean ambassador Choi Jai-Chul. Also present (centre left) were Chilean ambassador Flavio Tarsetti Quezada and Argentine ambassador Conrado Solari Yrigoyen, who were catching up with the latest news in the CPH POST magazine Diplomacy. Also on the ambassadorial circuit, Italian ambassador Stefano Queirolo Palmas (centre right) hosted a Italian Researchers’ Day at his residence on February 16 and South African ambassador Zindzi Mandela (right – fourth right) marked International Women´s Day with a reception at Odd Fellow Palace

The celebrities and ambassadors have been out in force at a great number of cultural events in March. Nudge, nudge, wink, wink, say it all: Monty Python legend Eric Idle (left – centre) was in attendance at the premiere of ‘Spamalot’ at Tivoli on March 22, which was also attended by actress Vivienne McKee (see page 7) and her husband Søren Hall (centre left). Japanese ambassador Toshiro Suzuki (centre – centre) was at the opening of the exhibition ‘Cisternerne x Sambuichi: The Water’ (see G2 in InOut). Swedish ambassador Frederik Jørgensen (centre right –seated) hosted a special Gudrun Sjöden (seated) collection on March 16 to mark the 10th anniversary of her store on Fiolstræde. And Canadian ambassador Emi Furuya (right) was among the attendees at a screening of ‘Going to War with Guibord’ at Cinemateket on March 22 which is part of Cinéma du monde, a French-language film festival

Irish ambassador Cliona Manahan (left – centre) celebrated St Patrick’s Day with her fellow ambassadors two days earlier than the feast day with a reception at Nordatlantens Brygge on March 15. She was joined by Heather Humphreys (left), the Irish minister for arts and heritage affairs, and also present were (centre left: left-right) Australian ambassador Damien Miller, Chinese ambassador Liu Biwei and Latvian ambassador Kaspars Ozolins. On the feast day itself (centre right), actor Ian Burns (in hat) played St Patrick in this year’s parade, and deputy ambassador David Healy (to Burns’ left) gave the opening speech

AmCham has named Vestas as its Transatlantic Company of the Year 2017 after a stunning year in the US. Among those present was AmCham’s executive director Stephen Brugger (left), who has just turned 60. Happy Birthday!

The United Arab Emirates now has representation in Denmark, and its new ambassador is Fatima Kamis Al Mazrouei.

Tarhib!

The Georgian ambassador agrée is Gigi Gigiadze.

Misasalmebeli!

31 March - 27 April 2017

MARKETPLACE & SCHOOLS

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16

COMMUNITY

THE COPENHAGEN POST | CPHPOST.DK

which was held at International House Copenhagen on March 7.

Afterwards, he took time to share a moment with Hans Hermansen, the commercial director of the CPH POST,

one of several organisations to have a stand at the event.

While adults could find out more about culture, sport and other possibilities, their children were well looked after with free face painting.

Among those in attendance was half-Swedish, half-Norwegian Linn Johanna Ellström, who has in fact lived most of her life in Sydney, but says she missed the Scandinavian environment.

She opted for Denmark because it is “the country in Scandinavia which, because of its modern culture, is most like Sydney but still is located nearby her own country”.

LESLIE HAWENER

They train every Wednesday night at Bellahøj Stadion, Hall 2, from 20:00 until 22:00.

Should you care to join them, the first two training sessions are free.

The club is made of lots of different nationalities, including British, Irish, South African, Zimbabwean, Australian, New Zealand and Danish players.

And they enjoy an active social calendar. Every month, they hold a Bring a Beer night, and they also tend to celebrate summer, Christmas – any excuse will do!

The club is hosting a tournament coming up on May 6 at which nine teams from Sweden, Norway, England, Netherlands and France will compete.

DAVE SMITH

ALL PHOTOS: COPENHAGEN NETBALL CLUB

C

OPENHAGEN Netball Club enters mixed teams in international tournaments and is always on the lookout for new players.

OUT AND ABOUT

ALL PHOTOS: LESLIE HAWENER

C

ARL CHRISTIAN Ebbesen (left and centre left, the deputy mayor for culture, was the guest speaker at the welcome reception for new arrivals to Copenhagen,

31 March - 27 April 2017

Experience the After Hours Tour at Copenhagen Zoo – it’s completely in English. But make sure you register before April 13 (April 25, 18:00; Copenhagen Zoo, Frederiksberg; 150kr)

Enjoy the Easter holiday with your family at Carlsberg.

Get a map and go on Easter egg treasure hunt and then visit the horses as you collect Easter eggs. There will be prizes! (April 8-17, 10:00-17:00; Visit Carlsberg, Cph V; 100kr, chidren: free adm)

Experience a Latino night. Music, salsa classes, food, drinks, animation and of course lots of dancing, from bachata and reggaeton to salsa and merengue (April 6, 20:00; PapirØen, Trangravsvej 14, Cph K; free adm) CROCHETCONCUPISCENCE.

PIXABAY

TOWNSVILLE CHAMBER

Get a cup of coffee and start networking! Create informal connections to get advice, exchange ideas or just meet people (March 31, 09:00-11:00; Café Apropos, Halmtorvet 12, Cph V; free adm)

JEROEN KOMEN

Are you the kind of person who sings along to the opening credits of TV shows? Bring a team and test the knowledge in a quiz (April 12, 20:00; Absalon Church, Sønder Boulevard 73, Cph V; 30kr)

CARLSBERG

Starting on April 27 you can learn to sail on a course with the Royal Danish Yacht Club that includes learning commands, wind awareness, controlling the boat speed and sailing rules (April 27, 18:00; Royal Danish Yacht Club, Tuborg Havnepark 15, Hellerup; 2,400kr) MCAMCAMCA

This lecture that will guide you through the mysteries of desire, offering knowledge and advice to help you tranform you secret desires into a source of happiness (April 12, 19:45-21:45; Natha Yoga Center, Nordre Fasanvej 230A Plads, Cph N; 150kr)

ZAREX

PIXABAY

COMING UP SOON

With their shelves full, the new spring ceramic market is opening with lots of crafts and a great selection of potters (April 2, 10:00; Absalon Church, Sønder Boulevard 73, Cph V; free adm)

At this Culture Connection Workshop you will learn everything you need to know about how to crochet, the new hygge (April 8, 15:30-17:30; Frode Jakobsens Plads 4, 1st floor, Cph K) ANDREA DOMINGUEZ

Do you know what to do if there is a windy half-bodied pelican outside?

Take a Danish course at Studieskolen and find out Studieskolen’s courses are designed for everyone who wants to make fast progress with their Danish language skills. For beginners, the pros and everyone in between. Come to class up to four times a week in the heart of Copenhagen and you’ll no longer be treading in the spinach (as they say). Read more about the origin of different Danish expressions and how to use them at studieskolen.dk.

Follow us /studieskolen

18

OUTDOOR

THE COPENHAGEN POST | CPHPOST.DK

31 March - 27 April 2017

WHEN IN DENMARK: EMBRACING A GREAT without ever really spending quality time in its beautiful nature, where a host of different activities await you.

MATHIAS FREUDENTHAL

The big outdoors WHILE over half of Denmark is taken up by arable land – it was, after all, often referred to as Germany’s larder during the first half of the 20th century – 16 percent consists of forest and heath, and 7 percent of wilderness areas such as lakes, bogs and meadows.

Y

OU WOULDN’T live in Surfers Paradise in Queensland, Australia and not surf, would you? Likewise, you wouldn’t be a resident of Monaco and not like a flutter in the casino.

But hundreds of thousands live in Denmark

And then there is the coastline. Some 7,314 kilometres long, it has the 16th longest in the world – outstripping Chile and even India!

Get cracking!

SO FOR those of you who feel that these opportunities are a little wasted, now’s the time to step up and introduce a shot of adrenaline into your life and embrace these activities.

FISHING: YOU’LL BE HOOKED!

SURFING: BOARD AT HOME?

ROWING: PUT YOUR OAR IN! Looking for an outdoor pursuit that doesn’t involve a ball but in which you can still pull together as a team? The rowing community is always looking for more members, and it’s a complete myth that only giants fit in. After all, 2012 Olympic gold medalist Rasmus Quist was only 173 cm! So why not try it out at a special free trial session organised by Roforeningen KVIK (Strandvænget 53, Cph Ø) on April 5. It will provide you with everything you need to know about rowing and the club, and a chance to try it out!

WHAT YOU NEED:

Denmark isn’t the next Hawaii or Australia, but given its weather conditions, big waves aren’t an abnormality along the west coast of Jutland, especially between Klitmøller and Agger, where you’ll find plenty of would-be surfers cutting their teeth ahead of heading off to sunnier climes.

Conversely perhaps, the tendency for strong wind but small waves in Danish waters favours windsurfing, although the country is yet to produce a serious challenger in the sport. Kitesurfing, in which competitors perform tricks as opposed to race each other, is another popular surfing pastime. Combining aspects from snowboarding, windsurfing, surfing, paragliding, skateboarding and gymnastics, it is becoming one of the ultimate sports for adrenaline junkies.

WHAT YOU NEED:

• Wear running clothes or similar

• A surfboard

• Be able to swim 300 metres and be at least 12!

• Understanding of currents

• A wetsuit

SAILING: MAKE IT A PORT OF CALL With all the fishing, spear fishing and surfing going on, it would be foolhardy (but don’t “kiss me Hardy”) not to mention sailing. Whether it’s a rowing, sailing or speedboat, a kayak, canoe or pedalo, or even a floating spa, given the proximity of water, you’re never far away from a rental company in this country. But most of that is child’s play, so given that this is the home of the Vikings and Olympic gold medalist Paul Elvstrøm, isn’t it time you learned how to sail – like properly. The Royal Danish Yacht Club is offering a 16-week sailing course starting on April 27 (prices start at 2,400 kroner – learn more at kdy.dk). Completing the course will earn you a sailing licence. But if you insist on kayaking, you must try Amager Rundt, a 45 km course around the capital island.

WHAT YOU NEED:

With its ludicrously long coastline, and over 5,000 lakes, Denmark has a great selection of places to fish.

Whether it’s spin fishing, fly fishing or beginner level fishing, or big fish lakes, ordinary freshwater lakes, freshwater streams, the sea or out at sea, Denmark has the perfect conditions.

Along the seashore, Jutland’s west coast offers the best conditions thanks to its large population of cod, flatfish, and mackerel. From there, sail a cutter to the Yellow Reef – remember your motion sickness pills because it’s going to get rough! – where most of the country’s biggest fish records have been set. Heading freshwater, but staying in Jutland, the Brede Å, Kongeå, Skjernå and Varde Å streams are all recommended for monster trout and salmon. Fyn’s seashore is also highly recommended, particularly for trout, while the Øresund is good for trout and cod – especially during the winter. Staying in Zealand, the freshwater lakes at Furesø and Esrum are famed for their recordbreaking pike and perch, and Isefjorden is another excellent location for trout.

WHAT YOU NEED:

• A licence if your boat has an engine

• A Danish fishing licence

• A life jacket

• Rubber boots (recommended)

• Knowledge of steering a boat

• A rod, fishing line, fly/hook

• Waders (for sea fishing)

PHOTO: LANCE ASPER

FOR THE WATER LOVERS: SAILING, SURFING AND SPEAR FISHING; FOR THE LANDLUBBERS: BIKING, HIKING AND HUNTING

OUTDOOR

31 March - 27 April 2017

19

OUTDOORS SWIMMING WITH PURSUITS

PHOTO: JANIS OPPLIGER

SPEAR FISHING: BUOY BONDING When most people think of spear fishing (or speargun hunting), they remember the James Bond film ‘Thunderball’ – “I think he got the point” – and that lurid red wetsuit deep down underwater off the coast of the Bahamas. After all, there was no bigger fan of the pastime than his creator, Ian Fleming, who hunted daily at Goldeneye, his home in Jamaica.

However, in reality speargun hunters don’t use any scuba gear as they rarely leave the surface, surveying the marine wildlife through their masks with a gun that is rubber or air-powered, or a hand-held spear.

This tends to make the pastime tricky during the summer as most fish seek out deeper waters due to the heat – remember that it’s illegal to spear fish in freshwater areas – so your best bet is trying it out in the spring or the autumn. In Zealand, Asnæs is recommended for flatfish, while the north coast is good for mullet, flounder and turbot, as is Sejerø Bay, which also provides good conditions for flatfish and dab. The best place, however, is Jutland, and particularly around Djursland and Hirsholm, which both offer large populations of coal-fish, sea-bass and cod, with the latter also offering superb conditions for mullet. On Funen, Kerteminde and the north shore around Sprogø is excellent for mullet and cod.

WHAT YOU NEED: • A Danish fishing licence • A spear gun or a hand spear, and a knife

MOUNTAIN BIKING: IN THEM HILLS!

HUNTING: DEER AT ANY PRICE Look away now if you think every species is sacred, because it’s bad news. Despite many being protected by hunting laws, the vast majority of animals in Denmark are fair game – provided it’s the right season. The difficulty is finding somewhere to do it; you can’t just go out into the wilderness and start shooting – this isn’t America. Your first step should be to either join a club or befriend a club member. This will enable you to approach licenced estate owners to receive permission to hunt on their grounds. In Zealand, roe deer and birds (especially mallards, greylag geese, pheasants, pigeons) are the most popular prey.

Among the best estates are Bielefeld, Giesegård, Bregentved, Gisselfeldt and Svenstrup gods. But for the Danish ‘big game’, head to Jutland! Wild fallow deer and red deer tick both boxes, as not only is venison an exquisite meat, but they also make good trophies. Especially Skagen and the northern part of Djursland are home to some of the biggest populations of the highly coveted red deer.

WHAT YOU NEED: • A valid hunter’s license

• A wetsuit (highly recommended)

• A rifle, shotgun or bow

• A diver’s mask, snorkel and swimming fins • A lead belt and attachable buoy (so boats can see you)

HIKING: RAMBLE IN THE BRAMBLES Hiking is a perfect way of getting fresh air into your lungs without getting exhausted, and while Denmark’s countryside isn’t too hilly, it’s still beautiful, boasting a huge variety of flora and numerous footpaths to follow. For Copenhageners, their first choice should be Jægersborg Dyrehave where 2,000-plus deer inhabit an 11 sq km area full of ancient oak trees. Lille Vildmose in the eastern part of Jutland between Randers and Aalborg is also exceptional and the only part of the country where you might encounter wild boar, eagles, cranes, beavers, red deer and moose. Also recommended are the islands of Bornholm and Møn, and Mols Bjerge.

WHAT YOU NEED:

Really, it should be called hill biking, as the highest point in Denmark is only 170.86 metres above sea level. Still, there are plenty of off-road tracks in the country that offer good exercise, fresh air and an adrenaline-inducing challenge. A good mountain bike is essential, as its features – such as a shock-absorbing front fork and wide wheels with a rough tread – are designed to enhance durability and performance in rough terrain. Be warned that some locations forbid mountain biking because the rough wheels tear the ground up.

While flat Zealand and Fyn have limited possibilities restricted to the odd wood and bog, they still have a number of locations where challenging tracks have been set out. Try the Red Track in Hareskoven, Store Dyrehave in Hillerød and Teglstrup Hegn if you’re near the capital; the Blue Track at Himmerlev or Bidstrup skovene in Roskilde elsewhere; Trunderupskoven, Kongebroskoven and Langesøskoven on Funen; and finally Klinteskoven on Møn. Jutland with its more hilly terrain is the best option if you want to test yourself.

Try Mols Bjerge, Hasle Bakker, Rold Skov, Fussing Lake and the Hammer Hills.

• A pair of comfortable shoes

WHAT YOU NEED:

• Knowledge of hunting etiquette and tradition

• Appropriate clothes and a hat

• A mountain bike, rented or bought

• Knowledge of Danish wildlife

• Water and some food

• A helmet

• Access to a map

• A good level of fitness

• Appropriate clothing

20

HISTORY

THE COPENHAGEN POST | CPHPOST.DK

31 March - 27 April 2017

Caribbean colonies still weighing on the country’s conscience a century later S F PHOTOGRAPHS

What can the PM learn from the past ahead of his visit to the West Indies to acknowledge “an important part” of Denmark’s history STEPHEN GADD

T

HE CENTENARY celebrations of the sale of Denmark’s Caribbean colonies are an opportunity for the country to confront a part of its past that many people would rather ignore or forget about.

On 31 March this year it will be exactly 100 years since Denmark formally sold the islands of Saint Thomas, Saint Croix and Saint John to the United States for 25 million dollars in gold.

To mark the occasion, Prime Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen will visit the former colony because, as he said, the islands constitute “an important part of Denmark’s history”.

“By taking part in the commemoration, I look forward to meeting people and politicians on the island and showing our respect for them and history,” said Rasmussen in a press release.

A lucrative business HOWEVER, the relationship between Denmark and its former colonies has become more uneasy of late. During the period of Danish rule, around 100,000 slaves were taken from Africa to work in the former colonies.

Denmark was the seventh-largest slave-trading nation, and a number of prominent Danish families made a great deal of money from this unsavoury business.

In recent years there have been calls for the Danish state to make some sort of official apology regarding slavery, and also to pay compensation. These have become more frequent, as several other former slave-trading nations have in fact done so, albeit usually with some reservations attached.

Blairly an apology ON 27 NOVEMBER 2006, the then British prime minister, Tony Blair, made a partial apology for Britain’s role in the African slavery trade.

However African rights activists denounced it as “empty rhetoric” that failed to address the issue properly. They felt that his apology stopped short to pre-

From the port in Ghana (bottom left) the slaves were taken to their new home (above)

vent any legal repercussions.

Blair went on to apologise again on 14 March 2007.

Still US and them AND THEN in 2009, the US Senate approved a resolution apologising for slavery and the segregation of African-Americans.

While the senate resolution acknowledged that an apology for centuries of wrongdoing could not erase the past, it said a “confession of the wrongs committed and a formal apology to African-Americans will help bind the wounds of the nation that are rooted in slavery, and can speed racial healing and reconciliation, and help the people of the United States understand the past and honour the history of all people of the United States.”

However, some people were upset by the last lines of the resolution that include a disclaimer: “Nothing in this resolution – A) authorises or supports any claim against the United States; or B) serves as a settlement of any claim against the United States.”

The only African-American in the Senate, the democrat

Roland Burris, argued that the disclaimer should not prohibit the future congressional action on the issue of reparations.

A sort of apology UP UNTIL now, Denmark has resisted making any formal apology – one of the reasons given being the fear of opening up the government legally to open-ended compensation claims.

Back in 1998, the former foreign minister, Niels Helveg Petersen, said: “I cannot see what’s right about people who have had nothing to do with slavery apologising to people who haven’t experienced slavery.”

However, in his new year message, the PM went as far as describing the period as “shameful” and a “terrible chapter in our history”, but stopped short of an official apology.

Neat triangles THE OWNERSHIP of the islands has had a rather chequered history. In 1672, the Danish West India Guinea Company annexed the uninhabited island of Saint Thomas, followed by Saint John in 1675. Saint Croix was then purchased from the

French West India Company in 1733.

When the company went bankrupt in 1755, King Frederik V of Denmark and Norway assumed direct control of the three islands. Later, during the Napoleonic Wars, the Danish West Indies were occupied by Britain from 1801-1802 and 1807-1815.

The raison d’être of the colony was primarily to exploit triangular trade involving the export of firearms and other manufactured goods to Africa in exchange for slaves, who were then transported to the Caribbean to work on the sugar plantations. The final part of the triangle was the export of sugar and rum to Denmark.

Silvery grey linings IT MUST also be admitted that in 1792 Denmark became the first country in the world to pass

a law forbidding the slave trade.

However, this did not extend to the owning of slaves in the former colonies – just the transportation of slaves.

It was only in 1848 that slaves were finally set free. Indeed, when slavery was finally abolished, many plantation owners demanded compensation on the grounds that their assets were damaged by the loss of the slaves and because they would have to pay for labour in the future. Recognising that the release of the slaves had caused financial hardship to the owners, the Danish government paid 50 dollars for every slave the plantation owners had owned.

So it will be interesting to see how Rasmussen handles the situation on March 31 and whether he will take this opportunity to make the formal apology that a number of people in the former colonies would like.

FURTHER READING AT CPHPOST.DK • How little old Denmark oversaw territories in India, Africa and the West Indies • The Akwamu: the beginning of the end of Danish colonial power • Sculptures to remind Denmark of colonial past

21 No misnomers, this Noma for pizzas is simply the best RESTAURANT

31 March - 27 April 2017

BÆST

Guldbergsgade 29, Cph N; open daily 17:00-22:30; 3535 0463; baest.dk AMELIA AXELSEN

I

N MY QUEST to find the best pizza in Denmark, I may have stumbled onto something even greater and more satisfying: the best pizza in the world.

It’s clear that world-renowned chef Christian Puglis of Nørrebro restaurant Relæ and his partner Kim Rossen opened the restaurant and pizzeria Bæst in order to use Michelin star precision and cooking in order to give the world a perfected take on traditional pizza.

Voted the ninth best pizza in the world by the Guardian earlier this year, Bæst, situated in the heart of Nørrebro and next to Empire Bio, certainly lives up to all the hype.

Best of Denmark BÆST PRIDES itself on using mostly local and organic ingredients, which is clear from the appetisers down to the beer that comes solely from local breweries.

Serving up charcuterie from the best selection of pigs in Denmark is written into their manifesto. At a reasonable price, the chefs at Bæst are no stranger to utilising everything Danish farmers have to offer.

The menu has an array of items to choose from that are not limited to just pizza and even offers a plate from which you can sample the whole kitchen, if you’re beast enough.

Sharing as a mantra BEFORE ordering we were told by our waiter in a friendly, humble way that at Bæst the menu is designed with the concept of sharing in mind.

Whether this was a ploy to gently remind us to put away our mobile phones, allowing ourselves to be taken over by an atmosphere in which melodic tunes lightly hummed in the background and Danishdesigned lighting set the mood, or to indulge ourselves by buying several items off the menu in order to fulfill this notion, making our bill climb higher – whatever it was, it didn’t matter, we were sold.

As we were walking to our seats, the kitchen visible from every angle of the dining area, we glanced at the other patrons’ dishes, eager to see what looked the best. Once we sat down, my friend and I both declared that we had to have the salad. Which seems rare for a salad, but Bæst’s ‘Bitter Green Salad’ appeared unique.

We of course shared it. The salad was composed of organic greens from farms in Denmark

that were covered in a satisfyingly large amount of parmesan, salted egg yolk and garum. The greens were as described – bitter, but in a tasty way. We finished it in its entirety and were even more excited about our pizzas.

The perfect pizza AFTER mulling over the pizza menu, trying to ensure we made the best decision, we settled on a ham pizza with sun-dried tomatoes and Bæst mozzarella, and

a second pizza with tomatoes, ‘Bæst ‘nduja’ – smoked Bæst mozzarella, red onions and oregano.

We scarfed down the pizzas gleefully, trying to describe each bite and each ingredient, which was not an easy task. The pizza dough was perfectly contrasting, made up of a soft inside with a crunchy, chargrilled crust.

The homemade Bæst mozzarella, which is made on site and hand-stretched in the restaurant

several times a day, is something I have thought about days after my meal. The tomatoes, basil, and oregano were fresh and tasted like they were delivered right from the farm that hour.

After each bite, it was clear that Bæst had perfected the art of Italian pizza making. Once I left, the only thing I was disappointed by was that I was too full to try eight of the other pizzas on the menu and the tiramisu.

22

FILM

THE COPENHAGEN POST | CPHPOST.DK

31 March - 27 April 2017

Are American anime, British blood and Austin auteur bad combos?

W

HEN STEVE Biko asked an apartheid-era South African judge: “Why do you call yourselves white? You look more pink than white,” he should have added: “Only Michael Jackson can truly call himself white.” Granted, it was 1971 and Wacko Jacko was still at the ABC stage of his career, but there’s a point here: why are there so many people out there who act like they’re qualified casting directors.

In the same way that anyone who’s ever been to school thinks they’re an authority on teaching, it would appear that if you’ve ever made an invite list you could cast a movie.

True, there are mismatches out there we could have helped avoid – Britain choosing Brexit, Trump in the White House, Tori Spelling ever getting an acting job – but save your unequivocal outrage for the things that matter, not a trivial decision to cast an actor.

Ain’t translation issues!

UNFORTUNATELY that advice fell on deaf ears when Scarlett Johansson was cast in the lead role in Ghost in the Shell (Not Released Yet worldwide; released in Denmark on April 6), an adaptation of Masamune Shirow’s manga comic book series, a futuristic tale about terrorists and hackers wreaking havoc with cyber and viral warfare.

Many took to social media to decry the whitewashing of a story set in Japan, while those who had actually read the comics were quick to point out that Johansson is playing a cyborg and has no fixed race.

Likewise, the role played by Danish actor Pilou Asbæk is also non-human. For Asbæk it’s another chance to appear alongside Johansson – half-Danish through her father Ejner, an art historian and documentary maker – following on from Lucy in 2014.

Given his recent ascendancy, this time she might remember his name (but not be able to pronounce it).

CLIFF @ FLIKR

Tale of eight Luthers IN SAMUEL L Jackson’s case, his recent tirade against British black actors playing Americans was no trivial matter – he’s afraid Idris Elba and David Harewood (the CIA boss in Homeland Homeland) are going to nick all his roles.

Really, coming from an actor who bullied his way into becoming a Jedi and once even played a Nazi (in the much lamented The Spirit), this was an affront not just to British black people, but the whole profession.

Jackson argued that Daniel Kaluuya (best known for a role as an unorthodox talent show contestant in the first series of Black Mirror), the lead in Get Out (83 on Metacritic; March 30), a horror comedy about a young black man dating a white woman (Allison Williams – Marnie in Girls), would not be able to relate to the material because he “grew up in a country where they’ve been interracial dating for 100 years”.

It’s a baffling claim from an actor who has appeared in British films (wearing a kilt because he insisted) and even TV series.

And he also singled out David Oyelowo, who played Martin Luther King in Selma, a role he played on stage in New York (he can dream, can’t he?) after it transferred from London and the producers dropped the British actor (Harewood in fact) from the production.

But now US producers have more faith, and British black actors are queuing up – because the sad truth is there are barely any decent roles in their home country (despite all the Edwardian Age interracial dating). “You have to change the demographics of the people who are making these casting and commissioning decisions,” Oyelowo told a London audience only last October.

Meanwhile, we’ll have to put Star Wars actor John Boyega’s response to Jackson’s comments – “Black Brits vs African American: a stupid ass conflict

we don’t have time for” – down to Jedi envy.

Eight divided by four COMPLETING our trio of mismatches is Song to Song (52; April 13), a Terrence Malik film about the music scene in his town of residence, Austin in Texas, starring Ryan Gosling, Rooney Mara, Michael Fassbender and Natalie Portman.

Most critics agree that it’s not a horrible film, but that a director of his calibre should do better, or maybe know better to apply his trademark meditative reflections on nature and individual transcendence to such a vacuous industry.

An eight-hour first cut shaved down to 129 minutes, a shoot that started all the way back in 2012 (but with no aspirations to be a Boyhood), and the complete cutting of several actors and bands (including Christian Bale, Benicio del Toro and Arcade Fire) suggest it’s been a tortuous journey to the screen.

Eight the final straw ALMOST as long in the making is the 2015 French-American sci-fi film Creative Control (58; April 20) in which a man uses VR to have an affair with a hologram of his friend’s girlfriend.

The biggest mystery is why this has this been picked up.

A safer bet – particularly as its director, Kelly Fremon Craig, cites her biggest influences as the cuddly John Hughes, Christopher Guest, Alexander Payne and Nick Hornby – is The Edge of Seventeen (77; April 20).

A teenage girl’s best friend starts going out with her brother – no, the friend is neither a cyborg, male nor black; no, there’s

no meditative reflection. No spins or twists, just thoughtful, humorous scriptwriting from a privileged American white girl who’s been hanging around James L Brooks (As Good as it Gets, Terms of Endearment) and soaking it all up. And it breaks our hearts to say she’s nailed it.

And an even safer bet – if you like crap and you don’t want to be surprised in the slightest – is Fast & Furious 8 (NRY; April 13). Surely it will get to the point when they have enough footage of Vin Diesel snarling and applying the throttle to render his services unnecessary for the next one and just use CGI. Eight weeks counting ELSEWHERE, Smurfs: The Lost Village (NRY; March 30) is mercifully the type of cartoon that is hard to find in English at Danish cinemas, but the more adult-friendly, viewer-unfriendly Boss Baby (55; April 6) should pose no such problem.

Also at selected cinemas, look out for three retrospective documentaries – although aren’t they all? David Lynch: The Art Life (NRY; April 20) was presumably made to whet the appetite ahead of the return of Twin Peaks in eight weeks’ time; The Allins (NRY; April 6) assesses the effect of a young rock star’s passing on his family; while Werner Herzog’s Lo and Behold: Recoveries of the Connected World (76; April 6) applies the same approach to the internet.

No obvious mismatches there, unless we’re talking about the decision to screen so many documentaries at Danish cinemas, particularly as they’ve normally already been on television.

‘Lo and Behold, Reveries of the Connected World’ Documentary of the Month / April 6th –13th: Werner Herzog examines the development of the internet – from its birth to its vast influence on today’s society and interpersonal relationships.

We present some 50 films with English dialogue or subtitles every month.

See what’s on at cinemateket.dk or visit us in Gothersgade 55

INOUT:TV

31 March - 27 April 2017

THE COPENHAGEN POST | CPHPOST.DK

LIFE, ANIMATED SVT2, APRIL 17, 21:35

PICK OF THE WEEK

THE PULITZER Prize-winning journalist Ron Suskind followed up on his 2014 bestseller Life, Animated: A Story of Sidekicks, Heroes and Autism with this docmentay, which he made in collaboration with Roger Ross Williams (God Loves Uganda).

Life, Animated (Metacritic: 75) follows the development of Suskind’s autistic son Owen who was diagnosed with a developmental disorder at the age of

He’d like Denmark and its weekly serving of Disney Sjov (bank holidays only back in the old country)

COMING SOON Still at Hogwarts by the look of it

place to ‘host’ a Midsomer murder outside the fictional county.

Murderers are the subject of several docs this month – or should we say the object. The compelling Unknown Male No 1 (SVT2, April 10, 22:20) takes us to Italy, The Thread (DR2, April 5, 23:55) follows the postBoston Marathon manhunt, and Netanyahu at War (DR2, April 11-12, 23:00) … we jest, we jest.

Elsewhere, the miniseries Killing Jesus (SVT1, April 15-16)

casts an actor of Western Asian heritage in the title role for the first time ever; there’s another chance to see Fleming – the Man who would be Bond (DR1, April 10-11, 23:35) and S2 of Poldark (SVT1, April 1, 21:30); we’ve got the final of X Factor (DR1, March 31, 20:00); and the good docs continue with Saving Africa’s Elephants: Hugh and the Ivory War (DR2, April 2, 20:00) and Airbnb Nightmares (DR3, April 10, 20:45). (BH)

SVT2, March 11, 19:05 Midsomer Murders: ‘The Killings of Copenhagen’

BRICK Top, Bullet-Tooth Tony, Franky Four Fingers ... with so many classic characters, how will the TV series Snatch (55 on Metacritic) live up to the 2000 classic? With difficulty is the answer. The casting of Rupert Grint (Ron Weasley) as one of the ‘Lock Stock’ con artists does not inspire confidence.

Imposters (70) the lot of

them, you might say, although this Bravo series about con artists has more going on. Beautiful Maddie is a black widow but without the killing, whose past finally catches up with her.

Megan also gets hitched for the money in The Arrangement (61) – to a Hollywood star. Yes, think Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes.

“Bleak, beautiful and brilliant,”

– no not Holmes in Dawson’s Creek, this is the Guardian’s take on To Walk Invisible: The Brontë Sisters (72) in which the trio try to cope with their alcoholaddicted brother by publishing bestselling novels about domineering male ogres.

In the modern age, maybe Emily would have penned 13 Reasons Why (86), a tale of the

ALSO NEW

WONKER/ FLICKR.COM

SPORT OF THE WEEK SVT2, April, 17:55 US Masters

K6, April 22, 18:15 FA Cup: Chelsea vs Tottenham

FILM OF THE WEEK DR1, April 14, 21:15 Gone Girl

suicide of a teenage girl. After all, Kate Bush would have beaten her to the other title.

Elsewhere, the reviews for Marvel’s Iron Fist (37) are poor, time travel Sun Records (65) takes us back to the beginnings of rock ’n’ roll and Trial & Error (67) is a passable comedy about a lawyer – like we need another one of them.

LESLIE HAWENER

ANDREW

DAN PERRY/ FLICKR.COM

THE FA CUP semis, US Masters, Grand National – the ultimate sporting weekend last century. These days they’re spread out a bit more and joined by the latter stages of the Champions League (Bayern Munich vs Real Madrid, Juve vs Barca – 3+, April 12-13, 20:45) and back-to-back F1 races: the Chinese (3+, April 9, 06:30) and Bahrain GPs (April 16, 15:30). (BH)

three. Soon the parents realised that Disney animated movies were the only way to communicate with their son.

The Guardian found it “a tremendous story of family love and Disney cartoons” while the Telegraph chimed: “Life, Animated is one of those documentaries with a story so cut out for inspirational screen treatment it’s almost suspect – scarcely credible, at first.”

Interviews and Disney extracts are supported by private footage. Definitely, a must-see!

LESLIE HAWENER

YASUKO KAGEYAMA / TEATRO DELL’OPERA DI ROMA

IT’S IRONIC that Midsomer Murders, with its multiple murders per episode – exactly the kind of police drama that slow-burning Forbrydelsen was the antithesis of – is so popular in Denmark. It was inevitable that ‘Barnaby’ would head to Copenhagen one day.

The new Barnaby, in case you never cared to find out, is the cousin of the original character (Bergerac), and in this episode (the 100th in fact) the Danish capital joins Brighton as the only

23

DR3, April 14, 22:45 The Sessions

DR3, April 1, 21:00 Kick-Ass 2

K6, April 23, 16:00 FA Cup: Arsenal vs Man City

NOW, PROMISE you won’t tell me anything about Gone Girl. A raved-about thriller directed by David Fincher in which bad things happen to Ben Affleck – what’s not to like? The Sessions is likewise hard to fault.

An incapacitated 38-year-old man decides to lose his virginity to a sex surrogate, and the endresult is charming, thoughtful and well acted. (BH)

Sign up for free DANISH Courses CLAVIS is centrally located in Copenhagen by Nørreport Station and in Lyngby Storcenter.

New courses starts in March and April.

Morning -, day -, evening - and Saturday classes.

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