Last Week in Denmark (12.02 - 19.02) Episode 6 Year 3
Opportunity for Ukrainians; Inflation aid; Fake SMS
Editor HQ
Opportunity for Ukrainians living in Denmark: As part of the IVDK Hub project, the Aalborg Institute for Development and AMIS have developed a public speaking and leadership course aimed at Ukrainians living in Denmark. It will take place next week (21st, 23rd and 25th of February) and participation is free. Bonus - you get me as the facilitator.
The course will be in English. However the prep materials, the slides, the exercises and question rounds will have a Ukrainian translator present.
Sign up here. Deadline, the 21st of February.
If the course on public speaking and leadership is not to your taste, you can consider another course with three workshops: “Discover Denmark” with workshops in Danish Business Culture and the Danish System. Deadline 28th February.
Danish Politics HQ
Danish Citizenship, Integration and Immigration Laws
Inflation aid for families with children: 300 million DKK from the inflation aid needs to go to “vulnerable families with children”, basically the poorest families in Denmark. Unfortunately, the debate about how to distribute the money took a wrong turn, when some political parties asked that “vulnerable families with children with another ethnic background than Danish” should not receive any part of the money.
Next week there will be a debate between the political parties to decide how and who gets the money.
The three far right parties (Nye Borgerlige, DF and DD-Inger Stojberg) do not want “unemployed immigrant families” to receive support.
One of the government parties, Moderaterne, strongly supports that there should not be a difference between poor families with children, regardless of ethnic background.
The prime minister, Mette Frederiksen said that the most likely recipients of this support are the families that used to receive “særlige børnetilskud”.
Law proposals and ideas
Lower VAT on fruits and vegetables: The grocery store chain COOP together with several health organizations are lobbying the government to propose a law that will lower the VAT on fruits and vegetables, essentially making them cheaper.
The health organizations are also asking for the VAT on “unhealthy food” to be raised at the same time.
Unhealthy food is the second biggest risk factor for public health after tobacco in Denmark.
The government is skeptical about the idea of introducing differentiated VAT.
Law against hooliganism: Football fans who enjoy a little bit too much the pre and post match fights against other fans and police need to be more careful in the future. The Ministry of Justice proposed a law to end hooliganism in Denmark.
You can get banned up to 4 years from entering any stadium
The police will be allowed to immediately remove fans with an “unsettling behavior” from the stadium
The political arena
A United Nations rapport says that Denmark’s treatment of Greenlandic people is racist. When Greenlandic people go into contact with Danish authorities they are exposed to great extent to discrimination and racism.
Greenlandic people are Danish citizens. However, they are facing “structural racism” when they attempt to use the public services in Denmark.
Daily Life in Denmark HQ
Warning: In the past couple of months, the Russian cyber attacks against Europeans have increased significantly. You probably noticed that you started to get all sorts of strange messages about packages (that you never ordered), messages that pretended to be from official authorities - all to get you to click on a link that will give them access to your phone or computer.
The public authorities in Denmark will always contact you via e-Boks and not via SMS message (also not an email to your private address) that contains strange links.
See this video from SKAT on how to spot fake emails and SMSs.
As a citizen, it has become important to get a minimum of cyber education on how to reduce the chance for hackers to get control of your data and devices. Check online, there are many sources.
Stay away from the cheap clothes on Shein: An investigation made by Greenpeace shows that the clothes bought from Shein contain harmful chemicals which makes them illegal to sell in Europe. Not to mention, the slavery methods used to make the clothes and the massive impact on the environment.
There are other ways to get cheap clothes. Do not fall into the trap laid out by TikTok influencers. They get paid every time you buy something.
Remember to always wash new clothes before usage.
140,000 men have no close friends: 27% of men between 25 and 39 years old have no close friends. In total, every fifth man in Denmark suffers from loneliness. 70,000 of them are single. They usually spend the holidays alone, are never invited to parties and do not see people outside of work.
Loneliness has terrible effects on your physical and mental health.
One of the men decided to establish an association called “March mod Ensomhed” for people in this situation. They organize a 2000 km walk through Denmark every year. In the first edition 70 people participated. In the second edition, 14,000 people joined.
Healthcare
Birth control pill for men: A new type of birth control pill for men is being developed that can prevent sperm cells from fertilizing an egg.
The new pill is different from the birth control pill for women because it is not based on hormones. It will have significantly less side effects than the one for females.
The pill will take effect an hour after it is taken. Its peak efficiency will be the following three hours, and after 24 hours the sperm will be back to normal.
The number of children on ADHD and depression medication is growing every year. 9% of the population in Denmark is taking such medication. 4% of the 10 to 19 year old’s. 7.2% of 20 to 29 year-olds.
People with ADHD have difficulty concentrating, creating an overview and structure, and planning and carrying out activities. Many also have problems keeping calm.
Focus on paraffin oil: This week, Danish media concentrated on the cases of people that inject paraffin oil into the body. You can buy that oil from pharmacies to use as a powerful laxative. However, injecting into the body to get bigger muscles is a very bad idea that can destroy your body or even kill you. Watch this video to learn more.
Culture, Religion and Royals
The winner of “Melodi Grand Prix” is Reiley with the song “Breaking my heart”. Denmark will be represented at Eurovision by a 25 year old influencer from Faroe Islands. He has 10 million followers on TikTok and 300,000 followers on Instagram.
2023 marks 10 years since Denmark last won the Eurovision Song Contest, with Only Teardrops performed by Emmelie de Forest.
European Union HQ
From 2035, you will not be able to buy new petrol and diesel cars in the European Union. The European Parliament approved a law to ban the sale of new petrol and diesel cars in the European Union from 2035, aiming to speed up the switch to electric vehicles and combat climate change.
Paid “menstrual leave” for painful periods: The Spanish Parliament introduced a new law that will provide menstrual leave for women suffering from painful periods and strengthen access to abortion in public hospitals.
When this bill is finally adopted, Spain will become the first country in Europe and one of the few in the world to integrate this measure into its legislation, following the example of Japan, Indonesia and Zambia.
This bill also provides for the reinforcement of sex education in schools as well as the free distribution of contraceptives and menstrual hygiene products in high schools.
Announcement Board
Copenhagen UN City, 21 February (10:00): Join UN City this Black History Month for a panel discussion on the lived experiences of African/Afro-descendant UN colleagues in Copenhagen.
International media about Denmark HQ
A movie about Denmark’s colonial past.
The TV show “The Traitors” is to be adapted in Denmark, Finland and Germany. A board game is also set for a launch in the fall.
Denmark to open its nuclear bunker as a Museum for tourists.
World’s oldest European hedgehog lived in Denmark.