Last Week in Denmark (27.02 - 06.03) Episode 8 Year 2
Coping with the war! How to help Ukrainian refugees!
Editor HQ
This is already the second newsletter we send in times of war (in Europe). As you can imagine, the entire focus is on Ukraine right now. Everyone is trying to help in every way they can, from donating money or things to driving to the Ukraine border to pick up refugees, from volunteering to go in Ukraine as medical staff to joining the fight as soldiers.
Our reality has been radically changed in just one week. We wake up every morning, hoping that Ukraine is still there, that Putin didn’t press the nuclear button or blow up some nuclear plant, that the Russian army gets weaker and decides to go home. We are anxious and we imagine scenarios, especially if we have relatives in Eastern Europe.
Going forward, we need to brace ourselves. If you cannot sleep, go work out (now is the best time to get in shape). Learn basic survival skills. Take a first-help course. In the world of tomorrow, such skills might be in high demand.
In the end, I want to express my gratitude to the Russian people that for a week now have been protesting against Putin despite the risk of going to prison. They are the key to ending this war and saving Russia from extreme poverty and isolation.
Call to Action: The International Denmark is organizing events with the occasion of “International Women’s Day” in Copenhagen, Aalborg and Odense. The purpose of the events is to gather funds for the Ukrainian refugees.
Ukraine HQ
Refugees
Denmark is ready to welcome up to 20.000 Ukrainian refugees. The trade unions and the employer’s association want to make it as easy as possible for them to work in Denmark.
Travel within Denmark: Refugees from Ukraine can travel for free by train. Cars with Ukrainian numbers can cross the Øresund bridge without payment, as well as buses carrying Ukrainian refugees and cars with emergency aid for Ukraine.
Medical care: PLO (The General Practitioners Organization) announced that Ukrainian refugees (without CPR) can go to the nearest family doctor. Some Regional Councils opened mental health crisis hotlines for Ukrainian citizens or people with connections with Ukraine.
99 44 50 60 (Region Syddanmark)
97 64 37 00 (Region Nordjylland)
Danish Air Transport (DAT) offered the Danish government to go and pick up Ukrainian refugees. The first flight will be covered by the company.
Humanitarian aid: 100 million DKK has been sent to Danish NGO’s that are helping the Ukrainian refugees. 50 million DKK to UNICEF (UN Children’s Fund) and UNCHR (UN Refugee Agency).
How to help?
Donate money: The Danish Red Cross is collecting money for emergency help. They have volunteers both in Ukraine and at the border between Ukraine and the European Union.
Support the Ukrainian organizations in Denmark: We have two Ukrainian associations in Denmark, “Association af Ukrainerne i Danmark” and “Bevar Ukraine”, which you can join and support with your hands, your pocket or your things. You can also join this group if you can help with accomodation or transport goods and people.
Follow the Embassy of Ukraine to the Kingdom of Denmark for other ways to help.
Join the IT Army of Ukraine: The Ukrainian minister of digitalization made a call for IT professionals from around the world to help (from the safety of their home) Ukraine.
Others
Street name: Venstre’s (Liberal Party) leader, Jakob Ellemann-Jensen, proposed to change the name of the Copenhagen street “Kristianiagade” to “Ukrainegade”. On that street, you can find the Russian Embassy in Denmark. The local authorities are looking into it.
The Danish school teachers' pension fund will sell their Russian shares and bonds in value of 800 million DKK (0,5% of the investment portfolio).
Support for Ukrainian Civil Defense: The hunters from the Danish Facebook group “All of us who go hunting” are gathering hunting clothes, backpacks, boots, sleeping bags, field bottles and other equipment for the Ukrainian Civil Defense.
Danish Politics HQ
The political game
Enhedslisten: MP Christian Juhl has declared “Ukraine bears part of responsibility for Russia’s invasion, due to the treatment of the minorities in East Ukraine”. The leader of the party, Mai Villadsen disagrees with the MP.
New laws and strategies
If an adult (older than 22 years old) has sex with a child (under 15 years old), it is considered “rape” by the new law on child abuse. A child under 15 years old cannot consent to having sex with an adult. Other changes - sex dolls looking like children are banned; harsher punishments for child abuse; deportation of child abusers; police can search the houses of “child pornography” suspects.
Identity theft: From 1st April, you can be punished with up to 6 months prison if you make a profile on social media with the name of another person.
Law proposals
Special law for Ukrainian refugees: The government reached an agreement with the majority of the parliamentary parties (besides Conservatives, DF and Nye Borgerlige), to pass a special law that will permit Ukrainian refugees to work or get an education in Denmark. The law is expected to be implemented from 14th of March. NB! “Ukrainian refugees” = anyone (regardless of nationality) that used to live in Ukraine before the war.
Danish Economy HQ
Sexual harrasment agreement: The government and the social partners have entered into an agreement on sexual harassment to support a cultural change in the workplace. Measures include higher fines for the employer; losing the right to have interns and/or student workers; higher compensations for the victims and many others meant to put focus on solving this issue.
AP Møller Mærsk decided to stop transport to and from Russia, with the exception of food, medicine and emergency aid.
44,8 million DKK for better health: Every year, associations can apply for funding from the “pool for health promotion and disease prevention” (puljen til sundhedsfremme og sygdomsforebyggelse) for projects related to sexual health; alcoholism prevention; asthma and allergies; mental health; smoking prevention and physical activity.
Opportunity: Do you want to create your first podcast? Dive.fm is a FREE mobile app that helps you learn how to use storytelling and create a more engaging episode structure. You can also use the app to record and edit, before publishing your first podcasts - as easy as making slides.
Daily Life in Denmark HQ
Ukraine flag: According to the Ministry of Justice, a special permission has been given to the “Ukraine” flag to be publicly arbored on flagpoles until 16th of March. The demand for the “Ukraine” flag is very high right now.
Culture
“Pillar of shame”: The Danish artist Jens Galschiøt installed the sculpture “Pillar of shame” in Budapest (Hungary) in protest against Viktor Orban. The mayor of Budapest invited him.
“Bjørnen” by Tina Sakura and Signe Kjær is the youth book of the year in Denmark.
KarriereKanonen presents the best 10 musical talents from 1270 aspiring artists. The line-up is: Sofie1998, USSEL, PS, YUMA, Dillistone, Silvia, The Jerryz, Malika&Susi, MAS, Simon Cordes.
Cultural habits: The Ministry of Culture together with Statistics Denmark is mapping every three months the cultural habits of the population in Denmark. You can see the results here. Fun facts! 95% of the population listens to music; 84% do sports; 52% play games; 63% read or listen to fiction.
Sport
20-year old Alberte Rimdal is one of the best freshman basketball players in the USA college series. She is from Køge (Denmark) and plays for the Florida Gators (University of Florida).
European Union HQ
Ukraine, Moldova and Georgia applied to join the European Union.
Sweden and Finland are considering joining NATO.
Germany announced 100 billion euros in new military spending. All the NATO members are increasing their defense budgets.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy addressed the European Parliament via video call on Tuesday. He said that “Ukrainians are literally fighting for a European future”.
The European Union activated the “Temporary Protection Directive” that will allow Ukrainians to move freely across the territory of the Union, with the same rights as European Union citizens.
Blue - On the side of Ukraine / Red - On the side of Russia / Black - neutral
The United Nations General Assembly demands that Russia stops the invasion and withdraws its troops out of Ukraine. Five UN members voted against (Russia, Belarus, North Korea, Syria and Eritrea). 35 members abstained (among which most notable are China and India).
Our World
2022 Winter Paralympics
The tradition says that the Olympics are followed by the Paralympics. Therefore, on Friday (4th March), the Beijing 2022 Winter Paralympics had the opening ceremony. Until 13th of March, we will be able to see athletes with different disabilities compete on the biggest stage in the world for glory and honor.
In the Paralympics, athletes compete with a range of physical disabilities (impaired muscle power; impaired passive range of movement; limb deficiency; short stature; vision impairment and intellectual impairment). The Paralympics started with a small gathering of British World War II veterans in 1948.
51 countries will compete in the Paralympics. Azerbaijan, Israel and Puerto Rico will participate for the first time. Russian and Belarussian athletes will not be allowed to participate. Denmark will participate with one athlete, Adam Nybo who qualified to compete in alpine skiing.
Our community
People
A Romanian-Danish team of entrepreneurs launched the software company “Ink to Pixels” that specializes in creating retro video games with modern and innovative mechanics, bringing childhood memories back to life to those who are nostalgic about the 80's and 90's. They just launched their first indie-title System Under Surveillance (check the website for the free giveaway)
Vivienne McKee: The International Denmark wrote a feature article on the British actress behind the “Crazy Christmas Cabaret” show from Copenhagen.
International women in Danish politics: Over a century has passed since women received the right to vote and run for Danish Parliament (1915). So, how far have we come?
Billy O'Shea, an Irishman from Copenhagen, protested the “mandatory handshake law” by refusing to shake the hand of the mayor during the citizenship ceremony. He didn’t get citizenship, despite fulfilling every other requirement.