“Many internationals bought a house in the city, and if they had not done so, we would have had an incredible number of older houses standing empty, so this is a big plus for the city, business life and the school.” Peter Hansen, local leader Outrup (Varde, South Denmark)
At the same time, in another part of Denmark, Dræby (Kerteminde, Fyn), local associations “fear invasion from international workers” who “do not contribute to the local community” and would like “worker villages” to be created outside of the city.
One thing needs to be made clear: we are in a period of transition in Denmark. The society here is changing to accommodate its new demographics and it will continue to change in the future (as it has always done; it’s just our memory is generally short). People react differently to the changes in society and unfortunately, excesses might appear from both sides.
Luckily, the calls for assimilation or for establishing “special zones” outside of the cities for international workers, which sincerely remind us of ill-fated times, are countered by positive statements coming from local communities which have already embraced their new diverse identities. The road ahead is going to be difficult to navigate, but with every international and Dane that decides to embrace a bridge-building mentality, we get a step closer to the future of Denmark – a home of many people.
In internal affairs, we are coming to Esbjerg (a long way from home) on May 25th, and we hope to see as many of you as possible. Also, we are still looking to visit a socio-economic business or organization in Copenhagen 🙂 (if you know one, tell us lastweekdk@gmail.com)
Thank you for spreading the word about Last Week in Denmark!
Word of the Week
Finanslov = State budget. Every December, a law is passed that determines how the government will spend public money in the following year. Usually, the government presents a draft proposal in September, which is then debated and negotiated in Parliament. There needs to be a majority for the law; otherwise, the Prime Minister needs to resign and call for elections.
