Copenhagen Cultural Network

I am happy to report that the Municipalty of Copenhagen is getting the right idea!

They have created the Copenhagen Cultural Network to encourage cultural exchange between Danes and Expats. Although I prefer to say "non-Danes". And what is more, they have given the responsibility to the non-Danes to run the programme, under the auspices of the Copenhagen Library.

A step in the right direction, which is available to all non-Danes to participate in and support.

So far, we have identified three areas: Literature (no surprise there with the library), Arts and Crafts, and Children.

I am personally involved in the Literature project and we kicked off last night with a reading from Karen Blixen's "Out of Africa". There were four readers, including myself, and the three wonderful, intelligent women who read are pictured above - Carol, Nina and Alexandra.

We also had Anders Bo Schreiner, former curator of the Karen Blixen Museum to give a presentation of the author's life, especially as an "expat" in Kenya.

Together with Helene and Laila from the library, and Barrett from the non-Danes group, we had a great time and I would like to thank the attendees. The food and wine was great, too.

We are going to do it again, soon. This time, the book will be "100 Years of Solitude" by Gabriel Gárcia Márquez. We hope to have readers from Colombia.

This will be followed by readings of other distinguished authors from around the world. The presentations will be at the Central Library and other libraries around Copenhagen.

On a positive note, we had food left over, so I called Selina Juul from "Stop Wasting Food" , and she gave us the names of hostels for the homeless. We found one on Nørrebro and took it there in a taxi!

These events will grow and it is brilliant that we, the non-Danes, can work with the City of Copenhagen and take responsibility and initiative. This initiative will go far to welcome non-Danes into the community and promote understanding between Danes and non-Danes and fellow non-Danes.

The way forward is to make Copenhagen a cosmopolitan hub, where non-Danes create a vibrant environment that is enhances life for non-Danes and Danes alike.

See you at the next event, so keep an eye on the Copenhagen Cultural Network web site

Shock, horror! FCK is the least Danish football club!

I was amused to see the headlines in the newspaper this week which announced that F.C. København, Denmark's most successful football team, is the least Danish club! This is by virtue of the fact that only 4 out of 10 players have a Danish passport.

How can this be a surprise? The population of Denmark represents .01% of the world's population. So, by excluding your club from 99.9%of the world's football talent, you are bound to do badly. In Lyngby Football Club, which props up the league table, only 4% are non-Danes.

This is reflected in industry: How do Danish companies expect to be competitive in a global market when they only access .01% of the global talent pool?

Denmark needs non-Danes to come and work here. There are several reasons why. One is stated above. One is demographic - there are simply not enough young Danes to fill the positions. But the third reason is most compelling.

Economic.

It has been said that every Danish child born today is a loss-making business. This is because of the long (free) education (nothing wrong in that!), a relatively short "window" when they are earning, and a potentially very long retirement. The years where taxes are being paid are not many relative to the years where the citizen is on some form of welfare. Hence a loss.

Let us take a typical non-Dane. Aged 35 with a couple of kids. He or she comes here for a job, where the salary is DKK 70K and the tax is 26% + 8% AMB. His education was paid by someone else. Denmark has gained this asset FREE OF CHARGE. His or her kids will most likely go to an international school. The non-Dane stays for 5 years, paying some DKK 1.4 million in tax. He is buying local goods and services. She leaves this country without being a future burden on society - no hospital costs, old-age care or state pension. While he is here, he has probably contributed to the profits of the company he worked for, because it is highly unlikely that she will be working in the public sector. Plus the gains from probable exports of goods and services.

Altogether a good business for Denmark; "en skide go' forretning" as they would say.

So why doesn't the Danish Government want to use the resources already in place to make Denmark an attractive place for clever, highly-qualified non-Danes to come here, namely the non-Danes that live here? Answer: I have no idea.

The British Olympic Team will have to participate in every discipline at the 2012 Olympics. This has meant organising a handball team, which is otherwise totally unknown in the UK. So, what did they do. Recognising that Denmark is the leading handball nation, they got some Danes over to help them out. Good thinking. They won't win, but they had the right approach.

A similar approach should be adopted here, to use the resources here to help make Denmark an attractive place for non-Danes. Cut down on the bureaucracy, provide better information in other languages at municipal level and show small and medium enterprises how they can greatly benefit by making some adjustments to their work cultures.

In this way, everyone is a winner. Just like with FCK: The team is happy, the fans are happy and the country is for the most part proud when FCK does well in the Champions League.

Is this the solution?

Since I wrote my first blog entry, I have been talking to many people about the best way forward.

I said that there should be an association –("forening") which would be the voice of expats here in Denmark. Now, the expression "expats" covers a lot of ground; What do I mean by an expat? Personally, I think it means someone who was not born in the country that they live in. They do not have that fundamental cultural knowledge that comes with being born into a society such as the Danish society.

There are other definitions of expats, which serve to differentiate groups. There can be immigrants "invandere", who have elected to leave their original countries to be integrated into their new host country. There are also those who come to a country for work, and intend to stay for just a few years. There are others who come to a country because they have found love with a citizen of that country. There are also students, who are on exchange and want to get an education in a country.

As I said, the common thread is the fact that none of them are born in the host country, meaning that cultural customs have to be learnt. I would like to add another category, though. Once one lives in a different country or culture, one becomes an expat: an adventurer, cosmopolitan, international, and possibly a linguist. It is just as difficult for an expat who returns to his or her original country. So these are also "expats".

I was looking for an association that could aggregate all the voices and most importantly, be run by fellow expats. I did not want an organisation with an ulterior motive, or one that patronised its members.

I think I have found one. It is an existing association called "Novum". It was established to find jobs for highly-educated "nydanskere". They have been successful to date, by running training programmes and matchmaking with small and medium businesses throughout Denmark.

There is an annual subscription of 150 kr, and my first question was "What does a member get for 150 kr a year?". This led to some brain storming and has resulted in some initiatives. The first one is to provide a "clinic", where expats can come if they have any problems getting around the "system". There are volunteers who will help and help find professional advice if required.

The original idea involves expats sending in their CVs to a CV bank. This does not mean that Novum should be regarded as a headhunter and works with those who are prepared to change direction to apply their advantage to help companies discover new export markets. In Sweden, they have followed 12,000 expats who have generated SEK 7 billion in export revenues over the last few years. That is an exciting prospect for Denmark. Apart from membership fees, Novum has been financed by the Municipality of Copenhagen for the training, but funding is being sought to enhance the effect.

This is a win-win situation for everybody; Expats get jobs, Denmark gets export income, the state gets more in tax revenues, and the welfare state survives!

But what else would I and hopefully other expats like to see? I feel that we need representation in a unified group but work with others to get political results. Danes Worldwide is working hard to press the Government to change the rules on bringing spouses to Denmark, dual-citizenship and national voting rights. Therefore, we will also be lobbying politicians to get better recognition of what expats can contribute and how they can help make Denmark a more attrctive place for expats.

You see, I would like every expat to be an ambassador to tell the world that Denmark is a great place to be and they would highly recommend it.

I can hear some sighs! But what about the Danes? Well, let them be! Let them come to us, if they want to! In the meantime, make Denmark and especially the major cities into cosmopolitan oasis, where we as expats, get to know each other, create a network and learn each other's culture. If open-minded Danes want to join in, fine! But don't expect to change the Danes. Respect it. No Dane-bashing. They are as they are - but hey! there are worse places to be in the world.

So, there should be better co-ordination of social and corporate events - more involvement by expats themselves.

I mentioned the "clinic". This is a good start by Novum, but eventually, by having a strong association, expats may be helped in individual situations, such as when “swords are crossed” with the authorities, landlords, employers, schools, etc.

The "core business" of employment is fundamental, though. There are far too many people not in jobs or in the wrong jobs. How I hate to see "success stories" of "nydanskere" getting a job as a cleaner, when they could be utilized far more productively. And here is a country that criticizes countries for not using the brains of women in some foreign societies!

Denmark is known as the "Green Capital of the World", and now energy prices have risen worldwide plus the recognition of climate change, Danish know-how and technology is a sought-after commodity. Are there enough Danes to follow the demand? The plain answer is "No" and the situation, due to demographics, is about to get worse.

The existing expats in Denmark have an important role in attracting and retaining the thousands of highly-qualified foreigners who will be required to fill the jobs that will keep Denmark in business in the future. A good story has to be told to those thinking of coming to this country. They must know beforehand that they will find a community that will be open for them, if not welcome them – and that is the expat community.

So I have become a member of Novum, and to make the voice of the expats heard, there have to be more members. It is an association, so you will be able to have your say by active participation.

Novum is investigating how to create some financial benefits for members, such as discounts, so the subscription will be easily covered in kind.

Maybe I am right – maybe I am wrong. If you have a different view, an endorsing view, or otherwise feel strongly about it. (OMG, I may be getting emotional about it – huge no,no!)

Link to Novum

Expats in Denmark – we need representation!

There have always been expats in Denmark. In the 17^th and 18^th century, the Dutch came to Amager and German officials ran the country.

Denmark’s entry into the EU in 1973, made it easier for EU citizens to live and work in Denmark, as well as Danes to go abroad. Many expats come here, find romance and stay, and there have been many attempts to make Denmark attractive to expats.

Danes are Danes, and one cannot expect them to change their culture to accommodate all comers. It is a country hemmed in by bigger neighbours and 5 million people wish to preserve their language and culture. Who can blame them? Part of that culture involves leading a private life, if one so wishes, and therefore many Danes choose to keep to themselves.

This is as odds with the way many people who move to Denmark think, but there is no point in trying to force the Danes to change. We have to live with it.

However, we try to approach the Danes, try to make them more open and get disappointed in the process. Many leave Denmark, taking with them a negative impression, telling others that Denmark is a socially and climatically cold place.

This does not fit in with the official plan of making Denmark attractive for skilled foreign workers, which are considered vital to finance the welfare system.

The Government, through Dansk Ehverv, launched “Expats in Denmark” a few years ago, to gather the expats together and try and create a forum which addressed some of the problems which affect the retention of skilled professionals. For example, international school places, looking after spouses and getting to know Danes. Given the resources supplied, the management team have done a reasonable job.

The initiative was launched at the height of the boom, where unemployment was practically non-existent. Times have changed; in many cases, the first ones to be “let go” were the “expensive” foreigners. Now, it seems, Dansk Ehverv have given up supporting Expats in Denmark by withdrawing financial support.

At the same time, Expats in Denmark, if it could be viewed as a quasi-governmental institution took on the role as being the voice of the expats; however, whenever the debate became ‘political’, the views of the advisory board, of which I was a member, seemed to be ignored. Personally, I do not appreciate being patronized by a body that claims to represent my interests but does not listen or act on my concerns.

Why? Because I live here in Denmark, I pay taxes, I speak Danish, I appreciate the place and I quite like the people. But I have no representation. Who will tell the commune that a newly-arrived expat needs to have the instructions to borger.dk in English? Who will look after the single mother who has found herself in the situation of being deserted by her Danish partner after giving up her own country, but has decided not to give up her citizenship? Who will press the case for dual-citizenship?

The Proposal

It is time that the expats (and there are estimated to be some 65,000 here) got together and formed an association (forening), to carry on the work that Expats in Denmark have started and needs to be continued.

There are many organisations that cater for expats – some commercial, some not. New ones seem to sprout up all the time. Copenhagen Municipality is launching a cultural campaign based around libraries. I am not proposing a new “competitor”, but rather an umbrella organisation, where existing groups and their members can be members of the Association.

In future, the expats themselves will be responsible for making Denmark an attractive place to be and by creating a good social network and life, create a good reputation for the country and attract and retain good people.

This network would work on different levels: A secretariat, which took care of the lobbying of national and local government, handled political questions to work towards making an even more attractive place to be.

It would need a social function, which pulls together all the events and networking and allows different sub-groups to promote cultural awareness events. Here, we have a wonderful opportunity to learn about different world cultures, not only the Danish, which will promote international understanding.

It would need a support function, which would help expats with dealing with the system here and providing a network of support when things do not work out. If some of these functions are already present, such as job finding, the press (Copenhagen Post), then closer integration would be the desired policy.

In this way, the expats in Denmark, especially in Copenhagen, can create an international expat-friendly environment. There are many Danes who have lived abroad and find it difficult to re-adjust. These would also be welcome, but they would have to seek the expats, not the other way around.

I would like to start a debate around this proposal, so please comment.