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.