Last week in Denmark (17.04-24.04) Episode 16

Vaccination HQ

Status: 20% of the population has been vaccinated (1.170.170 people). 9.5% of the population has received the second vaccine shot (554.652 people). 

Corona infection status: There is an average of 700 new infected people every day. 190 people are hospitalized. The five municipalities with the highest rate of infection are: Ish?j, Hvidovre, Albertslund, H?je-Taastrup and Vallensb?k. Check out more data here. 

Vaccination calendar: Find out here, when is your turn to receive the vaccine. The calendar has been updated on 14th of April. The vaccination campaign should be completed until 8th August. 

Vaccination benefits: According to the Danish Board of Health, if you have been vaccinated (with both jabs), testing (PCR or antigen) is no longer required for you. Read more here. 

Johnson & Johnson vaccine: The European Medicines Agency (EMA) recommends the use of the vaccine, despite finding a possible link between the vaccine and blood clots. The agency says that the advantages outweigh the disadvantages. The Danish Medicine Agency has not made a decision yet.  

Danish Politics HQ

Political quiz: How well do you know what happened in the previous week in Denmark? Take the quiz and find out. (It’s in Danish). 

Travel Reopening: The foreign ministry has released the first weekly update (with the map in three colors - yellow, orange, red). People from Iceland and 4 regions of Norway (Nordland, Tr?ndelag, Troms and Finnmark) can enter Denmark (without needing a “recognizable purpose” and without going into isolation). Also, tourists from Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, South Korea and Thailand are now allowed to enter European Union.  

Red zone: Avoid travelling to these places - Bangladesh, Botswana, Brazil, Eswatini, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, South Africa, Zambia and Zimbabwe, as well as the region of La Réunion, an overseas French territory. 

New rules for Danish citizenship: The government together with the “blue” parties (Venstre, Konservative, Liberal Alliance) have agreed to transform the following guidelines into law along the course of this year. This means that you can still apply for citizenship on the old rules until summer (or even later). 

• Conduct requirement - If you have received a prison sentence (conditional or not), you cannot apply for Danish citizenship. If you have received large fines (f.ex. for negative social control), you need to wait 6 years before you can apply. P.S - Traffic violations are not included. P.S2 - You can apply for dispensation and your case will be evaluated individually. 
• Citizenship Test - 5 questions about Danish values will be added to the Citizenship Test. To pass the Citizenship Test, you need to answer at least 4 out of 5 questions correctly. The questions will be about freedom of expression, equality, relationship between religion and legislation, etc. P.S - The June test will not be affected by this change. 
• Residence requirement - Your permanent residence needs to be at least 2 years old (by the time the citizenship law - April / October - is voted). However, if you are stateless or a refugee, your permanent residence can be only one year old. 
• Employment requirement - You need to be employed or self-employed at least 3 years and a half (out of the last 4 years) before you can apply. Also, you need to be employed or self-employed while your application is processed. 
• Debt requirement - You cannot have overdue debts to the public institutions. 
• Cost of citizenship - The cost of applying for citizenship will increase. 
• Categorize applicants - The applicants will be divided into 4 categories - “Nordic countries” - “Other Western countries” - “MENAP countries + Turkey” - “Other non-Western countries”. If the applications from one category increase significantly in the next few years, then a temporary moratorium (a complete stop) will be introduced for that category. 

Begging law: In 2017 it became illegal to beg on the streets in Denmark. The punishment? 14 days in prison. This week, Switzerland lost a case regarding their own begging law at the European Court of Human Rights. Consequence? All begging laws around Europe will be rediscussed. 

Danish Economy HQ

Danske Bank: The CEO of the bank, Chris Vogelzang, resigned, due to being a suspect in a money laundering case opened in the Netherlands. Read more here. 

Construction materials: Generally, more expensive, especially wood and steel. This leads to delays in government-initiated construction projects. Why? Because there is a ceiling on how much they can spend on construction materials. In North Denmark, 400 such projects are waiting for the ceiling to be removed, in order to be completed. 

Digital Opportunity traineeships: Cross-border higher education traineeships for students and recent graduates. The trainees receive an average allowance of €500/month but the exact amount depends on the country, for 2-12 months, in line with Erasmus+ rules and procedures. 

Daily Life in Denmark HQ

Warning: There are people calling from 76241448 / 96301448 pretending to be the police. They claim you have been hacked and ask for your CPR and NEMID. First rule, never give your NEMID, no matter who is asking. Second rule, the CPR should be disclosed only to verified institutions. Third rule, always ask for extra information about the person calling you. 

Warning(2): If you have bought a bag of muesli (Eco Muesli Basic 5-grain mix), with the expiration dates (“26 .08.2021” / ''16 .09.2021”) from ALDI, discard it or return it. The Danish Veterinary and Food Administration announced there is a risk of high content of ethylene oxide. 

Open restaurants, bars, cafes: If you want to sit inside (and have the corona pass), you need to book a table, no later than 30 minutes before. If you want to sit outside, you don’t need to reserve a table or to show a corona pass. Read more here. 

Bj?rnson Prize: The Danish author, Sara Omar, won the Norwegian literary prize Bj?rnson, for the books “The Death Washer” (2017) (about opression and abuse of muslim women) and “The Shadow Dancer” (2019) (about a Kurdish girl that had to flee her home after exposing abuse). The author is originally from the Kurdish part of Iraq. 

New national parks: The nature department is hiring dozens of park rangers (we published the call last week). Why? New national parks are being established. Where? 1. Almindingen on Bornholm 2.Str?s? Plantage between Holstebro and Ringk?bing 3.Tranum by Jammerbugt. 

The World in 2021 HQ

Russia: Demonstrations all over the country, due to the bad treatment of Alexei Navalny in prison. Thousands have been arrested. 

Ukraine vs. Russia: The Russian military will withdraw from the border with Ukraine, claiming it was just a military exercise. In the last week, more than 100.000 Russian soldiers gathered at the border with Ukraine, raising the tensions between NATO, EU and Russia. 

Potential scenarios: (A) Take more of the Donbass region or move more troops into the region and solidify Russia’s hold on it. (B) Secure water supplies for Crimea, which has been struggling with a crisis after Ukraine cut off the main canal supplying fresh water to the peninsula in response to Russia’s annexation of it. Read more here. 

Czechia vs. Russia: 60 Russian diplomats and staff have been expelled from Czech Republic. The Czech secret service blames the Russian GRU (military secret service) for the 2014 attack (explosion at an ammunition warehouse). NATO’s reaction - “Allies express deep concern over the destabilising actions Russia continues to carry out across the Euro-Atlantic area, including on Alliance territory, and stand in full solidarity with the Czech Republic,”

Slovakia vs. Russia: In solidarity with Czech Republic, Slovakia has also expelled some Russian diplomats. 

Cuba: The first chosen leader since 1959, that is not part of the Castro family. His name? Miguel Díaz-Canel. Raul Castro, resigned to make room for younger forces “full of passion and anti-imperialist spirit”. Read more here. 

European Union HQ

Free books and magazines: As a citizen of the European Union, you can order for free books and magazines from the “Publications Office of the European Union”. 

Conference on the Future of Europe: the conference will run until the spring of 2022, when the conclusions of the event will become guidelines for the development of the Union. It will contain the future that the majority wants, whatever that might be. Access the hub of the Conference, which is a multilingual digital platform, and submit your ideas, discuss other people’s ideas, find events related to the Conference or even guidelines on how to organize your own events.

EU social competences: Eleven EU countries issued a joint statement warning Lisbon — and Brussels — to respect national authority over policymaking in areas such as labor and employment, pensions, education and childcare. “Targeted EU-level action can complement national action, but … any action on EU-level should fully respect the division of competences of the Union, its Member States and the social partners,” the statement said.

EU rules for AI: The first binding rules on artificial intelligence in the world. Read more here. 

EU climate targets: The European Parliament and the European Council have agreed on new climate targets for the European Union - 55% reduction in CO2 emissions by 2030. The previous one was at 40%. Read more here. 

EU vs the World: The European leaders sent a warning to the world “do more to cut emissions or the world’s largest single market will make you pay”. Read more here. 

Vaccine procurement: The European Commission will prioritize the mRNA vaccines (Pfizer, Moderna and CureVac) over the conventional vaccines (AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson), in the procurement of vaccines. 

EU vs AstraZeneca: The European Commission is suing AstraZeneca, over failure to deliver the promised amounts of vaccine doses. Read more here. 

Lithuania: Welcomes the people of Belarus, running away from repression. The government agreed on measures aimed at helping Belarusian people and businesses relocate to the country. Read more here. 

European SuperLeague: 12 major European clubs (Manchester City, Liverpool, Manchester United, Arsenal, Chelsea, Tottenham, FC Barcelona, Real Madrid, Atlético Madrid, Inter, Milan and Juventus) decided to create a “closed, breakaway league” outside of the structures governed by FIFA and UEFA. In less than a week, the clubs renounced the idea, after strong negative reactions from fans everywhere. Read more here. 

Eurovision: The song contest will take place on 18, 20 and 22 May, in Rotterdam, Netherlands. Due to the restrictions, it will be a special edition, in which some contestants (like the singer from Australia) will participate with video recordings, instead of being physically present. 

Artist of the Week 

Rafael Zajac: Self learned event photographer from Aalborg, with a unique way of catching vibrant moments of the night. His passion for electronic music, and all sort of other events pushed him through many obstacles, to reach the moment when he realized that memories is all we've got to smile and relive them again, and embraced it by starting his photography journey in spring 2010, by buying his first camera and take it wherever he went. 

Starting in clubbing photography in early 2011, Rafael attracted the attention of some event organizers, who invited him to try on bigger events like "Chill i Parken" or HUSH electronic events. After delivering his first albums, he got the attention of Aalborg Kommune, which used his pictures to promote culture life in Aalborg and used his pictures in national television channels, like DR1 in city life commercials.

• He managed to win the first prize in best picture of Aalborg in the 2014 competition, earning himself a gallery showcase of his finest shots of the city, in Nordkraft.
• Since then his work was so well known that Rafael became one of the top event photographers in Aalborg, working for Aalborg Kommune and all events they're organizing, Metropol Festival, Airport Festival,  On Air Festival, Northern Winter Beats, and many more. 
• His way of work is pretty exceptional, because he's not a photographer who's going to do the assignment... He is a photographer who's the part of experience, and always delivering the best and most eye catching parts of it in his finest work.

Until next week...

Monday: Challenges families may also change with the child's age and may involve different professionals and municipality offices, which you as a parent will need to be a part of. Applying for support and assistance for children from newborn up to 3 years of age, we focus on your options and rights in this article.

Tuesday:  Some people cope with the pandemic by taking long walks, others by starting a vegetable garden. “While big raised beds are certainly impressive to look at, there are advantages to planting in containers. Of course, smaller pots will fit on a slim balcony or fire escape. But even if you’re lucky enough to have a lot of space, individual vessels allow you to move plants around to where they’re happiest (did you know that cucumbers and basil have different needs?). This is especially helpful when you’re learning the patterns of the sun through the seasons.”

Wednesday: Meet Juliana Appel from LUSUS THEATRE, who moved to Denmark and decided to make a career change. After ten years of teaching fine art, storytelling, and drama, she decided to become an actress. Even though Juliana had been acting since she was 15 years old, it was never her main job, so it was challenging to get started as a professional actress. She didn't speak the language or have a network when first arriving, which made acting endeavors even more challenging.

Thursday: Read an interview with Mads Mikkelsen, the (most) famous Danish actor, about his newest movie “Druk” (Another round) and about how he approaches each role he’s playing both on stage and in front of cameras.

Friday: Motivated by their altruistic values that intertwine with the International Baccalaureate, meet the students involved in the Team Peru initiative, which partners with UK-based charity organization Kiya Survivors, and aids Mama Cocha Children's Centre in Peru.

Saturday:  If you are looking to buy a used car from Denmark and you want to see all of its history, look no further than Tjekbil. Here you will have to insert the plates number and you will get a full list of information from the technical inspection reports to how much it is worth now. 

See you on Sunday!

Newsletter team

Curator: Narcis George Matache / Proofreader: Monika Elend (English/Polish)

Marketing & Distribution: Cristian Pa?cal?u (Marketing), Andreea Bianca Buza (Graphics), Lucian Pal (Distribution)

Romanian-version team: Diana Popa, Delia-Claudia Sima, Oana Elena T?nase

Polish-version team: Pawel Kubulus, Kajetan Domski. Miguel Oliveira (Distribution)

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Our partners: International House North Denmark