Should minorities become like the majority or can different cultures live side by side?  

Denmark – similarly to the UK and many other European countries – faces unprecedented demographic changes and the Danish society is undergoing a profound transformation which is hard to accept by some citizens.  On 30 March 2011 the Politiken newspaper auditorium was a home to a very relevant discussion on tolerance and different values – this topic is currently high on the public agenda.  

The panel included sociologists from both the UK and Denmark, a member of the Danish Parliament and British and Danish media representatives.

Panelists discussed among others whether:

• 'multiculturalism' will work
• there is a discrepancy between the reality presented by politicians and the media, and the reality of the everyday lives of Europeans in the work place, schools and local communities
• the Danish and the British - and other Europeans –are more tolerant of common values
• Europeans - new and old – are becoming more tolerant of each other's culture

The meeting was co-organized by:

The Politiken – a major Danish newspaper
Humanity in Action Denmark – an educational NGO aiming to protect minorities and promote human right
And the British Council

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Panel

Peter Gundelach - Professor of Sociology at the University of Copenhagen, the author of a report on democratic values among Muslim minorities and the majority population in Denmark

Richard Jenkins - Professor of Sociology at the University of Sheffield and the author of the book about the Danes and their relationship with immigrants:  ‘Being Danish: Paradoxes Identity in Everyday Life”

Yildiz Akdogan - Member of the Folketing - the Parliament of Denmark – for the Social Democrats and Member of the Board of a human rights network, Humanity in Action.

Dolan Cummings - British commentator, editor of the online review 'Culture Wars', one of the leaders of the UK think-tank, The Institute of Ideas

Moderator

Anders Jerichow - Feature editor, Politiken

Learn more

A blog by Ramazan Dicle, event participant

An interview with Yildiz Akdogan,  event panellist

An interview with Richard Jenkins, event panellist

An interview with Dolan Cummings, event panellist

An interview with Peter Gundelach, event panellist

On 26 January 2011, in Copenhagen, the British Council in partnership with KVINFO, the Danish Centre for Gender, Equality and Ethnicity, organised a presentation of and a debate on the results of two recent pieces of research exploring the access of second-generation Muslim women in the UK and immigrant women in Denmark to the labour market.

The British research results presented by the researcher, Zamila Bunglawala, demonstrate that the second generation British Muslim women are more educated than the general UK population and the first generation of British Muslims but still they suffer the highest unemployment and inactivity levels in the UK compared to all other minority faith groups

The presentation from Kristin Clay and Dorit Ahler who recently completed their MAs at Ålborg University, explored the barriers to and resources for labour market access in Denmark for immigrant women. The presenters focused on Danish experiences of using mentoring as a tool for integration through the labour market.

From the left: Zamila Bunglawala, Kristin Clay and Dorit Ahler

Presentations sparked a heated debate on the situation of Muslim and immigrant women in Denmark and the UK - their outlook, aspirations, contributions to society and wider socioeconomic realities.  Several real life stories were shared during the discussions by the audience members. These genuine stories made the research results more tangible and understandable.

The event was an excellent opportunity for participants to network and to have a valuable exchange of British and Danish experiences.  A comment from an audience member:  “I got a lot of new perspectives on issues to consider in my daily work with ethnic minority women.”  

SPEAKERS

Zamila Bunglawala - Fellow, Young Foundation, London, UK

Kristin Clay and Dorit Ahler - MAs, Ålborg University, Denmark

MODERATOR

Anne Margrethe Rasmussen - Head of MENA Programmes, KVINFO, Denmark

Partner: KVINFO - www.kvinfo.dk

KVINFO is the Danish Centre for Gender, Equality and Ethnicity. The key role of KVINFO is to initiate research and disseminate information and findings, and to contribute to the development of an equal society. KVINFO runs a mentor network established in 2002 and its Middle East Department manages a range of projects financed by the Danish Foreign Ministry.

In November 2010, Rikke Olsen from Ungdomsbyen participated in the Our Shared Europe Study visit to Nottingham. The aim of the study visit was to explore how to increase – through education -public awareness about contributions Muslim communities have made to the building of European civilisation.  Read Rikke’s account of the visit here. (pdf)

9 September 2010, Roskilde University, Copenhagen

The seminar explored research on “Islamic Radicalisation among Muslim Youth" that was conducted in Denmark. The speakers discussed among others:

• The links between Islamic radicalisation and integration of Muslim immigrants
• What motivates some young people to join extremist groups
• How to work with youth on tackling religious extremism
• Practical experience from working in Denmark and the UK with youth who are considered radicalised

Speakers:

• Monika Gabriela Dąbrowska - a PhD candidate in St. Andrews exploring the social consequences of religious conversions
• Shahamak Rezaei - an Associate Professor at the Department of Society & Globalisation of the Roskilde University and the co-author of the research report ‘House of War - Islamic Radicalisation in Denmark’ published in January 2010
• Marco Goli - an Associate Professor at Metropol University College Copenhagen and the co-author of the research report ‘House of War - Islamic Radicalisation in Denmark’
• Thomas P. Boje - a Professor of Sociology at the Department of Society and Globalisation of the Roskilde University

The event was co-organised by the Department of Society and Globalisation of the Roskilde University, Metropol University College Copenhagen and the British Council.

10 September 2010

The Eid Festival marking the ending of Ramadan, the Islamic holy month of fasting, was organized in Copenhagen for the second year in a row with the aim to show the cultural richness of Denmark.  British Council had a stand during the Eid Festival where visitors could learn about the new Our Shared Europe project and send Eid e-greetings to their friends. The British Council also co-organised two festival events – performance by the Poetic Pilgrimage Muslim hip-hop duo and the debate on Islam and the West.

Performance by Poetic Pilgrimage

Poetic Pilgrimage is a charismatic British Muslim hip-hop and spoken word duo, and one of very few female Muslim musical groups. It is a forerunner of Islamic hip-hop, a new style of urban music that is becoming increasingly popular among young British Muslims. The Copenhagen Eid Festival audience that despite a heavy rain gathered for the Poetic Pilgrimage recital cheered and clapped their hands in appreciation of their performance.  Poetic Pilgrimage was brought to Denmark by the British Council in partnership with VerdensKulturCentret and Tavse Stemmer (Missing Voices).  

Poetic Pilgrimage performing during the in Copenhagen Eid Festival

Debate on Islam and the West: Interreligious and intercultural understanding

The speakers of the debate were Monika Gabriela Dąbrowska, a PhD candidate from St. Andrews who explores the social consequences of religious conversions and Neeni Rasool, the chair and spokeswoman for Critical Muslims, an organisation working for a democratic and pluralistic approach to Islam and religious diversity.  The debate was moderated by Sherin Khankan from Critical Muslims and created a lot of response from the audience who contributed many valid comments and interesting questions.

A fragment of the debate - Neeni Rasool from Critical Muslims presents her views on intercultural understanding: