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By Lavinia Ortu “I realized that food is one of the key issues in the global inequality, global climate change, and culture. ” says Franciska Rosenkilde at the latest Food for Thoughts event. “Food is identity, an opportunity to connect with different cultures” Franciska, Copenhagen’s cultural mayor, is currently running for the November 16th elections with the Alternative party. We were lucky to have her as a guest last Thursday, where she addressed different issues regarding the climate crisis and how that interlays both with culture and food.  A meal is the point of connection to every social issue in many ways. We are what we eat; the smell of a spice, the taste of a particular meal can teleport us to a different reality or even bring us back to a childhood memory whether it’s grandma’s house or one of the many special places in our heart.  Franciska started in the kitchen; “chopping up carrots” as she said during her introduction. A passion that later translated into her career as a cook. Subsequently, the love for that field drew her into pursuing a Bachelor degree in health and nutrition, but it was primarily her Masters degree in food supply and climate change that made her realize how prominent the climate crisis is and to join forces with the Alternative party. In 2017 she was elected as Copenhagen’s cultural mayor; she had to learn and grow everyday, as she had barely any political experience at that time. One of the most important aspects about her life as a politician now is being surrounded by the citizens and acting like a true representative for her voters.  “Food is significant in meeting people” was one of her first statements; a concept that is very dear to our team as sharing good meals is at the core of the Food for Thoughts’ events. Different cultures express their identity thanks to traditional meals and food is the point of connection for an integrated society. In the mayor’s view finding solutions for climate change can help solve issues related to inequality in the Danish society; especially when this concept is applied to the food production industry, that is deeply ruining our ecosystem.  The Alternative party understands and prioritise climate change as the most peculiar crisis in our society. “We can’t keep doing the same things over and over again expecting better results”. To tackle climate change we need to transform our system; this is what the Alternative party wants to achieve once elected. The consumption and food production at this day and age is the problem. We have to stop the absurd growth that our economy is trying to reach; it is necessary to take a step back and find more sustainable ways of life, as well as invest in green energy.  “In Denmark art and culture are important to have, it doesn’t have that heaviness in the welfare” According to Franciska’s view climate politics and cultural politics are the most important aspects in the green transition. When we reflect upon ourself through education and culture we can reflect upon society and change it. 

On the 10th of September 2021, the Danish Minister of International Development Flemming Møller Mortensen paid a visit to the Ubuntu House during which he met and listened keenly to the work and conditions of the small and medium-size civil society organisations in Denmark, as well as the challenges they are experiencing due to reduced opportunities to obtain salary and operational funds in the public pools and among the funds. On behalf of the small and medium size Civil Society Organisations Network, Camilly Legendre from 100% for Children, Anne Egelund from Ubumi, Garba Diallo and Vibeke Quaade from Crossing Borders, and Jacob Holdt the founder of Ubuntu House have welcomed the Minister into the Ubuntu House. In his welcome remarks, CB Director Garba Diallo made the point that the Ubuntu House embodies a true sense of community and walking the talks of dialogue every day towards intercultural understanding and peaceful coexistence. Thus, the Ubuntu House is both a rich knowledge center, a community center, a hospitality center, and a sanctuary for all those who yearn for community, inclusion, and respect, as we all do. Welcome remarks were followed by strong presentations by the Director of Ubumi Prisons Initiative Anne Egelund, the Director of 100% for Children Camilla Legendre, and CB Board Chair Vibeke Quaade. Previous Next After a powerful summary of the vital role paid by the grassroots organisations, the increasingly tough conditions they operate under, the Minister made the following remarks: “… I am very responsive. I thought your presentation was greatly precise, not only describing who you reach out to and who you are but also including a great summary of what it takes in this country for you to be here. I can also say that when we have written in the strategy how essential partnerships are, it is also because we are aware that we must stimulate and keep supporting it. I mean, we have CISU, and CISU must be able to do this. I hear your challenges. I will try to take it into account in an attempt to see if there’s anything that can and should be different… “ The visit was concluded with a moving presentation by photographer Jacob Holdt, who described the history of the Ubuntuhuset. Jacob Holdt is one of the essential supporters of the work of the smaller organisations, as he makes premises available in central Copenhagen. The minister expressed his gratitude for Jacob Holdt’s generosity and stated that he wanted to maintain contact with small and medium-sized civil society organisations.

| DIALOGUE IN PEACE EDUCATION – DIALOGUE, PEACE-BUILDING AND CONFLICT RESOLUTION METHODS  Our colleagues Maša and Alex recently spent a week in Dubrovnik, Croatia, attending the DiA – Dialogue in Adult Education – Training Lab. The conference took place in IUC – Inter-University Centre Dubrovnik, an independent international centre for advanced studies, hosted by the University of Zagreb. The purpose of the Lab was to test the best practices on the social dialogue and community building gathered by the partnering organisations in the past months. Here are the participants’ reflections! On the first day of this week-long conference, we had the honour of meeting the mayor of the Korčula island, Ms Nika Silić Maroević. She and her team told us all about the policies her cabinet is implementing, intending to bring back young people to this beautiful island. They are currently developing few different projects, such as providing their citizens with attractive job opportunities, organising different cultural and community-building events, as well as making sure they have an access to the public services which they would otherwise have to seek in the bigger cities on the mainland. We also had the pleasure of receiving a tour of the town, where we learned about the history of Korčula! We started the official program by meeting Mr Domagoj Hajduković, a member of the Croatian Parliament and Committee on Human and National Minority Rights. Mr Hajduković is active in the field of refugee and migration issues in the Croatian context so we mainly tackled those topics. The first practice we tested was presented by the Polish partner Stowarzyszenie Dla Ziemi called Songs of Our Neighbours. The goal of this practice is to achieve harmony by singing traditional folk songs, but the main goal is to reach more meaningful harmony between conflicted groups that are doing the activity. The beauty of the practice is lying in learning about each other’s histories through songs, realizing how similar traditions can be, and finding meaningful connections. To finish the day on the musical note, we had the pleasure of meeting the organisers of the Dubrovnik Summer Festival (Dubrovačke Ljetne Igre), one of the oldest cultural festivals in the region. We met with the Assistant Artistic Director / Theatre, Mr Saša Božić, who told us about the festival’s history and the importance it has in the community building in Dubrovnik, especially the role of the festival in the community rebuilding after the 1990s period. We also heard about the project Port of Dreamers. Dubrovnik Summer Festival is one of the partners in this project that deals with the history of migrations on the European continent, which will serve as an inspiration for artists, co-funded by the European Union through Creative Europe – Culture Sub-programme. Not only we met with the organisers, but we also had a chance to attend the unique music program Dubrovnik on a Music Cliff which brings together an exciting ensemble of the best Dubrovnik musicians. The next day we tested a game for youth developed by the German partner CRN – Comparative Research Networktogether with UNAEDI – Ukrainian Network for Adult Education and Innovation Development. The game is called Conflict Curve and it tackles the course of the conflicts that can arise in real life. It is still in its development phase so this was the perfect occasion for us to playtest it and give our feedback to the creators. That same day we had an opportunity to try the methods developed by the NGO Plan Be, Plan it Be it from Cyprus. They also presented their project Colour the Court, which engaged youth from the North area and South area of Cyprus in the joint activity of colouring the basketball courts together. We ended the day with a visit to the Dubrovnik Museum of War, In Fort Imperial on Srđ hill. We received a tour by the museum’s director and heard about the war that marked the end of Yugoslavia and the role of Dubrovnik in it. The following day was the last day of activities and the official program, but we had a packed schedule again. We tested three methods, starting with the method called Cadavre Exquis presented by the German partner Aufbruch Neukölln.  This activity requires teamwork and collaboration in creation, so it was a perfect way to start our day, because the next method we tested was called Think to Create, introduced to us by UKLO – The Faculty of Security, Skopje. We were asked to come up with a solution for the relevant social issue as a team, using the brainstorming method, which was a good test of our teamwork after working together for a week. The closing session was facilitated by Crossing Borders in which we presented a storytelling method created to show that everyone has a story to tell and that stories we share can bring us closer, which is important when trying to find a conflict resolution method. On our last day of the training lab, we shared our final reflections on methods we tested and gave examples of how we plan to use them in our organisations. We also worked on the development of the eBook we are planning to publish as one of the outcomes of the project. The eBook will be a compilation of the 50 best practices on conflict resolution, social dialogue and community building, and we are hoping to bring these methods into the light so the European educators, youth workers and NGOs can use is as a guide in their future activities. The week spent in Dubrovnik with the partners was an amazing experience! We worked hard and made big progress in the project, but we also had an opportunity to learn real-life examples of community (re)building in Croatia. We will cherish the impact that this meeting had on us and take it with us in our journey ahead, as our work is just starting and there is still a lot to do and learn! Dialogue in Adult Education Know more Written by

Again, it was both a duty and pure pleasure for Crossing Borders to mark the Nelson Mandela International Day in collaboration with the Embassy of South Africa in Denmark. Mandela Day was declared by the United Nations in November 2009, with the first UN Mandela Day launched on his birthday on 18th July 2010, to acknowledge Mandela’s 60 years of community service and fight for equal rights and justice for all. Born in the, then most unequal country on earth in an unequal world, Mandela paid a huge price for his struggle for freedom and equal rights to live in dignity, including 27 years behind apartheid bars and constant percussion and murder of members of his family and comrades. However, he emerged out of those nearly 3 decades of imprisonment in 1990 with his head high and his heart clean of bitterness and without the need for revenge. Mandela was subsequently elected the first president of democratic South Africa plus Nobel Peace Prize and over 800 international awards on his CV. After serving one term, Nelson Mandela retired into a global statesman, peacemaker, and icon of inspiration for the present and future generations. In line with Mandela’s tradition and this year’s campaign against poverty “EACH ONE FEED ONE”, our celebration of Mandela Day was active and constructive. While Crossing Borders volunteers made hundreds of fresh vegetarian spring rolls and collected hundreds of pieces of pastry from Meyer’s bakery (the best in town) in Copenhagen, the South African Embassy delivered loads of fruits and non-alcoholic drinks. Again, true to the ideals of Nelson Mandela of serving everybody including those we don’t know, we choose one of the busiest squares in Copenhagen, set up and decorate long tables as a street buffet for the passers-by. After short speeches by Her Excellency, the Ambassador of South Africa Ms. Fikile Magubane, and the Director of Crossing Borders Garba Diallo, we set out to serve the people. In addition to the organisers’ staff and volunteers, the ambassadors of Indonesia, Pakistan, and the deputy Ambassador of Ghana and South Africa took part in the action day. There were also several participants from the South American community in Denmark. In his welcome remarks, Crossing Borders Director Garba Diallo highlighted the role of Nelson Mandela in the liberation of both South Africa and the entire African continent. A continent that is still suffering from 500 hundred years of enslavement, colonisation, and post-colonial structural inequality. He added that the ideals of Nelson Mandela are grounded in the humanist principles of the African philosophy of Ubuntu, which the vision and mission of Crossing Borders resonate. Garba said he was happy to see colleagues from Ethiopian, Zambia, Ireland, South Africa, Viet Nam, Brazil, USA, just to mention a few, coming together to make this event a success. Nelson Mandela Day Remarks by H.E. Ambassador Fikile Magubane 18 July 2021 Garba Diallo – Crossing Borders DirectorMembers of the Diplomatic Corps Ladies and gentlemen, Distinguished guest,Fellow South Africans and Africans that are here with us today Let me welcome you to this day in celebrating the annual Nelson Mandela International Day in honour of Nelson Mandela, celebrated each year internationally on 18 July, Mandela’s birthday. The day was officially declared by the United Nations in November 2009, with the first UN Mandela Day held on 18 July 2010. Nelson Mandela’s birthday is on 18 July, and the call is out for people everywhere in the world to celebrate his birthday by acting on the idea that each person has the power to change the world. Making every day a Mandela Day to celebrate Madiba’s life. This gives everyone the opportunity to heed the call to action. It calls for people to recognise their respective individual’s potential to make an imprint and change the world around them for better.For Nelson Mandela International Day 2021, the focus will be on two critical intersecting challenges being faced by South Africa and many other countries – food insecurity and culture of lawlessness. Covid-19 has deepened patterns of poverty and inequality. The numbers of people going hungry are growing. Social cohesion is under severe strain.It is against this background that the Embassy partnered with Crossing Borders (CB), consistent with the Spirit of “Ubuntu” to give food to the homeless. I remain proud of the Embassy’s association with CB as their vision resonates with our Department of International Relations and Cooperation vision, which is championing an African continent, which is prosperous, peaceful, democratic, non-racial, non-sexist, and united and which aspires to a world that is just and equitable.Even after today’s Nelson Mandela Day, may we all continue to lend a hand and contribute to meeting the immediate needs of the most vulnerable in our communities.Let us kindly follow all Danish covid-19 regulations and protocols. Previous Next Written by Sarah Nkandu Media & Communications Specialist.

Crossing Borders together with our partners SIYOW Academy and GirlCult held an open day within our project Action Hub. The Action Hub open day aimed to spread information about the project and recruit participants that will be an active part of the Action Hub activities. With more than 80 guests, we kicked off the day with some very festive music by Dj Taf dollar followed by very inspiring speeches by Abdoulie Njie from Siyow, Aisha Tambajang from Crossing Borders and Kaddi Sawaneh from GirlCult. At the end of the day, Pops Diner made sure to fill our stomachs with their delicious burgers. There are some spots left on the project, hurry up and apply now!! Action Hub is a project that works to empower young people to become the drivers of change. Our vision is to support young people, by engaging them in meaningful work towards building an active, creative, and aware society. This project aims to recruit 40 young people between 16 – 24 years old who want to make a difference and who share a common vision and motivation. They will be located in a shared space, where they will work with others to turn their best ideas and passions into actions that create sustainable, and meaningful change in society. This project aims to recruit 40 young people between 16 – 24 years old who want to make a difference and who share a common vision and motivation. They will be located in a shared space, where they will work with others to turn their best ideas and passions into actions that create sustainable, and meaningful change in society. It is a three-month program, where they will be given the tools, support, and network to create and implement an Action Project. During the three months, Action Hub will host weekly training sessions that will provide a combination of lectures, workshops, mentorship, and networking. Interested participants are required to sign up for the course and will be assigned to groups. A 13,000 kroner grant will be provided for each team (3-5 people) to implement their Action Project. The project aims to recruit about 40 young participants. The purpose of the open/information day event is to mobilize young people to come and learn about the project, by talking to our partners and also to be in a space where community work is discussed to inspire them into being change-makers in their local communities across Copenhagen. The event will include having speakers talking about the importance of community work, a range of local entertainers and we will also be serving food. SIYOW – SIYOW Academy is a Copenhagen-based social environment for youths who strives to better themselves in their daily crafts as well as keeping them focused on their academic education. Our ambition is to expand our initiative in the Global South where young people can have spaces that they can feel empowered and put their ideas into reality. GirlCult – GirlCult DK is a Danish online platform that informs and teaches young people about sexual health. It is a safe space where everyone can participate. The platform’s purpose is to break the taboos around the female body and sex, especially because everyone doesn’t have access to reproductive and sexual health. This project is funded by TuborgFondet and coordinated by Crossing Borders. Be a change maker! Apply Now! Purchase now

  Conflicts are part of our life, and we need to learn how to deal with them. This course’s clear message is that one does not have to avoid conflicts to have meaningful and deep relationships. Do conflicts have benefits for our life? This course argues that they have, and the argument is taken even further by highlighting how disputes have the ability for personal growth and development. According to Margaret Heffernan, by stepping into the conflict, we allow ourselves to analyse our beliefs and perspectives by reflecting on opposing beliefs and views. In this way, personal knowledge is broadened with the very unique sense of someone else’s experience. This process allows creating a shared experience which could be beneficial for all parties involved. According to Heffernan, it is essential to build the ability to detach self and one’s own perception, thus creating the initial willingness to understand the opinions of others. We can call it open-mindedness or the ability to understand what might initially seem unfamiliar, or even strange. Heffernan invites us to be accepting of such strangeness and even consider it valuable, as something that can enrich our thoughts. To see conflicts from another angle, Unit 3 of this Conflict and Communication course sees Crossing Borders’ chair Vibeke Quaade offer her perception of a particular form of communication that can prove problematic. Vibeke describes the tendency of humanitarian organisations to present Africa as a place in need through distressing imagery, feeding into Western media and encouraging support to what is made to seem a simply needy continent. While drawing interesting connections of this modern-day problem to its colonial roots, Vibeke encourages humanitarian communications workers to fight against this tendency and not be overly simplistic and damaging in their work. This course then offers and describes the practice of Nonviolent Communication, which is presented as a working tool to effectively manage conflict situations. Nonviolent communication is an analytical tool in the form of reflection on possible emotional manifestation and in this sense, emotional and rational attributes are balanced and cooperative. Therefore, by doing this course, we are encouraged to be fully present when engaged in a conflict. The course nicely incorporates the need for personal openness to facing conflicts, while on the other hand it encourages students to listen and learn from disagreements. Students are invited to step out of their comfort zone to see and understand different perspectives, and above all, to grow.   Take the course now! Click here By Lucia Trubenova Crossing Borders Intern