Denmark 2022 - Mass Comm Study Abroad

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Another delayed update:

After eight days in Copenhagen, our group left the capital for new adventures!

First stop was Flensburg, Germany, where we visited Flensborg Avis, a newspaper for the Danish minority in northern Germany. Here, we met with Niels Ole Krogh, head of news, for a talk about the paper, Flensburg and the Danish minority.

After Flensburg, we went to Løgumkloster in southern Denmark, to stay at a traditional Danish folk high school. It was described to us like a boarding school for grownups. The students, most of them college-aged, live at the school and take classes, but not for credit and without grades. Instead, the focus primarily is on “learning for life.”
When we arrived Saturday night, the folk high school students were having a big wedding-themed party, which we were invited to join. It was quite the experience for our students, and very different from what they were used to. But the hospitality and new experiences were greatly appreciated.

Sunday, Emil Hageman Christensen, one of the school’s teachers gave a talk on the folk high school movement, and Ursula Dietrich-Petersen, the school’s principal, talked to us about the “secret ingredient” in the Danish society: trust.

Later Sunday, we went to the small island Rømø for lunch and to experience the North Sea and the massively wide beach we could drive on. After enjoying the fresh air, we went back to the folk high school, for a bit of relaxation and an intense game of kickball.

Stay tuned for more on the last few days of the program!

We’ve stayed busy here in Denmark!
Wednesday, we met with Kathrine Olldag, a member of the Danish parliament, for an interesting discussion on politics and the Danish society.

Later, we visited founder Asger Juhl from Den Uafhænginge (the Independent) radio station, to talk about the importance of independent media in a country full of publicly financed media outlets. We finished the day at TV2 News talking to Mirco Reiner-Elster, their in-house expert on U.S. politics. He covered everything from Danish-American relations to lost bets and good jackets!

Thursday morning, professor David Hopmann stopped by our hotel to talk to the students about the Danish minority in Germany, which he is a part of. Later Thursday, we took the train to Malmö, Sweden, where he had a guided tour.

Students were free to explore Copenhagen on their own Friday. Most went to the Tivoli amusement park in central Copenhagen.

Stay tuned for more updates from Flensburg, Løgumkloster, Middelfart(!) and Aarhus.

Big update from Denmark!

Things are going great here, and the last two days have been action-packed, where we got to meet editors, pop stars, and even the prime minister!

Yesterday, we first visited the Danish Broadcasting Corporation and met with editor Peter Korsgaard who talked to the students about public service media. He also showed us the studio from where they broadcast the evening news. We also talked with Asger Mow, a documentarist.

Later yesterday, we met Thomas Buttenschøn in his studio for an informal talk. He is Mikkel’s childhood friend, but also a pop star, TV presenter, HIV survivor and activist who is trying to remove the stigma of HIV in Zambia where his mother is from. He has done that through a big campaign where he shared his story and put on “Test for Tickets” concerts! Participants got free tickets to the concert if they were tested against HIV, and they would learn a lot through the process. “If you really want to reach young people, you gotta do cool stuff like that. They don’t want to hear from a college professor,” he said. It’s true, but it still a little hurtful for college professors to hear😀.

Today, we met Birgitte Borup, the foreign editor for Denmark’s biggest newspaper for an interesting discussion on news and politics in Denmark and the U.S. But most importantly, she fascinated the students as a role model”! After the formal discussion, a student asked her a question about being a successful female editor. It turned in to a longer talk and more and students gathered around. It was an intense and beautiful moment.

Later today, we visited with Martin Justesen, the prime minister’s chief of staff. He talked candidly about politics, media relations and the relationship between the U.S. and Denmark. And afterwards, as you can see in the photos, we ran into his boss who took a few pictures with us!

On day two of our program, we got a tour of the Danish parliament, visited Freetown Christiania and explored Copenhagen!

Our study abroad program has begun!
Friday, the students arrived in Denmark. After check-in and our introductory meeting we fought through the jet lag and enjoyed a traditional Danish dinner at Restaurant Klubben.

Today, we visit Christiansborg, the Danish parliament, go on a canal tour and stop by Freetown Christiania.

Dr. Christensen hosted a Danish “jule” dinner for students interested in the study abroad program.

Students experienced a traditional Danish holiday meal with frikadeller (meat balls), pickled herring, smoked salmon, liver pate, red cabbage, curry salad, red cabbage salad and rye bread. Dessert was served with æbleskiver (pancake balls served with powdered sugar and strawberry jam), homemade hot chocolate and mulled cider.

Fun was had by all- especially Dr. Christensen’s son Niels who enjoyed lots of laughs and new friends!

Did you know that Denmark is ranked as one of the happiest countries in the world?
In our study abroad program we will try to explore why the Nordic countries consistently are ranked as the happiest.

In this commercial, actor Mads Mikkelsen has a few suggestions for why Danes are so happy (spoiler alert: It's not because of Carlsberg!)

Carlsberg - The Danish Way Mads Mikkelsen Mads Mikkelsen