A growing number of Danes are travelling abroad to volunteer on development projects, reports Jyllands-Posten.
According to the Danish travel agency Jysk Rejsebureau, ticket sales combined with voluntary work have increased five-fold since 2012, and this year alone they have risen by 14 percent.
There is a long tradition of volunteering in Denmark. Figures from the Danish National Centre for Social Research show that every third Dane was involved in some kind of voluntary work in the period between 2004 and 2012.
Making a difference
Thomas P Boje, a sociologist from Roskilde University, explained that young people want to help others and make a difference, but they also want to get something out of it.
“When we hear about the problems of the world we want to get involved. When we are out there and helping, we want to do concrete work that makes a difference in a specific area,” Boje told Jyllands-Posten.
“It is more exciting than sitting in the office and doing administrative work in Denmark.”
South Africa most popular
Young Danes volunteer across a wide range of projects including wildlife programs and teaching schoolkids.
According to Niels Amstrup, the executive manager of Jysk Rejsebureau, most of the volunteers are aged 20-25 years and the most popular destination is South Africa.
