A welcome party for refugees is planned for Forum in Copenhagen on September 10.
Organiser Gry Ravn said the goal was to create Europe’s largest welcome party for refugees and bring businesses, volunteers and refugees together to discuss how to turn refugees into a resource and strengthen integration.
“My experience is that we almost cannot stand to hear the word ‘refugees’ anymore,” Ravn told TV2 News. “We have heard that word over and over – about what great a burden they are to our society.”
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Ravn said she wants to focus on “how refugees can be both an economic and cultural resource”.
Some 10,000 people are expected to attend the party at Forum, with 1,500 of those being refugees that have attained residence along with 500 asylum-seekers from detention centres across the country.
A volunteer effort
Ravn believes that it is an advantage that the party is being organised by volunteers.
“A volunteer is not a politician or business that might lose customers or voters,” she said.
Ravns believes there are many companies that would like to offer refugees internships. Microsoft, ISS, IBM, Arriva and NCC are among the companies participating in the party, along with a number of municipalities.
