Folkemødet - Denmark's Political Festival takes place every year in mid-June. Politically interested people travel to Bornholm to meet hundreds of NGOs, associations, political parties and companies.

Health will take part in the 2022 event with three presentations - click on the title to read more:

16 June 14:45 - 15:30: What did we learn from the corona pandemic in relation to the climate? (Associate Professor Christian Wejse and Professor Torben Sigsgaard).

17 June 14:30 - 15:30: Homicide in Denmark (Asser Hedegård Thomsen, forensic pathologist)

17 June 19:30 - 21:00: Music in the Brain – presentation and jam (Professor Peter Vuust)

A democratic conversation

But why is Health taking part in this annual event, at which ordinary citizens meet decision-makers from the business community, interest groups and politicians from the Danish Parliament, the EU, local authorities and regions?

"The ambition of Denmark's Political Festival is to strengthen democracy in Denmark by cutting the distance and increasing trust between citizens and decision-makers. We want to be a piece in this jigsaw puzzle," says Dean Anne-Mette Hvas

"What’s more, we have fantastic research that we want to push even higher up on the political agenda, and our presentations at the event are a chance to communicate broad and nuance opinions," she says.

One of the presentations from Health is about homicide in Denmark. Asser Hedegård Thomsen, a forensic pathologist from the Department of Forensic Medicine, will talk about how gang killings only account for a small percentage compared with those committed within the family, where the majority of victims are women. He has reviewed all the Danish homicide cases over the past 25 years, a total of 1,417 killings, and among other things, he has documented that 300 out of 537 women were killed by their partner.

Asser Hedegård Thomsen will be holding the presentation with Line Vaaben, a journalist from the newspaper Politiken, and they will focus on what precedes a homicide, the most commonly used method of killing, and how we can use the statistics. 

Network and influence

According to Folkemødet's website, 76 per cent of the organisers of the Denmark's Political Festival experience that they expand their collaborative relationships, and almost half gain influence on legislation/regulation of their specific field.

As many as 82 per cent of people taking part from the private sector find that they acquire new and useful knowledge about political issues, and more than half return home with a desire to become more politically active.