Your Royal Highness,
Dear Goodwill Ambassadors
Dear everyone,
Thank you so much for inviting me to participate in tonight’s celebration of global friendships.
I’ve followed the work of Goodwill Ambassadors for years. My own brother is a Goodwill Ambassador. And I wholeheartedly support initiatives to promote and celebrate Danes who are actively contributing to the world.
You carry Denmark with you wherever you go. And when you return, you carry the world back to Denmark. To help us better understand the life and cultures outside our borders.
Everyone here today knows what it means to leave your home country behind. Whether it is forever or just for a little while – it is a big leap.
Leaving your home means learning new languages. It means understanding new cultures. Making new friends. Being the foreigner who does not quite understand the local way of life.
This can be difficult and challenging. You miss everything and everyone at home. But the benefits far outweigh the challenges.
I know this because I once took that leap myself.
A time of optimism
When I was 18 years old, I moved to Paris. I did not have a mobile phone or access to the Internet. I did not have a plan. In fact, I did not even have a place to live. Or a job for that matter.
But somehow it all worked out. I figured it out.
I had promised my mother I would come home after one year. But I ended up spending almost a decade in Paris.
And my time there was defining for my life and for my perception of the world.
These days I often think about the fundamental optimism that defined my own – and many others’ – outlook in the 1990s.
The world was open. The Iron Curtain had fallen. And we were absolutely sure that we were headed towards a better world. A world defined by openness, freedom and democracy.
Today, this outlook can seem naive. Because the world is once again changing – and not in the way we expected. Or hoped.
Everything is becoming more uncertain. Values and alliances that we took for granted no longer feel secure. The world order we believed in is changing.
In this situation it is tempting to hide. To stay home, lock the door and hold our breaths. And wait for the storm passes.
But I will argue that we need to do the exact opposite. We need to understand the world and the rapid changes happening around us. We need to stand firm on the values that define us.
We need to be out in the world.
Yesterday, I participated in the celebration of the Ukrainian Independence Day here in Copenhagen.
Besides it being a beautiful event, it was also an opportunity to remind ourselves of the things that truly matter.
Of the values worth fighting for:
A free and open society. Democracy. A sovereign people’s right to live in freedom in their own country. And international relations built on the rule of law – not survival of the fittest.
The Danish footprint
These are values we are all responsible for protecting.
And we need your help to do it: Danes who live abroad, who make a difference and who carry Danish values into the world.
In these uncertain times, it is important to remember that no country can be defined solely by the actions of its government.
This is true for big super powers – and for small countries like Denmark.
Denmark is not just our institutions. It is the sum of all that Danes do - at home and abroad.
This is the true Danish footprint in the world.
And because of this, the government carries a responsibility to make it as simple as possible to be a Dane abroad.
I believe that every Dane, no matter where they live, should have the right to vote in Danish elections. And if a Dane builds a family life abroad, it should be both possible and straightforward to return home to Denmark with that family.
We have taken the first steps to make life easier for Danes abroad. But our work is not done. And it must be done.
Because when Danes thrive abroad, Denmark grows stronger at home.
And this is why tonight’s celebration matters so much. Shortly, Jens [Kramer] will be awarding the Goodwill Ambassador Award.
An award to a remarkable person who has made a remarkable contribution promoting Denmark and Copenhagen globally.
But tonight is not only about one award. It is about all of you – the Goodwill Ambassadors who show the best of Denmark to the world.
Thank you for doing that.
The world has changed a lot since I left Denmark without a plan all those years ago. Some of the 90’s optimism has definitely faded.
But I do not think it is gone for good.
Through all the changes – good and bad – one thing remains clear:
Our best future is the one we build together – through openness, cooperation and strong bonds across borders.
Thank you.