SOCIETY / BUSINESS

How Denmark plans to get more women in leading jobs

By
Helena-Reet Ennet
-

NordenBladet – There are too few women in leading roles at Danish companies, and change in the area is currently too slow, Minister for Gender Equality Eva Kjer Hansen has said. In partnership with Copenhagen Business School and seven different recruitment firms, Hansen has announced a new ‘codex’ which she believes will have a positive impact on the issue.

“I can see that it is taking too long and that we are not making enough progress in regard to getting enough women at this level. And that is unfortunate, because it means we are not using the full talent potential of Danish society,” the minister said.

“We still have far too few women in leadership positions and on boards,” she added.

According to Hansen’s ministry, just under 15 percent of directors and 19 percent of board members at Danish companies are women.

Over half of all companies in Denmark do not have a single woman on their boards, according to the gender equality ministry.

The so-called codex developed by the ministry, CBS and recruitment firms includes eight principles which the participating recruitment agencies will be obliged to follow. This will mean a minimum of 33 percent of candidates put forward by the agencies for their customers will be women.

Additionally, the codex will aim to increase awareness of subconscious or unintended prejudices which can influence the recruitment process.

One firm to have signed up to the scheme is Spencer Stuart, which specialises in the recruitment and assessment of candidates for executive roles.

Tobias Petri, a partner in the company, supports the initiative.

“We need to increasingly look at what female candidates can do, rather than what they have done in the past. That will bring focus more onto skills, rather than experience,” Petri said.

While he hopes the codex can change the current status quo, he stressed that companies also needed to get on board.

The recruitment firms will report the results of the scheme to CBS, which will monitor its overall effect. The university will publish an annual report on its progress.

Featured image is illustrative: Pexels

Princess Märtha Louise of Norway reveals her new American boyfriend, Shaman Durek Verrett in an Instagram post

By
Helena-Reet Ennet
-

NordenBladet – Princess Märtha Louise of Norway has revealed new boyfriend. Shaman Durek Verrett, who is half-Norweigan and Los Angeles based, describes himself on his Instagram profile as an “evolutionary innovator, spirit hacker, women’s empowerment leader, human rights activist.”

The 47-year-old Princess wrote, “When you meet your twin flame, you know. I have been lucky enough to have met mine. @shamandurek has changed my life like he does with so many. He has made me realize that unconditional love actually exists here on this planet. He embraces all of me without question or fear. He makes me laugh more than anyone, has the most profound wisdom to share and all the bits in between from the diversity of his being. I feel so happy and blessed that he is my boyfriend. Thank you, my love, for including me so generously into your family. I love you from this eternity to the next.”

Three beautiful photos accompany the post taken by Daryl Henderson.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BxX_iR-Bf_x/

Her Highness also addressed those who have had negative things to say about her interracial relationship, “And to those of you who feel the need to critizise: Hold your horses. It is not up to you to choose for me or to judge me. I don’t choose my man to satisfy any of you or the norms or boxes you have chosen in your mind for me to be in. I don’t thrive there, nor do I exist in your illusion about me. I choose from love. And that’s it. Shaman Durek is merely a man I love spending my time with and who fulfils me. So thank you for respecting my actions and my choice of partner. All I know at this moment is that we love each other and I am super happy. Have a wonderful, loving Sunday and Mother’s Day (for the USA).”

Mr Verrett, 44, also posted a heartwarming post about his royal girlfriend calling her a “strong woman who lets me be me without judgement or confinement.”

“I’m free when I’m with her, free to be me and love a women [sic] who is a bright light of wisdom and profound grace and immense beauty,” he added.

Märtha Louise, who is the daughter and elder child of King Harald and Queen Sonja of Norway, commented on her boyfriend’s touching post saying, “I love you and am so happy to have found you.”

The couple will be travelling around Denmark and Norway together to share their wisdom. Their website (theprincessandtheshaman.com) describes their tour as taking people “on a self-discovery into wisdom to reveal your divine self and how you can utilise your gift to change the world.”

Featured image: Princess Märtha Louise of Norway (Instagram/@princessmarthalouise)

 

Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden comments on Baby Sussex

By
Helena-Reet Ennet
-

NordenBladet – Crown Princess Victoria and Prince Daniel of Sweden are currently on a three-day visit to Vietnam. Day one, 6 May was spent in Hanoi. It was there that Crown Princess Victoria was told of the British royal baby news by Swedish news magazine Svenskdam. The Crown Princess and her husband, Prince Daniel decided to go on a walk through the Vietnamese capital when the magazine caught up with them.

When told that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex had a son, Crown Princess Victoria said exclusively to Svensdam, “No, they have? Oh, how fun!”

Crown Princess Victoria and Prince Daniel are the parents of two: Princess Estelle, 7, and Prince Oscar, 3.

Their trip to Vietnam is to highlight 50 years of diplomatic relations between Sweden and Vietnam, as well as promote Swedish businesses during a Sweden-Vietnam Business Summit. They will also highlight the UN Sustainability Goals for Agenda 2030; Crown Princess Victoria is an Advocate for the Sustainability Goals.

Victoria and Daniel’s first day in Asia consisted of a guided tour of Hotel Metropole, met prominent Vietnamese women over lunch, attended an official lunch with the Vice President of Vietnam, visited the upper secondary school Thuc Nghiem, and attended an evening welcome dinner hosted by the Vietnamese government.

Crown Princess Victoria isn’t the only foreign royal to comment on the new royal baby. Princess Tessy of Luxembourg posted messages on her Twitter and Instagram yesterday.

“Congratulations dear Harry and Meghan on the arrival of your new baby boy. Gabriel, Noah and I wish the three of you – now a little family – only the best, much happiness and good health. ?❤️ This is extremely exciting, and we can not wait to meet the little man in due course,” she said on Instagram.

Featured image: Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden (Erika Gerdemark/Kungahuset.se)

Queen Sonja of Norway is this year’s protector of NRK’s charity broadcast

By
Helena-Reet Ennet
-

NordenBladet – Each year a member of the Norwegian Royal Family becomes the high protector of state television channel NRK’s charity broadcast. This year, it is Her Majesty Queen Sonja.

This year’s charity broadcast will collect money to create a better life for women in some of the world’s most vulnerable areas. Women all over the world are denied fundamental rights and opportunities and are hit hardest by poverty and injustice. They get fewer educational opportunities, have less chance of getting an income and are more often exposed to violence. Therefore, with this year’s TV broadcast, CARE will give women in some of the world’s poorest countries the opportunity to create a better life for themselves and their family.

“Queen Sonja has a strong commitment to this year’s theme, and we are very happy and grateful that the Queen will be the high protector for this year’s TV project”, says General Secretary Gry Larsen of CARE Norway.

NRK’s charity broadcast has been arranged one Sunday in October each year since 1974. The TV show from NRK is the world’s largest fundraising campaign and has accumulated over nine billion Norwegian crowns since its inception 45 years ago. This year’s television broadcast will allow women to earn their own money. The collected funds from this year’s telecast will go to CARE’s work in nine countries: Niger, Mali, The Democratic Republic of Congo, Burundi, Rwanda, Myanmar, Afghanistan, Jordan and Palestine.

When members of the Norwegian Royal House become a protector for an organisation or an event, it usually happens for a period of five years; however, this is not the case with the tv charity event. Mostly since its inception in 1974, each broadcast has received its own representative from the Royal House. The first of them was Queen Sonja who opened the very first broadcast in 1974.

Last year, several members of the Royal Family participated in NRK’s charity broadcast. Then, Her Majesty Queen Sonja and Her Royal Highness Crown Princess Mette-Marit attended a live all-day show. In 2016, Queen Sonja also donated one of her art pieces, which was auctioned off, and all the revenue went to the Red Cross. In 2017, it was Crown Prince Haakon who served as the protector.

Featured image: Her Majesty Queen Sonja (Jørgen Gomnæs / The Royal Court)

Crown Prince Haakon of Norway must undergo surgery again

By
Helena-Reet Ennet
-

NordenBladet – In early March, the Norwegian Royal Court announced that Crown Prince Haakon had to undergo surgery. The heir to the throne was admitted to hospital for one day for an operation on an exostosis in the ear canal. This week, the Crown Prince Haakon announced himself to the Norwegian News Agency NTB that he will most likely undergo the same surgery again, now on his other ear. The Crown Prince said:

“I am fine. It was not dramatic. It is simply the ear canals that have been clogged, so I had an operation. I must probably do the operation again, on the other ear. One of the things that can aggravate it is to be in cold water. I was doing a lot of wind surfing when I was younger”.

When it will happen, so far, it is not decided, but it may be this autumn. The Crown Prince told NTB the operation is not urgent. An exostosis in the ear canal is a bone outgrowth that can narrow the ear canal and may predispose to ear canal eczema and ear wax accumulation. The cause of such outgrowth appears to be a reaction in the bone tissue due to cooling or constant exposure to cold water in the ear canal. Therefore, the condition occurs especially among swimmers and surfers and is also called “surfer’s ear”. The condition is not in any way dangerous.

It was on March 4 that the royal court release the following statement:

“His Royal Highness The Crown Prince will today, on Monday, March 4, 2019, have a minor surgical intervention for exostosis in the ear canal. The surgical procedure takes place at Rikshospitalet in Oslo. As a result of the intervention, the Crown Prince will have a reduced program for the next two weeks.”

The Crown Prince has been surfing as a hobby for many years, with the Norwegian royal court publishing pictures of the family surfing as recently as 2017. The pictures were from a private holiday the Crown Prince family took in Hoddevik outside of Stadt, in the west of Norway. Some of the images were also from another surfing holiday Crown Prince Haakon had in 2016. In 2017, it was announced that His Royal Highness Crown Prince Haakon was asked to sit on the committee that will plan the European Championships in surfing.

Featured image: The royals on surfing (Fjordlapse Photography / Det kongelige hoff / The Royal Court)

Queen Margrethe to visit Estonia for 800th anniversary of Danish flag

By
Helena-Reet Ennet
-

NordenBladet – Queen Margrethe will pay a visit to Estonia in June, the Royal House announced, in conjunction with the 800th anniversary of the Danish Flag. The Queen will visit Tallinn, the Estonian capital, on 15 June. The capital shares a mythical connection to Denmark and its flag, known as the Dannebrog.

On that date 800 years ago, according to the Royal House, “According to the legend, Dannebrog descended from Heaven and helped the Danish king Valdemar Sejr win the dominion of northern Estonia.” The Danish king gained dominion over the town of Lyndanisse – which is now known as Tallinn (Taani Linn is an Estonian phrase that means ‘the Danish city’).

Queen Margrethe’s visit will coordinate with this anniversary and will also include commemorations for Estonia’s independence, which was marked last year with a visit from Crown Prince Frederik and Crown Princess Mary.

The Queen will arrive on the royal yacht Dannebrog. During her visit, Queen Margrethe and Estonian President Kersti Kaljulaid will open an exhibit at the Kadriorg Castle Art Museum focusing on the Dannebrog.

‘Dannebrog: The Flag That Fell From the Sky’ will feature artwork by Christen Købke, CW Eckersberg and Nicolai Abildgaard that depict this event; and CA Lorentzen’s painting, ‘The Battle of Lyndanisse’, which will be exhibited for the first time outside of Denmark.

Queen Margrethe will also participate in the opening of The Danish Queen’s Garden, the opening of a historical exhibition, and will present research scholarships during her visit.

Further tying into the Dannebrog theme, Queen Margrethe will visit the Frihetspladsen to attend an event for the Danish and Estonian flags and which will feature Danish and Estonian performers.

The Queen and President Kaljulaid will attend a concert at the Estonia Concert Hall, as well as a gala dinner in the Queen’s honour.

Queen Margrethe’s visit will wrap up with a service at Tallinn Cathedral, which was founded in 1219 shortly after the Danish conquest.

Featured image: JOHANNES JANSSON (CC BY 2.5) VIA WIKIMEDIA COMMONS

Fiji asks Crown Prince Haakon for help – against Norway

By
Helena-Reet Ennet
-

NordenBladet – Since the Crown Prince left Fiji, he received a letter from the authorities thanking the Crown Prince for his recent visit to the nation and asking the Crown Prince for help. Earlier this week, the Norwegian Crown Prince visited the country together with the nations of Samoa and Tonga. The tour was to focus on the climate and the sea. Afterwards, he received an open letter from Fiji’s government with criticism of Norwegian oil policy.

The letter stated the following: “As you leave our shores, Your Royal Highness, may we respectfully plead that Norway helps us in the Pacific to retain our proud, rich place in the world, by moving swiftly to eliminate exported emissions and de-escalate fossil fuel extraction.”

The open letter was published in the newspaper “Islands Business” and written by Vice President Seini Nabou of the nation’s largest opposition party, the National Federation Party.

In the letter, it is also written: “While many like me applaud Norway as one of the first industrialised nations to formally ratify the Paris Agreement, we also know that it is also actively involved in further opening up its part of the Arctic for oil and gas exploration. This would essentially undermine the Paris Agreement’s decarbonisation goal.”

The Norwegian Crown Prince cannot respond to a political letter, as he is a non-political figure. In Norway, State Secretary Rikard Gaarder Knutsenin, from the Department of Petroleum and Energy, answered the following on questions from the letter on Norwegian TV station NRK:

“We are not going to answer on an open letter to the Crown Prince. However, like the writer of the letter, the Norwegian government is also concerned with climate. Norway was, as is pointed out in the letter, among the first to ratify the Paris Agreement. It points out that the climate challenge can only be solved through global cooperation. All countries, including Norway, must cut their own emissions.”


Featured image: Sven Gj. Gjeruldsen / Det Kongelige Hoff / The Royal Court
Source: Royalcentral.co.uk

Crown Prince Frederik visits aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle

By
Helena-Reet Ennet
-

NordenBladet – This week, Crown Prince Frederik, heir apparent to the Danish throne, used the Danish Royal House’s Instagram account to show photographs of his time aboard the Danish Navy frigate, Niels Juel, currently sailing in the Mediterranean as part of the carrier group alongside the French Navy’s aircraft carrier, Charles de Gaulle.

The Crown Prince spent two days onboard the ship, during which time he was informed of the work Danish Defence does; he also saw the air options available with the fighter jets that operate from the deck of the Charles de Gaulle. Whether it is part of a NATO operation or that of a single navy, the floating airfields that are the aircraft carriers are always protected by a number of smaller frigates to ensure them a safe passage to wherever the proposed theatre of operations is, and whatever type of role that may be, including relief work or as they are in the Mediterranean, keeping an eye out for refugees in frail crafts.

Afterwards, he posted on Instagram, in part, “During my visit I have been informed about Niels Juel and Charles de Gaulle’s many tasks. In addition, I have greeted the crews and gained insight into the many complex tasks that the Danish Defence solves in this marine military operation. It has been a great experience.”

During his life, Crown Prince Frederik has served in all three branches of the Danish Armed Services. When it comes to his naval service, it is very impressive, and comments have been made as to how dashing he looked in a camouflage jacket! During his time in the Navy, he trained as a Frogman and qualified to be a member of the Danish equivalent of the US Navy Seals.

The Crown Prince enjoys his time on the water, and not just in the larger boats like the Niels Juel or Charles de Gaulle. He is also a very accomplished sailor and has competed in many regatta’s both European as well as domestic and has finished high up the leader board. He is a keen campaigner for both a healthy lifestyle as well as climate change.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BwC4HcqAWvK/

Featured image: Crown Prince Frederik (Instagram/@detdanskekongehus)

Sweden: Crown Princess Victoria opens Baltic Sea Science Center

By
Helena-Reet Ennet
-

NordenBladet – Yesterday Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden opened the Baltic Sea Science Centre in Stockholm’s Skansen Museum where she was welcomed by Anna Björn, Head of Unit at Skansen’s Zoological Department and the Baltic Sea Science Center.

The day began with a tour starting in the brewery aquarium, the pike aquarium, the predatory aquarium, the cylinder aquarium and the habitat aquariums.

Next on the agenda was the exhibit “Land og hav” which shows the dependence of man and sea on one another.

Her tour concluded in a lab where she spoke to high school students about what they had learned during their visit to the new centre.

Her Royal Highness then participated in the opening ceremony on the terrace where she said, “This knowledge centre is about the Baltic Sea; about life under the surface of our unique inland sea. But basically, it is just as much about ourselves: about our history, our future and our responsibility for an environment that we are completely dependent on. Just as we are dependent on the Baltic Sea, the Baltic Sea is dependent on us.”

She added that “the Baltic Sea Science Center can play an important role: helping us understand the unique environment that the Baltic Sea is. But also to show, concrete, what we can do to be afraid of it.”

The Crown Princess then opened the doors of the centre with Björn Carlsson.

The Baltic Sea Center contains laboratories, aquariums, exhibit areas, and classrooms.

The museum has said about the centre on their website, “The exhibitions will be created by a special knowledge council consisting of representatives from the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Stockholm University, the BalticSea2020 Foundation and Skansen.”

Children under the age of three get in free, and they are open from 10:00 am to 4:00 pm.

Featured image: Kungl. Royal Court/Sara Friberg

King Harald V of Norway hands out the King Olav V Cancer Research Prize 2019

By
Helena-Reet Ennet
-

NordenBladet – King Harald V of Norway handed out the prestigious King Olav Vs Cancer Research Prize for 2019 on Tuesday. The award ceremony was in the atrium of Oslo University. King Harald presented the prize which is dedicated in memory of his father on behalf of the Cancer Society in Oslo.

Guest arrived at the ceremony from 12:30 on Tuesday with the ceremony starting soon after the king had arrived at 1pm. The Secretary General of the Cancer Society, Anne Lise Ryel, welcomed King Harald and gave a speech. The speech was followed by a song and music from well-known Norwegian artists.

King Harald then handed over King Olav Vs Cancer Research Prize for 2019 to Professor Anne Simonsen and the Norwegian Breast Cancer Group. It is the first time the prize has been presented to two winners, and the first time a whole professional environment received the prize. After a short speech by the winners, the ceremony was ended with another musical performance.

Anne Simonsen is a professor at the Department of Molecular Medicine at the University of Oslo. She is also co-director at the Center for Cancer Cell Reprogramming. Throughout her impressive career, Simonsen has focused on cellular biological research, especially the cellular mechanisms involved in how cancer occurs. She has developed a research program within the study of autophagy. She publishes very actively and has an obvious potential to make important breakthroughs in cancer research in the future.

The Norwegian Breast Cancer Group is a clinical research environment consisting of 30 doctors and researchers from all over the country who receive the prize for their large, positive significance for former and future breast cancer patients in Norway. In the future, the group will continue to work for better treatment for those affected by breast cancer.

King Olav Vs Cancer Research Prize was created on 29 April 1992 to commemorate King Olav V. The Fund, each year, awards a prize to a cancer researcher, or a group of cancer researchers, who have helped to promote the quality of Norwegian cancer research.

Featured image: His Majesty The King of Norway (Jørgen Gomnæs / The Royal Court)

1...202122...33Page 21 of 33