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The Warm Welcome Society greeting new citizens to Aarhus

Edited on

15 May 2018
Read time: 3 minutes
Aarhus
Denmark

By Mari-Louise Olsson Hattesen, Citizen Service, City of Aarhus, 4th November, 2016

The Warm Welcome Society introduces new citizens to diverse communities in Aarhus. We visited the passionate founder of The Warm Welcome Society, Thomas Vovemod, at one of his welcome meetings with the theme of cultural diversity.

The Warm Welcome Society is an initiative developed by the non-profit organization GIVISME that strives to vitalize and strengthen citizenship in Aarhus. GIVISME is about giving back to the community; therefore, The Warm Welcome Society seeks to give new citizens the best possible start when establishing a life in Aarhus. This unique concept recognizes the importance of creating a social foundation that enables new citizens to practise and share interests, communities and everyday life. As a new citizen to Aarhus, you have the opportunity to be acquainted with a wide range of communities that match your interests and hobbies at The Warm Welcome Society. Through nothing less than 88 meetings within 11 themes of interests, The Warm Welcome Society connects people and local communities.

The Warm Welcome Society points to the fact that there is a need for activities that takes place outside the environment of education or place of employment. Therefore, The Warm Welcome Society strives to create positive interpersonal meetings by introducing and connecting individuals to different communities. The activities take place at Vanebrudspalæet, which can be translated into the habit-breaking palace. This odd and inspiring place is a former car repair shop revamped into a magical suitcase that houses all kinds of habit-breaking activities. Vanebrudspalæet has a vibrant and quirky feel that serves as an effective icebreaker and makes the atmosphere warm and welcoming.

 

 

Exploring communities at The Warm Welcome Society

Within the theme of Cultural Diversity, Thomas Vovemod, came off the starting block by shaking hands with every attendant stepping into the curious Vanebrudspalæet. While seated the chitchatting attendants were observing each other and the magically decorated room. Vovemod asked what motivated the attendants to sign up and join The Warm Welcome Society. The responses were similar revolving the interest in meeting different nationalities and getting familiar with Aarhus city and the surrounding communities. In a short video presentation, the mayor of Aarhus, Jacob Bundsgaard, showed his support and welcomed the attendants at The Warm Welcome Society. Subsequently the attendants were asked to present their name and nationality, which created a picture of the diverse group of people, their roots ranging from China to Bulgaria. A map illustrating 80 different communities across different themes was handed out to provide an overview of the different societies cooperating with The Warm Welcome Society.

To our amusement, Thomas Vovemod introduced the guest of the evening, by opening a big wardrobe door. Out of the wardrobe walked the founder of the non-profit community Rethink Human Being, Christian Dietrichsen. He introduced their reflection game that challenges our self-understanding as an individual and as a part of society. The game consists of 36 profound and existential questions and Dietrichsen asked a few; can you feel your body? Can war create peace? Can you expect something out of someone? The purpose of the game is dialogue and reflection about being and the rules are simple. You answer the questions with an open hand for yes or a closed hand for no. He finished by encouraging the attendants to become a part of Rethink Human Being.

To introduce the other societies within the theme of cultural diversity, Vovemod played short and humoristic videos describing the communities. Following, the attendants were divided into small groups that had to create an event on Facebook with one of the introduced societies. Instead of just inviting the attendants to the respective societies, they were required to take ownership by creating the event on Facebook and inviting the other attendants. This underpins the shared responsibility between the new citizens and the communities of Aarhus.

Finally, the attendants were incited to wrap up an invitation to The Warm Welcome Society and pass it on to a friend, colleague or fellow student. The evening ended with a group photo that was posted on the joint Facebook group.

 

A joint community requires joint contribution

The Warm Welcome Society is strongly supported within the City of Aarhus, the business community, institutions of higher education and of course the local communities. This collaboration has contributed with financial support but most importantly activated resources and ongoing discussions on how to develop, communicate and carry The Warm Welcome Society into action. They all share the common goal to attract, welcome and maintain national and international workforce and students in Aarhus. The institutions of higher education consider the initiative as an experiment to prevent loneliness and nurture the social networks by connecting and providing knowledge about local communities. Our social networks and our ability to act in them determine our lives and well-being. The Warm Welcome Society is anticipated to serve as a preventive source to empower students to stick to their studies.

The municipality of Aarhus has created a policy on citizenship in collaboration between eight politicians and eight citizens which demonstrates the commitment to create change. The policy on citizenship challenges the municipal practice by rethinking welfare, strengthening citizenship and transferring power from the municipality to the citizens and local communities. By supporting The Warm Welcome Society, the City of Aarhus contributes to carrying the policy on citizenship into action.

In Aarhus, The Warm Welcome Society is an example for others to follow and leads the way for rethinking and strengthening citizenship with its passionate initiative. It is a place where you can learn about culture, share a common experience and become a part of and engage in local communities. The Warm Welcome Society rethinks the way we are welcoming new citizens and becomes the stepping stone to building and activating social networks across different communities. Additionally, it motivates active citizenship and inspires to further collaboration and people-powered public services.

Here are some videos which give you a better idea of what The Warm Welcome Society exactly is and how it works:

Themes homepage sticky: 
Inclusion

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