“Speak Danish, damn it!”

World’s Women in Denmark are speaking at Folkemødet 2018. They will talk about the barriers immigrants meet when talking “incorrect fluent Danish”.

World’s Women in Denmark have arranged a debate to take place at Folkemødet on Bornholm, 16 June 2018 from 10.30-11.30. We will be talking about the barriers immigrants have met when talking “incorrect fluent Danish”.

Three members of our organisation – who have all been employed in a job which is in line with their qualifications – will talk about the barriers they have met while learning to speak Danish. It is graduate engineer Nora Palacios who came to Denmark from El Salvador, business owner Phuong Doan who came to Denmark from Vietnam and consultant Alma Bekturganova Andersen who came to Denmark from Kasakhstan.

After the three life stories have been told, a panel of experts consisting of Yildiz Akdogan, Member of the Danish Parliament and vice-chairman of the Equality Committee, Pia Quist, associate professor of Danish language at Copenhagen University and Anne Jeanette Rasmussen, head of department at Sprogcenter Nordsjælland comment on the situation with Danish language and immigration from each of their professional angle. They will furthermore discuss how a low skill set in the Danish language can affect one’s situation at the Danish job market.

The debate will end with questions from the audience directed at either the immigrant women or the panel of experts.

Our host is Karen West