Humanity in Action Denmark is an essential part of a collaborative, international learning community of university students and young professionals in Europe and the United States.
Humanity in Action Denmark’s most important activity is the annual Copenhagen Fellowship.
We promote values of democracy, pluralism, social justice and human rights, particularly in Denmark and the transatlantic context, through education and forms of civil engagement shaped by our specific historical and cultural context.
Since 1997 we have especially focused on developing and refining our annual Copenhagen Fellowship. Each year in June 25-30 Danish and international students gather for an intense, challenging and inspiring learning experience.
We think about the big questions in life and society – like social responsibility, values, universal rights and empathy for those we disagree with.
As a small but international organization, we connect carefully selected young leaders of diverse backgrounds and identities to support them in acting socially responsibly through understanding other social groups’ perspectives.
We develop Fellowships, study trips, seminars, workshops and conferences that challenge contemporary master narratives by looking deeply into some of the histories behind contemporary Danish news headlines.
Together with experts from academia, activism, the arts, journalism, politics and the business world, our Fellows and Senior Fellows discuss critical social justice issues in Denmark. The topics that keep us busy are identity, human rights, social justice, immigration and diversity. For years we have created and nourished a community culture that is collaborative, intensive, caring, open to vulnerability, interdisciplinary, opinionated, eclectic, international, and fun.
The starting point of the Humanity in Action Fellowships is the historical event of the flight and rescue of the Danish Jews in October 1943.
In the midst of World War II, and when the genocide against the European Jewry was at its height, the Danish Jews escaped to safety in Sweden with the help of Danish civil society. With this as our founding history, all our Fellowships examines different aspects of civic engagement, human and minority rights as well as investigate how societies have and can better resist the discrimination and subjugation of its minorities.
We care deeply about history and constantly compare the past to the present to learn for the future.
Humanity in Action Denmark has hosted transatlantic educational programs since 1997. These programs have centered on the history of the Holocaust and the exceptional case of the rescue of the Danish Jews, and were created in cooperation with Herbert Pundik, former chairman of Humanity in Action Denmark and former editor-in-chief of Danish daily Politiken, as well as Judith Goldstein, executive director of Humanity in Action. The programs have evolved into the annual Copenhagen Fellowship program, which explores human rights, diversity and issues pertaining to relationships between majorities and minorities in Denmark and beyond.
The Copenhagen Fellowship centers around a pivotal example of civil society acting in defense of human rights: the rescue of Danish Jews by the larger public during World War II.
Today, Denmark is still seen as a paragon of the successful progressive society: a beacon of wealth, happiness, and equality. The Copenhagen Fellowship investigates these narratives to reveal more complicated truths.
Humanity in Action was established in 1997 by Judith Goldstein and Herbert Pundik. They asked the questions: what can we learn from the "Danish Exception", the flight and rescue of the Danish Jews during World War II, and how do we inspire active citizenship and continued action.
The personal and intensive exchange through our programs – and our Fellows’ development of independent civil society initiatives, Action Projects – set the path to an active alumni network: The international Humanity in Action Senior Fellow community. In supporting our Fellows and Senior Fellows in further developing civil engagement and taking over societal responsibility, the international Humanity in Action network is as decisive resource for the implementation of independent projects and initiatives.
Our projects involve national as well as international conferences, debates, seminars, and cultural events with contributions from a wide range of international personalities.
In addition, Humanity in Action Denmark annually publishes books, develops educational programs for Danish Youth, offers study tours and arranges visits by young human rights activists from all over the world.
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