December 21st, 2012

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Dear readers,

On behalf of the Copenhagen Post I would like to wish all of you a happy Christmas and a prosperous new year.

This past year has offered its share of challenges for The Copenhagen Post – but it hasn’t been without its successes either.

On the one hand, we continue to face the same difficulties as most other newspapers, but at the same time we can see that Denmark’s growing internationalisation has resulted in more people visiting our website and following us on social media.

And while our news journalists continued to cover the issues facing the nation and our readers, we increasingly became a source of information for foreign media looking for information about Denmark. In the past year, our reporters were quoted by media organisations ranging from the BBC down to the Hill Country Happenings, speaking about issues ranging from the serious (including the repeal of the fat tax) to the light-hearted (including the nursery that stayed open late so parents could have time to make more babies).

We again this year worked to deepen our involvement in efforts to attract and maintain highly-skilled workers. One particular area of concern for us remains the social integration of expats and their families. In order to help do our part in this area, we again organised a Children’s Fair this summer. This year’s second annual festival for expat families saw a significant increase in both the number of partners and participating organisations. With upwards of 700 families attending, 65 cultural and sporting associations on hand, as well as the police department and fire brigade, the fair was a resounding success for everyone involved.

In the coming year, The Copenhagen Post will continue to make sure that decision-makers maintain their focus on not just attracting but also retaining highly-skilled labour. We will also continue to support many of the positive initiatives that have been put forth, both by lawmakers and other non-governmental organisations in this area.

And I can only stress that, regardless of what people here believe, Denmark is neither the first choice for people looking to live and work abroad, nor is it as open-mined as we like to think. This is something Danes need to recognise.

Denmark needs to attract highly-skilled foreign labour, and the average Dane has to be made more aware of just how great this need is. Lawmakers and the media are aware of this and have already begun a necessary change in the direction of discussions about the challenges we face in this area. But, ultimately, success rests on whether there is a clear signal from parliament that we want highly skilled foreign labour to come to this country.

Simply stated: Denmark needs foreign labour more than foreign labour needs Denmark. They can choose other countries; we have no alternative. What ought to be obvious is that talented potential employees will find their way to the country that offers them the best living standard and the most welcoming environment.

It is in everyone’s interest – Danes and foreign residents alike – that we make Denmark as open, tolerant and internationally orientated as possible, both so we can secure our long-term growth, but also so that we can get through the current global economic downturn.

We’re looking forward to continuing to work towards achieving this goal in the coming year.

Happy Christmas from all of us at The Copenhagen Post and best wishes for a prosperous 2013.