A People's Meeting for All

Folkemødet is Denmark's largest democracy festival, where citizens, parties, associations, business and organisations come together to cultivate the democratic conversation between citizens and decision-makers. As one of the largest democratic events in Denmark, it is important that Folkemødet is a festival where everyone can participate. In order to ensure a People's Meeting where there is room for everyone, the Bevica Foundation and Foreningen Folkemødet have entered into a 5-year project collaboration.

Folkemødet's Director, Peter Christiansen, looks forward to the collaboration:

“A public meeting that cannot include everyone and ensure accessibility and inclusion regardless of bodily or cognitive starting point is a poor people's meeting. We are therefore looking forward to the cooperation and that together we must make the People's Meeting even more open and accessible to more people.”

The starting point for the collaboration will be universal design as a basic principle and human vision. Universal design is based on the basic premise that people are different and have different levels of functioning — physical as well as mental. It is a value-based approach that requires us to strive to embrace as many as possible. We need to be curious about who we are as human beings. And this is in line with the values and strategy of the Bevica Foundation, which is why Director Marianne Kofoed is also very much looking forward to the collaboration.

“It is great that the People's Meeting has chosen to take the lead on this agenda, and has great ambitions. We need to think big and want to work so that, with universal design as a lever, we can create a society where there is room for all of us. Folkemødet is doing that now, and I'm looking forward to being part of it,” she says.

The project will start as early as this year at Folkemødet 2023. Here, a baseline study will be made to map out the needs and opportunities for universal design at Folkemødet, so that one step at a time, we can create a People's Meeting where there is room for everyone.