Mary presents Integration Prize 2008

Crown Princess Mary returned to Vollsmose this afternoon to be present for the handing out of the Integration Prize, 'The Golden Frog', in Vollsmose's new Culture House. It turned out that the prize was awarded to three recipients because it was impossible to choose one above the others. The recipients are community workers Hanne Nielsen, Inger Aagard and Ra Ranunkel Olesen. The recipients of the statuette combined together to re-present 'The Golden Frog' back to a very touched Mary in honour of her own efforts for integration.




Photos © Sonninch Jensen/Fyens Stifstidende, Vollsmose.dk, Finn Skyt and TV2/Scanpix

Crown Princess Mary's speech (in Danish)
The three recipients nominated for the prize, The Golden Frog, have in each their way contributed to the improvement of integration in Vollsmose and to strengthen the bond of identity among the residents, who are marked by a different cultural, social and ethnic backgrounds...
For more than 30 years Inger Aagaard has lived in Vollsmose.
Since 1995 she has been very active in local resident political work. Inger Aagaard is also known as "Mamma Vollsmose", and she has often been a spokeswoman in the media for the neighbourhood. In addition she was a lead figure in the project "Tryghed i Vollsmose". Vollsmose today has a solid democracy in which where the people have the opportunity to speak.
Hanne Nielsen has participated in creating Kvarterløftsstyregruppen, as the driving force in building up a new forum in Vollsmose.
Hanne Nielsen has also been a chairman of the Co-operative Council which is the residents' joint council, and she has very purposefully and persistently worked on a large number of influential projects in Vollsmose.
As chairman of the Co-operative Council Ra Ranunkel fights with untiring energy for the residents to be heard.
He has been both initiator and participant in many projects - offering the residents in Vollsmose the chance to participate in the area's activities, characterise its development and participate in resident democracy.
For me it is with great pleasure to be able to hand over 'The Golden Frog' to you all for your huge efforts to create a safe and dynamic environment for the residents in Vollsmose.
A great big congratulations! (rough translation!)

Fyens Stiftstidende 'Tre Vollsmose-beboere belønnet med gylden frø' - Three Vollsmose residents rewarded with golden frog
By Anders Mcculloch
Three front line local community workers were today honoured by Crown Princess Mary for their long standing efforts for improving Vollsmose's image and strengthening the neighbourhood. They have worked hard for years to strengthen Vollsmose's image and give the area a face lift. Today Hanne Nielsen, Inger Aagard and Ra Ranunkel Olesen were then honoured for their efforts. The awards happened during Crown Princess Mary's visit in Vollsmose, where she presented the recently launched Integration Prize 'The Golden Frog' for the three front line community workers. Who can do better than the active residents, the good ambassadors of 'exposed' urban areas, who contribute to healing Denmark, bring their personal qualities along with their wealth of resources and cultures," said the Crown Princess to explain why the three received the prizes of a figurine and 3500 DKK each. The prize was founded by the residents in Vollsmose in collaboration with the Odense Kommune and three local societies, representing Funen's non-profit Cooperative housing society, the home society Højstrup in the neighbourhood, Odense Andelsboligforening. The prize is national and will be distributed during the next three years.

Fyens Stiftstidende 'Mary fik frøen tilbage i Vollsmose' - Mary got the frog back in Vollsmose
The Crown Princess was in a true triumphal procession through Vollsmose on Sunday where hundreds got a handshake from the immensely popular princess.
It was a clearly touched Crown Princess Mary who on Sunday afternoon - entirely outside the programme - received 'The Golden Frog' back.
It was the Integration Prize that the Crown Princess had just presented to three of Vollsmose's most faithful community workers, but the three realized "The Frog cannot be cut open and split into three, we'll give it to Crown Princess Mary who has made an enormous effort for integration in Denmark.
A treacherous little tear escaped from Mary, who quickly had to improvise a speech of thanks.
That the two and a half hour long programme in Vollsmose was extended a further 35 minutes because the Crown Princess took her own good time to greet the [Vollsmose] quarter's residents.

TV2 article 'Mary fik frøen tilbage' - Mary got the frog back
Crown Princess Mary also became an award winner herself when she visited the Vollsmose quarter in Odense.
The Crown Princess was on a visit in Vollsmose to present for the first time the newly founded Integration Prize 'The Golden Frog'.
The prize was handed over to three local residents who besides a frog figurine each also got a personal award on 3500 DKK.
The three prize recipients however soon returned the figurine back to Crown Princess Mary, because they thought that she deserved to honour her efforts for better integration in Denmark.
The three award winners were Hanne Nielsen, Inger Aagaard and Ryan Ra Ranunkel Olesen.
All three are residents in Vollsmose and have in the course of time been active in working to lift Vollsmose and give it a more attractive profile.
The Integration Prize and 'The Golden Frog' was founded by the residents in Vollsmose.
It's a national award though and will be distributed during the coming three years.
Every year a new figurine will be produced for the award winner by the artist Henrik Voldmester.
It's third time that Crown Princess Mary has visited Vollsmose.
Besides participating in the prize giving, the Crown Princess also visited Vollsmose's new culture house, an older community centre and a resident's house.

Fyens Stifstidende photo gallery

TV2 news clip (00:31)
TV2 news clip (03.20)
TV2/FYN news clip (03:13)
TV2 news clip (02:43)

Mary visits Gellerup in Århus

Today Crown Princess Mary has made a visit to the Gellerup housing area in Århus. Like Vollsmose, which Mary visited last year, Gellerup is a disadvantaged area. In Gellerup Mary will visit various community institutions, projects and activities with the objective of supporting the stengthening of integration and community ties between Gellerup and the Århus community in general.

After a greeting at the Århus Town Hall, Mary has been shown how things are from childhood to old age in Gellerup. First stop of the tour was the Sports Kindergarten at Globus 1 followed by visits to the 'Young to Young' project, 'Outsiders 2 Insiders', the New Work Entrepeneur Centre, Bazaar West and finally she went to the Gellerup Local Centre.



TV2 - Gellerup gør klar til royalt besøg about Mary's impending visit
Jyllands-Posten - En prinsesse kom til byen a princess comes to town
TV2 - Mary besøger Gellerup Mary visits Gellerup
stiften.dk - Mary besøger 'Ung til Ung' Mary visits the youth project 'Youth to Youth'
stiften.dk - Politisk ballade om Marys besøg some political criticism by the right of the social democrats, in office in the local council in Århus, using Mary's visit
DR.dk Østjylland - Kronprinsesse Mary på livsrejse i Gellerup Crown Princess Mary on a life journey in Gellerup
Politikere kæmper om Mary about the political controversy between the Social Democrats (in power in Århus local council) and the right wing Venstre party. Venstre city council members have complained because although they will meet Mary at the town reception, they will not be able to have a photocall with her at the Town Hall.

stiften.dk - photo gallery

New links:

TV 2 Østjylland video clip (5:32) shows Mary's progress through the reception in Århus and then the visit to Gellerup. The last part has an in-studio interview with Århus mayor Nikolai Wammen (shown right of Mary in top photo) who says what a boost Mary's visit was for Århus and Gellerup and how warm Mary was as she met people each place she went.

TV2 video clip (2:22)

B.T. photo gallery

J-P video clip 'Mary vild med Århus'

Added: Hello magazine 'Gymnastic outings for Princess Mary and Prince Charles'

New photos:

Mary visits Vollsmose

Today Crown Princess Mary has visited Vollsmose, a multi-ethnic part of Odense. Mary has spent an 'ordinary working day' in Vollsmose to bring some light to the life situations of the people in this area which has had a troubled reputation in recent times. The visit has been a happy occasion with many local residents turning out to greet Mary. There has been a strong media contingent following Mary in Vollsmose, including Turkish CNN, an Australian magazine and Danish media.



You can check photos here in the Fyens Stiftstidende photo gallery
Also check the TV2/FYN photo gallery.

Added: DR.dk photo gallery (this has the most and widest selection of photos)

ADDED: Princess Mary shows she's got the maternal touch in Hello! magazine

The Sydney Morning Herald has reported:
Danish students 'crown' Princess Mary
August 29, 2006 - 9:54PM

Students gave a cardboard crown to Australian-born Crown Princess Mary as she met with residents of one of Denmark's best known immigrant neighbourhoods.
Resident Leyla Haji Yusuf from Somalia and Odense mayor Jan Boye guided the popular princess as she walked and rode a horse-drawn carriage through Vollsmose, a suburb west of Odense, Denmark's third-largest city.
The visit was organised at Mary's request. She wanted to meet residents in a less formal way than two years ago when she and her husband, Crown Prince Frederik, toured the city and stopped by the neighbourhood, 160 kilometres west of Copenhagen.
More than 60 per cent of Vollsmose's 10,000 residents are foreign-born, and many receive welfare benefits.
Mary stopped several times to shake hands and talk with residents.
Students at a school named for Danish fairy tale writer Hans Christian Andersen, a native of Odense, had made cardboard crowns and gave one to Mary, who asked whether they also had one for her husband, Danish TV2 reported.
The 34-year-old princess had lunch with the Jomaa family, of Palestinian origin.
Kalil Jomaa and his wife Jawaher Othman who fled to Denmark in 1990 from Lebanon, served kebabs, falafel, humus, among other Middle Eastern delicacies. All of their seven children were present at the lunch on the sixth floor of the housing block where they live.
After lunch, Mary was to visit a community house chiefly used by immigrant women and their children and a cafe, operated by a Christian church, where Arab men gather.
At the end of the visit, Mary will meet briefly with local dignitaries and MPs, Christian and Muslim clerics and social workers.

Same report also at ninemsn
Click here for Jyllands-Posten netavisen video clip (2 mins 30 secs)
DR.dk online report on the visit. It is in Danish but has photos and a map which shows the progress of the various places Mary was shown.
TV 2 video clip (2 mins)
TV2/FYN video clip (29 secs)
B.T. (article in Danish) says Mary was received very enthusiasically in Vollsmose amidst a lot of good humour. Mary had many to meet during the day-long packed program so she went along at a cracking pace. Mary visited the H.C. Andersen School which has 400 pupils and they sang a welcoming song for her and presented her with crowns for herself, Frederik and Christian. Mary was told that Vollsmose has 79 nationalities living in the area. At the end of the busy schedule Mary finally had a meal with the Jomaa family.

An anticipated visit to Vollsmose

The last time Mary, with Frederik, was in Vollsmose was in July 2004 during their summer tour of Denmark following their wedding. This visit to Vollsmose will be very different, but Mary's popularity in Vollsmose was cemented during this visit two years ago.

A heads up for tomorrow. The problems of immigrants and refugees is very complex worldwide and there is no doubt one royal visit will not solve it all, but it is good to shine a light where social problems are being tackled. Crown Princess Mary is visiting the Odense suburb of Vollsmose to highlight the positive aspects of life in an area with a history of high crime and social problems. Mary and Frederik have been to this area before: on the summer cruise around Denmark after their wedding in 2004, but this visit is to see how Vollsmose gets on in day-to-day ways. Mary has been to Odense on many other occasions too, most recently to the Flower Festival last week. The idea is Mary's visit should be on an ordinary working day. A full schedule of meetings and visits has been organised and many Vollsmose locals are at the ready for their day with Mary so they can show off the good aspects of life in their neighbourhood.


Little Fatima Abdol Hamid, left, is at the ready to curtsy and present a bouquet to Mary to welcome her to Vollsmose says B.T.

There is a history of high crime in Vollsmose and the locals are keen to show there is another side to life in the area to break down stereotyped views. Mary will be visiting a number of areas in Vollsmose and is lunching with a local family who are originally Palestinian. The Jomaa family, right, say they are proud and not at all nervous about hosting the Crown Princess. Jawaher Othman, the mother of the household, is used to cooking for many as she has cooked at her kids' local high school. Jawaher's husband Kalil Jomaa confirms his wife is a very good cook and that Crown Princess Mary should look forward to lunch at the Jomaa home. Aseem Jomaa has been in the spotlight before, when he collaborated as a member of his rap band with some in the Odense Symphony Orchestra to create the Symphony of Vollsmose.



Right, 41-year-old Somali refugee and mother of four, Leyla Haji Yusuf will show Mary around Vollsmose. Leyla works as a health and social worker.

After Odense Mayor Jan Boye welcomes Mary, she will be guided by local woman Leyla Haji Yusuf who will take Mary around Vollsmose. During the morning they will visit a local school, the H.C. Anderson School, a mother and baby health centre, a women's project for self-supporting independence through training and jobs (in this case hairdressing) and a reception at Vollsmose Church, which is known for its diversity of members. A late lunch with the Jomaa family will follow.

In this article in Fyens Stiftstidende (in Danish) various expert commentators are asked what it means to Vollsmose to have Crown Princess Mary visit. All agree it is an acknowledgement and recognition, or respect, for an area which is often associated with problems by the wider Danish community. Specifically it puts Vollsmose in a new light for other residents of Odense because Mary is making a special effort to go to this one suburb in Odense which has suffered because of its reputation. One of the experts says people might think, "What is cool to Mary about Vollsmose is also cool to us" because of her popularity. Mary's visit will focus attention on the good works of residents, employees and project staff who are making a difference in Vollsmose. Through Mary's visit focusing on the positive developments in Vollsmose and having it broadcast to the whole of Denmark, it is something new, says another expert, which will help break down social prejudice and show the people are decent and hardworking just like other Danes.

Odense Kommune the Odense Council's published program for Mary's visit (in Danish)
Odense Kommune press release (in Danish) about Leyla Haji Yusuf, the 41-year-old mother who will be hostess to Mary in Vollsmose. Leyla left war-torn Somalia and originally went to Italy, but later arrived in Denmark in 1997, where she has raised her four children aged between 3 and 21 and has also pursued her own education and community-oriented career.
Fyens Stiftstidende article (in Danish) about a group of mothers Mary will meet.

Video clip from TV FYN (just over 2 mins) showing the Jomaa family at home. And, yes! Mr Jomaa is right. His wife's cooking does look good!

Some photos of the last visit to Vollsmose by Frederik and Mary:



A little background:
Denmark's royal couple put a new flavor in tour a 2004 account in English of the last visit.
Frederik and Mary visit Vollsmose ghetto 2004 in English from The Copenhagen Post.
(With thanks to Muhler, TheoDK, Emilia and Jema)