LWID S3E7 | Beefing up the EU Military, Volunteering is Giving & Goodbye Snail Mail

Rearming defence forces is now an EU-wide focus to the tune of 6,000B DKK, volunteering is on the rise again in Denmark, and national mail delivery will change hands from PostNord to Dao in 2026. Golda continues at the helm this week, jointly with Kalpita to bring everyone bite sized news and upsized entertainment.

In this episode:

• 00:41 – 6,000 billion injection to EU defence
• 02:25 – PostNord to stop snail mail in 2026
• 10:55 – Volunteering is on the rise

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Chapters

• 0:41 Upping the European defence budget
• 2:25 Postnord stops letter delivery in 2026
• 10:55 40% of Danes are actively volunteering

Transcript

0:00

[MUSIC PLAYING] Hi, everyone. Welcome to a new episode of Last Week in Denmark. This is Kalpita, and I'm joined by the very sweet Golda. How are you, Golda? Hi, Kalpita. I am lovely. The sun is currently shining on my face, and it's been a really lovely Saturday. How are you? I'm good too. There's sunshine all over this week in the past few days, so that's been exciting. Although they say it's not going to last very long, so make hay while the sun shines, eh? Which brings me also to the topic that we're discussing today is the 6,000 million Danish krona to upgrade military capacities, which the European Union is planning to spend. What do you think about that? I feel like the tension is getting-- what do we say-- stronger? I know it's definitely because of the whole Russia, Ukraine, and everyone's just gearing up for potential World War III. So I don't know. I'm not in Denmark currently, but I feel-- I feel the tension rising. Yeah, it is a bit anxiety inducing all this war talk, and especially when you see the news, it's even more scary, and it gets scarier and scarier by the day. Having said that, I do think that there's potential in the EU coming together and uniting in its efforts to not only boost the military and the Air Force Navy at the same time, putting feet on the ground in terms of soldiers, and creating crisis preparedness, which is also what Denmark is stressing on. And we can't blame them. We can't blame them. But yeah, we're just sitting back and hoping for the best. But yeah, we'll see how that goes. Yeah, talking of hoping for the best, PostNord is not really giving us very big hopes. They have planned to not send letters from 2026, which makes me really, really sad because I really love writing letters and sending Christmas cards to family and friends all over the world. Have you tried PostNord for letters? I have. And I'm kind of shocked by reading this. Have you wondered how did this come about? What happened? Like, what is warranting this new move? From what I read, it's apparently something that was in the works for a while. And it's some postal law that has been adopted very recently. And that meant that PostNord was going to pull out from posting letters, which means they're only going to focus their efforts on sending packages in collaboration with GLS, which means now our only hope for sending letters is with Dao. That's the AO. Yeah, have you-- But I mean, to be honest, when I sent letters through PostNord, some of the people never received their letters, which was really shit. Can I just say, I think it's amazing that you still send letters? Like, this is so lovely to hear because I had this conversation with my friend some years ago about receiving letters and just seeing somebody's handwriting. I think it's so cute and I think it's so heartfelt. So I just love that you still do that. That's so cute. Yeah, and that's the whole idea, right? There's a certain value to something when someone writes to you. And if you're not able to send that across, no matter how digitized we get and how advanced we get as a country and as a citizen, I think it's a shame that you can't send a simple letter. No, I completely agree. And yeah, I'm not too familiar with Dao. I feel like I have used them at some point, but PostNord is just so familiar and-- Yeah. Yeah, I mean, they're not going anywhere. You have to order packages and they're going to deliver your packages. Although I spoke to one of my friends about this as well because she is also an avid letter writer, so to speak. And she said that it's not that PostNord or GLS are going to get any better because they're not posting letters. You always, with PostNord or GLS, have issues with them not delivering to your home address when you've actually paid for it. And the customer service is not that great. So I hope that not sending letters is helping them better their service. So I kind of just read here that letter volumes have plummeted and they're down 90% since 2000s. Guys, what is going on? Why are we not sending letters anymore? Like, this is actually breaking my heart. This is really breaking my heart. Yeah, it is sad. But then it's not-- Yeah, it's just, I suppose, change. And when things evolve and the world evolves and then apparently letters are just not going to exist anymore. Just like we don't have emails or what are those called, postcards and stuff like that. Yeah. Such a shame. I remember I took this really nice picture at the beach once and then my mom was like, why don't you make this into a postcard? And I really felt that. I thought that was such a great idea. But yeah, we are becoming more digitalized. And as a tech enthusiast, I guess I also have to embrace the fact that that means that things that we hold near and dear now become digital and it won't be the same anymore. But they'll probably last longer because sometimes when you keep those old letters, you can lose track of them. But still. Yeah. It's a new dawn. And we must embrace it. Yes, I'm just not ready for it yet. I don't know if I will ever be ready for it, to be honest. I love the nostalgia. I love to find a letter somewhere in the corner of your home and read what was written to you once upon a time. It's just-- Yeah. It's emotional. I feel you. This is quite emotional, actually, to think about. Yeah. It is. And one of the things that is also coming out of this is vulnerable citizens, like your old ones and blind citizens, they are going to be affected the most by this because they're not going to get-- or they don't know how they're going to receive their letters, whether it's from doctors or the government or the bank, which I think is very, very concerning. And I hope there are solutions to it, especially in their favor. It's one thing, it's nostalgia of letter sending. But I hope there's something in their favor that's going to put their stress at ease because that's important stuff right there. Yeah. I also think that this opens a new avenue for the government to step in. Because as you were saying, digital inclusion is something that we have to work hard at now that we are moving towards a digital future. And it opens up new-- I would say new avenues for government to make an impact among citizens. So if we're no longer sending physical letters, even from the municipality or banks, you would now need helpers or people to go to the elderly or people who have disabilities to help them to kind of hold them along as we transition into this new era. Yeah, that's a good point. There's been-- I'm digressing a little bit from Poshno and letters here. But I recently watched-- I think it was a news feature about how elderly and the vulnerable population in Denmark is being affected by the caretakers who are not very good at looking after because when they are not experts or they're not educated in taking care of the elderly. But they're also not doing a very good job of it either. So I hope it results-- oh, maybe Poshno and the situation becomes an addition to the situation where there's a serious thought going into how these citizens are looked after and how they are kept happy and informed. Yeah, one positive thing, though, is for people who are environmentalists, they will be very happy because obviously less paper is being used. So in that sense, we can say, OK, less clutter, less paper, which is a small positive. Yeah, there has to be a balance. So I hope letters make a comeback for all good reasons. It's just my little heart really is not willing to accept that letters are going out of fashion. That's just not cool. Yeah, I understand. But talking of vulnerable citizens, we have a 40% of population is now spending 18 hours in a month to volunteer. Have you volunteered, Golda? I have volunteered. I haven't volunteered as much as I used to, especially where I am now. But some months ago, I volunteered with an organization in Norway. And that was quite interesting. It got me back into a different headspace. It was an international development organization. And I was speaking on advancing health equity, especially in low and middle income countries. When I was in Denmark, I used to sometimes volunteer with food waste initiatives. That was quite interesting. I find these numbers to be quite good. I'm actually really happy to hear this. What were your thoughts when you first read this? To be honest, my first thought was, I'm quite sure most of this 40% are international because when you come to Denmark as an international, you are told that one of the ways to integrate yourself in the Danish society is to take up volunteering work. Although there's a difference because when you volunteer, you're doing something good for something. So it could be good for society, good for, I don't know, the world, the environment, whatever else. And there's another type of volunteering, which is basically you doing internships which are not paid for. And they're just called volunteering, which I think is a shame. But that aside, I did volunteer actually. I was part of a library. I'm into books. And we used to get a group of women. Funny, it's International Women's Day, Golda. Happy International Women's Day. How could we start without saying this? Yeah, damn. Oh dear. Happy International Women's Day for anyone listening. Eller Kvindernes kampdag As we would say in Danish. Yeah. But yeah, we used to get a lot of women in the library who wanted to learn how to speak English. And they in return taught me how to speak Danish. And they were women from all walks of life. There was someone who was a PhD researcher. There were women from Arabic countries who didn't speak other languages. But they were very keen to understand their children when they spoke around them. So they wanted to also be cool parents and be part of their kids' lives. And that really had an impact on me because it was incredibly inspiring to see all these women. Not that men were not allowed. It's just that women happened to take the opportunity. It was very, very inspiring to see these women making an effort to just learn a new language because they wanted that language to make their life a bit wholesome. Like the women wanted to be part of their children's lives. One of them wanted to be able to communicate with their office colleagues. And there was another one who was very, very keen to be able to fight with their partner in English because their partner was more eloquent in English than in Danish. And I thought that was really, really sweet. And what kinds of things motivates people? Yeah. I think it's very positive narrative to know that people are so open to volunteer their time freely. And also, I think it's so amazing to do cultural exchanges and language exchanges and whether it's just like whatever you can do with your time, especially in Denmark where it can be a bit hard to connect with people. Like Denmark has voted one of the hardest places to make friends. It's been really hard for internationals to get jobs. So these are spaces in which you can get to know other people, maybe in similar situations as you, or just in different walks of their journey in Denmark and Danes as well. So I actually just saw that the Nordic countries are known to have a high level of volunteering, especially compared to other countries around the world. So why do you think that is? Do you think that has to do with this social trust that we have in Scandinavia? I think social trust and also it would be a result of an advanced society that we are part of. There is so much that we tend to feel and experience because we live in a first world and a first world that's one that is inspiring and the world is following us in most aspects. And I think that makes us more responsible for other people. We feel responsible for other people and other causes, which is why I think people take up a lot of volunteering work as well, because you want to be able to contribute something which is bigger than yourself. And that's what motivates people, I think, in Denmark. Or Scandinavia, for that matter. Yeah, and when you speak about advanced society, I think when I used to say this, when everything works in your life, it's very hard for sometimes for you to find problems to solve. And sometimes we feel like people who are privileged don't use their privilege for anything. They're just like, my life is good and forget everybody else. But I don't actually think that's it. I think when you have your basic needs met from a socialist government structure, you have more time to actually pursue interest and you have more time to learn and explore. And then you can give value, not necessarily out of a place of desperation or survival, but out of abundance. So it's like, oh, we have, compared to other countries, we have work-life balance, which means that somebody can go to a book club or have a little garden or all these things that they do. And then eventually they also volunteer their time, because they're not necessarily constantly exhausted. What do you think? Do you feel like that's the same amongst the internationals? Yeah, absolutely. I think you're hitting the nail on his head. I think with internationals as well, it's one of the ways that internationals can make friends and find a community for themselves. It's also volunteering. It's also something where you actively pursue an interest. You actively pursue a cause that you feel most close to. And that is a great way of making your community. If you feel very strongly about sustainability or women's rights or whatever else it is, then you are finding people within that that share the same interest as you. And that's a very good way to get to know other people, to start making a community. I mean, when I came to Denmark, within six months, I joined a book club. And that's where I found a social circle. And we meet every month. And there's so much that you can gain out of making your own community, and especially through volunteering, because you're not only doing something good, but you're also getting something in return, which is beyond just satisfaction of doing something good. Yeah. And as you used the word community, I really love that. Because when you find a community, I feel like the volunteering no longer becomes like an obligation or something you have to do. But rather, it's like everyone around you. It's a norm, right? Everyone else is there for the same reasons. And you can make friends. And it's also fun. I remember-- was it not this Christmas, but the Christmas before, I was also there for African Christmas celebration in Copenhagen that they do. So there's this young lady named Mary, who organizes this African Christmas event. And we were all in the kitchen. And it's just a bunch of volunteers. And we were cutting up the food. And it was like African food. So it's like something that's like dear to us as well. And we're really excited, because we get to eat as well. But I just love that environment in this big kitchen in the boat that we rented. And we were just like cutting up food, listening to music, dancing, everything. And then everyone just like complimented us on the food. And it tastes so good. So we got to share a part of our culture, but also giving back. So it's an initiative to feed the homeless in Nørrebro. So it's African Christmas for the homeless. And they come in-- yeah, in the culture in Nørrebro. I don't know if the culture house-- I don't know if you've heard about that one. Yeah, so they came. And stuff like that just makes me really happy. Yeah, exactly. And that's the idea of volunteering as well, right? It's so incredible that we can do that. And we have the opportunity to give back at the same time getting something in return by volunteering, especially when it's something like what you just mentioned. Speaking of food, there was another topic I wanted to talk about, which I think is going to be good news for most internationals who have kids and kids who go to school in Denmark. There is a big school meal trial that's going to kick off. The government is investing 854 million Danish crowns in a national school meal pilot, which is from 2025 to 2028. And they're going to be testing different models. It's going to be free meals. There are going to be low-cost lunches in both public and private schools. Golda, you've been to school in Denmark. Did you get free meals or classes in school? Really, really good question. I don't remember. I don't remember. I don't know if my mom packed our lunch or we received. But I do remember a time, speaking of food, I do remember a time where Denmark used to support single-parent homes. So every Christmas, we would get this big box sent to our house and it would have different food items for Christmas. And this is something I vividly remember from my childhood, just opening up this box and then being able to eat traditional Danish food. But I don't know why I can't remember if we got food in school. Maybe I was too busy playing too much and all the play breaks. But I think this is an awesome idea. A lot of people assume that everyone in Denmark always has an abundance. I think the government does really support people in terms of basic needs. But there are some families that are struggling. And I think it would be good as well to help encourage families to eat more healthy as well. Because eating healthy sometimes can be a luxury, I say, as a nutritionist. Because food is available but not necessarily accessible to everyone. So if the government steps in and can give healthy lunches and reach kids in that way, that exposes kids to foods they may not be able to have at home. That's just a perspective I'm thinking about now. Yeah, that's interesting you say that. Because one of the things that they are also going to be doing is to try different types of nutritional needs of children. And the idea behind this trial is also to study the impact of healthy food on children, sorry, their growth and their cognitive abilities, and also how it impacts them in the socioeconomic aspect of things as they grow and become adults. And how the schooling is affecting them because of healthy food. So yeah, this is actually good because there's a huge-- so for those who don't know, I studied global health and nutrition. So I am very big interest in nutrition. And I think it's quite amazing because the trends within nutrition now is talking about the correlation between what we eat and our mental health. Many people say now that your real brain is actually in your gut. So to reach children early and see how that works in terms of their concentration and their performance in school and also their exposures, it could be interesting to, with all this data, collect and see, does their exposure to healthy school lunch help them as adults make healthier choices? Or is that override by whatever happens when they come home? But they spend so much time in school that I would almost argue that school has a bigger impact on childhood than what happens at home sometimes. Oh, yeah, absolutely. I completely agree with you on that because I think my school had a bigger influence on me than my parents or anyone else did in my life. My 15 years of going to school and also, like we say in Denmark, to Bern Hill or even Vogue a student for that matter had a bigger impact on me of what kind of person I become, how I think and how I perceive the world was all because of the school I went to and very little of the parents I had, really. I'm sure my therapist will tell me something different, but that's what I believe. Yeah, no, I can relate to that. I can definitely relate to that. I also spend a lot of extra time in school because I was in after school activities all the time. So, I mean, if I come home by six, you eat dinner and then you're on your way to bed. So, it's mostly in the weekends you spend time with your parents. So, school does have a huge influence. And I would love to read up on this. I look forward to reading the newsletter when it comes out to get some more details on this initiative. Absolutely. And there's a lot more that's going on in the newsletter this week. So, we will leave everyone to that. Happy reading and thank you for listening to us. And we'll see you again next week with other hosts. Yeah, bye. Bye, thank you.[Music]