Ten year jubilee of projekt UDENFOR
11-02-2008

On December 6th 2007 Project UDENFOR celebrated its ten year jubilee i Gallery Galschiøt in Odense.

During the ten years the project has existed it has extended its efforts: starting with the active practical work of two employees for people living on the street, unable or unwilling to receive aid, it has reached its current status as a known and established NGO with 14 paid employees, 30 volunteers and a range of activities in many regions of Denmark. We have three running projects, and we have an educational- and information co-worker. We combine directly social and street-based social health related work with research, communication and participation in international co-operation.

We were especially happy to be able to welcome our international network and our co-operational relations to the conference. Policy Officer in FEANTSA, Liz Gosme, was one of the key-note speakers. She presented a range of data on homelessness and its causes from various countries in Europe and, among other things, emphasised the need for the exchange of knowledge and for the procurement of evidence-based knowledge on the subject of homelessness. She encouraged the participants to be inspired by FEANTSA's knowledge of efforts across countries, which can prove useful in anticipating and preventing a local development. At the conference we were also able welcome Luigi Leonori who is the President of SMES-Europe. Together with Preben Brandt he directed the debate on 'Migration: exclusion and homelessness. A cross-European Challenge.'

In the very spirit of projekt UDENFOR the conference emphasised that which is different, at odds, vulnerable or at risk. This went for the subject of homelessness, of course, but also for the that of housing and in relation to integration, migration and health. The many professional contributions of the day were tied together by, and took inspiration from, the world of art. It was art expressed in different ways. There were four photo exhibitions; about homeless people and their dogs, street children in Mexico, the abstract human existence in space and a portrayal of the sleeping places of homeless women. There was a pep talk from an actor about immersion and presence in conversations. And finally, there was a theatre performance in which young actors with different ethnic backgrounds presented a range of different dilemmas and scenarios, all of which provoked and moved us in their own way. The framework of the conference, Jens Galschiøt's Gallery in Odense, was in itself an emotional day journey through provocative workshops filled with experiences, from which sculptures chastising society were witnesses to the interesting contributions of the conference. Galschiøt's scupltures  can be seen at www.aidoh.dk

In order to stress projekt UDENFOR's national commitment, we chose to profile projekt UDENFOR on selected locations around Denmark in connection with the jubilee conference:

•      in Esbjerg with instruction by students in the inter-professional work with addicts
•      in Kolding with instruction by support- and contact persons for citizens at risk
•      in Århus with The Mobile Café, which distributed food to the homeless people
•      in Copenhagen with instruction to volunteers in relational work

projekt UDENFOR wishes to convey their thanks to everyone attending our ten year jubilee celebrations. Thank you for the many good discussions and shared reflections. And thank you for the numerous kind responses expressing satisfaction after the conference.