Stronger together: We travelled to a Danish democracy festival to strengthen our activism

Oxfam Ireland supported two youth activists, Aimeé and Pierce, to travel to Denmark in June 2026. The journey was organised by Oxfam Denmark and we travelled from Copenhagen by bus and ferry to the island of Bornholm for Folkemødet, Denmark’s annual People’s Meeting Festival. Aimeé and Pierce had the opportunity to engage with Danish politicians, European Union representatives, and civil society organisations on issues of climate justice, democracy, and youth participation. 

Here is a personal reflection of Pierce and Aimeé’s experience:  

"Attending Folkemødet with Oxfam Ireland was an invaluable experience. Although I’ve engaged with climate action for a number of years and understood the inextricable political links between the climate crisis and many other global social injustices, I was, to be quite honest, politically disengaged beyond voting. I think this came from a frustration at the lack of change and array of failures by the current Irish government, and that while I did partake in all opportunities to vote, I felt it would not be enough to see any sort of meaningful change."

However, from our time on Bornholm and connecting with other young activists around Europe, my biggest takeaway is appreciating how important political engagement and representation are. Over many conversations with the other participants, I learned that only by speaking up collectively can things begin to shift. The right to vote, protest and organise safely is unjustly inaccessible to so many. Having been reminded of the democratic processes I so often take for granted, I feel a renewed obligation to use the voice and influence that I have in these spaces. Ultimately, representation and visibility can go beyond awareness raising, starting deeper conversations, refocusing attention and inspiring political action on critical issues, climate-related or otherwise." 

"I found the panel by Oxfam Denmark entitled “War Profiteers: supply chains, power and Gaza”, particularly powerful, driving home the reality of the war machine: from those designing such horrific weapons, through to the logistics giants shipping components around the world into conflict zones to be assembled and used to terrorise populations. However, since November 2024, Danish shipping giant Maersk was forced to give up its stops en route from the US to Israel thanks to dock workers in Mediterranean ports refusing to handle shipments containing materials supporting the atrocities in Gaza. This highlighted to me the leverage held by the workers on the ground in these supply chains and the power of organising."