WELCOME TO MY WEBSITE!
Following my retirement at the end of 2016, I have been working on setting up a website, where I can continue to communicate with friends and col-leagues around the world. Now I am ready to launch it.
FOR FRIENDS AND COLLEAGUES
My retirement started on January 1st 2017, after having been privileged to work for more than 40 years with three organizations I really admire. From 1975 to 2002, I held different positions with the Danish Association for International Cooperation (in Danish called Mellemfolkeligt Samvirke). Then I moved to the UN from 2003 to 2011, first as Resident Coordinator in Botswana and later as Director of the UNDP Oslo Governance Centre in Oslo. Finally I was offered the opportunity to be the first Director of the Danish Institute for Parties and Democracy (DIPD) from 2011 to the end of 2016.
While I am looking forward to not any longer being responsible for all of the administrative chores that are necessary when you head an organization, I certainly do look forward to continue the dialogue with friends and colleagues around the world on many of the issues I believe are critically important for all of us as individuals, as well as being citizens of the planet.
I emphasize friends and colleagues as my key audience, because this is what I think I can manage to start with. You should not expect a new posting on a daily basis, and you should not expect all of the postings to offer new knowledge on development and democracy. However, I certainly hope I can offer some useful information and perspectives. If this is not the case, you should let me know!
PLEASE BE PATIENT
To start with, you will not find lots of articles in the various sections, but rather a lot of headings of articles to come. Actually, I will take my time to populate the three sections – News, Dialogue and Communication – I have decided to organize the website around.
If you have ideas for issues that should be covered, or if you have suggestions for events, books, articles, organizations, people, etc., you should not hesitate to get in touch with me.
I have not set up detailed guidelines for what I would like to present on the website – or what I definitely do not want to publish. As friends and col-leagues will know, I find it important that we can discuss our differences of opinion in a respectful tone, recognizing that diversity is more often a strength than a weakness. I will do my best to deliver on that.
Welcome!