RØDE KORS

Participants, volunteers, experts and collaborators have all been at the table as the board of Red Cross Copenhagen shaped the direction for the upcoming years’ social initiatives. The result is an ambition that guides the way forward, and a document outlining goals and methods, that will make it possible to acheive the aim of helping as many people as possible.

– The ambition describes what we, as an organization, want to achieve and we operate. It serves as our compass for the upcoming years’ social initiatives, says the chairman of the board Mathias Mølsted Andersen, continuing:

– The new ambition builds upon our currrent strenghts and at the same places a particular emphasis on the direction we aim to work.

FOCUS ON READINESS

Our role as an emergency response organisation takes the center stage in the new ambition, where we state our readiness to act where we see local needs.

– The Red Cross must focus more on being an emergency response organisation, and here in Copenhagen, we strive to implement initiatives that address the needs in our local community. In recent years we have demonstrated that we are a strong collaborator in response to the Covid-19 pandemic, the influx of refugees from Ukraine, and the tragic incident at Fields. With the ambition, we aim to continue being able to step in when a need arises, Mathias states.

THREE FOCUS AREAS FOR OUR INITIATIVES

In the new social ambition we have chosen to focus particually on three areas:

• Expanding networks
• Providing support for mental vulnerability 
• Helping with life transitions 

All our current intitiatives align with the three focus areas, and future activities will also support the goals we have set to provide help in these three categories, the chairman explains.

You can read more about the focus areas here (Danish).

DIVERSITY AND PARTICIPATION TO PLAY A GREATER ROLE

Accompanying the relativley short ambition statement is a more extensive document detailing Red Cross Copenhagen’s values, methods, and objevtives. Unlike the ambition, this document is meant to be updated continuously as we gain new experiences.

– It is botha compilation of the principles underlying the entire Red Cross movement and specific objectives for our local organization, Mathias explains, continuing: 

– As something new, we have chosen to particularly  focus on our systematic efforts to involve our participants in the organization. Participants should be heard both in the day-to-day operations and in the development of new activities. We also aim to improve our support for a diverse organization that can reflect the local community we are a part of and embrace more individuals in our community.