On Wednesday, Crown Princess Mary spent the day in Aarhus to attend several events as patron of European Volunteer Capital Aarhus 2018 and patron of the 2019 Cultural Year between Denmark and South Korea.
She first visited Frivillighuset Trøjborg where associations and clubs can hold meetings for free and use the rooms for their activities. The aim of the municipality of Trøjborg is to promote the voluntary efforts in Aarhus. Crown Princess Mary attended a meeting of the ‘Play at Care Home’ initiative. The initiative allows parents on maternity leave and their babies to meet with care home residents on a weekly basis. Ten care homes are involved with the initiative in Aarhus.
Afterwards, Crown Princess Mary visited another project run by volunteers. The “Sager der Samler” initiative is about citizens creating “an environment where we support each other in creating change through our daily lives.” They call themselves “everyday activists”. During the visit, Crown Princess Mary learned more about several projects that were created by the citizens including a practice course for people with learning disabilities who are looking for a job and a café with surplus food in order to avoid food waste.
In the evening, Crown Princess Mary attended her final event of the day as Patron of the 2019 Cultural Year between Denmark and South Korea. The Danish Court announced before her visit that the Crown Princess had accepted to become patron of this cultural year which celebrates the 60th anniversary of the diplomatic relations between Denmark and South Korea. The cultural year was officially launched at Kunsthal Aarhus, a contemporary art centre. Upon her arrival, Crown Princess Mary was welcomed by the administrative director, Iben Mosbæk and artistic director, Jacob Fabricius. During the visit, she took part in a tour of the exhibition “Water from the Ganges River in the Cup Made with Newspaper from Congo” which features works by Kim Beom, a South Korean artist.
