Today, Princess Marie attended Folkekirkens Nødhjælp’s Christmas reception in Copenhagen. Folkekirkens Nødhjælp organizes each year a reception to thank every partner of the Fondation. Princess Marie is Patron of DanChurchAid since 2011 and has attended the reception every year except in 2015.
Secretary-General Birgitte Qvist-Sørensen made the welcome speech and gave an insight into the Folkekirkens Nødhjælp’s work. Afterward, the audience had the opportunity to hear Annette Heick’s recalling of her humanitarian trip to Malawi as Ambassador with her husband, the famous television cook Jesper Vollmer, and their two sons Eliot and Storm. There they visited families who have received help via Give a goat project.
The Give A Goat project is a very touching project where Danes can buy gifts such a school bench, a goat or a solar lamp. After they bought it, they receive a voucher or a gift card and the physical gift is sent to a poor family who needs the gift. In the case of the goat, once the goat has babies, the first baby is given to another poor family so the initial gift actually helps more than one family. You learn more about the project here.
On the occasion of the 100th anniversary of Nelson Mandela’s birth, the Papaya choir performed South African songs. The choir was introduced by former Folkekirkens Nødhjælp Secretary-General, Christian Balslev-Olesen, with words about the legacy of Mandela.
She also wore her Elise Gug black jacket. (You can see a photo of Marie’s departing the event with the jacket on here) Marie wore this jacket only once in public, it was in 2012 for Christmas at Mogeltonder.
Each year, candles are lit in honor of those who lost their lives because of HIV. This event was created in 1994 by the Positive Group. The Positive Group offers support for people infected by HIV.
As Patron, Marie also received a very special donation from MAC. MAC’s campaign Viva Glam Lipstick raised 802000DKK (=$121,627) The campaign was created by the MAC Aids Fund in 1994: “Created in 1994, the passionate red VIVA GLAM Lipstick raised money and awareness for HIV/AIDS at a time when the pandemic was dramatically affecting fashion communities in particular as well as the wider world. Then and today, an unprecedented 100% of the purchase price of any VIVA GLAM product goes toward the M·A·C AIDS Fund “
Princess Marie is Patron of AIDS-Fondet since December 1st, 2012. She attends a number of events with AIDS-Fondet each year, including the annual AIDS-Fondet’s Christmas concert. However, she didn’t attend this year’s concert as she spent last weekend at Schackenborg Castle with Prince Joachim and their four children and family friends including Britt and Oskar Siesbye.
Princess Marie wore a new Baum und Pferdgarten coat (with thanks to Cecile). The ‘Damara’ coat “features a double-breasted silhouette with notched lapels and front flap pockets.”
Princess Marie debuted new trousers and after looking for them for several hours, I believe they are from Peserico, Marie’s new favorite Italian brand! They are the Tailored Cropped trousers with silk inserts and they are sold out.
Princess Marie paired the outfit with a black turtleneck and the ufo boots she debuted at the DEMA event in October. She also wore them on November 11th in France. So far, I haven’t manage to find them.
We’ll next see Marie on Tuesday when she’ll attend DanChuchAid’s Christmas festivities as Patron.
Today, Princess Marie visited the European School’s new building in Copenhagen.
The School was created in 2014 and they moved into the new building at Carlsberg Byen in October. Princess Marie works closely with the school since 2014 and she was already the one who officially opened the school back then. But back in 2014, there were only four classes and the school was in a rented building. Now the school has its own building with more classes and it is the first public international school in Denmark. About the school’s admission system, Copenhagen Municipality stated that: “Everyone can apply for admission to the school, which is without parental payment. There are a primary school, middle school, schooling, and high school. There is no waiting list or payment for admission. The places are divided according to a number of criteria, where among other things EU workers’ children and foreigners residing in Denmark to work are prioritized, but the school is also for local children. “
The school aims to “build bridges between cultures – not least through the knowledge of foreign languages. Besides high academic standards, we attach great importance to developing our pupil’s social competencies. Curiosity, respect, collaboration and empathy are central values in the daily life of our multicultural school.” The school is a division of the internationally renowned Sankt Annæ Gymnasium (SAG), with a shared board and principal to ensure that it is solidly anchored in the Danish educational system. The school now has 15 classes divided into two languages sections, English and Danish. In August 2019, eight new classes are scheduled to open: two new kindergarten classes, two new “Secondary 5” classes, and four new classes in the new French language section.
The new school building has been constructed by BAM Denmark in cooperation with Vilhelm Lauritzen Architects, Nord Architects and the consulting engineers EKJ. It has “seven floors, including two underground levels, with a total area of 14,000 sqm. The building is divided into a primary and secondary education and will accommodate 1,100 students. It includes teaching and practice rooms, an auditorium, a sports hall, and other facilities. ” Here are photos of the stairs in the school:
Princess Marie collaborates with European School Copenhagen to help strengthen the knowledge of the school’s educational programs and other activities, as well as participate in special events and activities, both nationally and internationally. It made sense for Princess Marie to collaborate with the school as she had an international schooling herself. Indeed, she studied in Switzerland before studying for four years in the USA. Princess Marie is also working with the SDU (the University of South Denmark) on programs welcoming international students.
When Princess Marie arrived into the building, she was greeted by children waving flags and she posed with them for a few photos. Princess Marie also made a speech before cutting the ribbon in order to officially inaugurate the new school building.“I am delighted for the students, parents, and staff, that you now have your own school here in Carlsberg City,” she said During the ceremony, children sang ‘We Are The World’ by Michael Jackson.
After the ceremony, Princess Marie met two young students who showed her a scientific experiment which led to Marie asking if she should wear a helmet for protection during the experiment.
You can see a video here. It looks like this event was a lot of fun for everyone involved.
For this event, Princess Marie wore a black knit turtleneck with a new Baum und Pferdgarten skirt.
She paired the outfit with recycled accessories: her Zara navy suede booties , first worn in January, and the Tara Jarmon Flore bag she debuted last June in Bornholm.
I believe her gold hoop earrings are new but I haven’t seen any good enough photos to identify them. She also wore a black long coat but there aren’t any good photos of it either so far.
We’ll next see Princess Marie on Tuesday when she’ll attend DanChurchAid’s Christmas festivities as Patron.
This weekend, Prince Joachim and Princess Marie were in Braine, France to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the end of the First World War.
During the First World War, Denmark was neutral but 35000 Danish soldiers at the border between Denmark and Germany fought for the German army. Indeed, Southern Jutland was part of the German Empire at the time. Southern Jutland was reunited with Denmark in 1920.
One of the Southern Jutland cities, Haderslev, is twinned with the French city of Braine where the only Danish Cemetery in France is located. It was officially reopened by Prince Joachim back in June 2013 and 79 fallen soldiers are buried there. Considering Prince Joachim and Princess Marie both lived in Southern Jutland for years and that Marie is French, it made sense that they were the ones representing the Danish royal family at these ceremonies.
On Saturday evening, they were welcomed by Braine’s mayor François Rampelberg before attending a friendship dinner. They also attended a concert of the Slesvigske Musikkorps at Saint-Yved Church. This concert was a gift from Haderslev to Braine.
Prince Joachim said: “I am pleased that so many participants from Sønderjylland have found their way to Braine to mark this important day. It’s been five years since I was here to reopen the Danish cemetery with fallen Danish soldiers from South Jutland, and now I’m happy to return and mark the 100th anniversary of the end of World War I. “
On Sunday morning, Prince Joachim and Princess Marie attended a church service and a ceremony at the Danish Cemetery where Joachim made a speech in French. You can listen to his speech here.
For this weekend of commemoration, Marie wore two fully recycled outfit. On Saturday, she wore her Azzato coat, paired with her Jimmy Choo pumps and her Bottega Veneta clutch. On Sunday, she carried the same Bottega Veneta clutch with a ufo coat that dates back to 2008.
Today, Princess Marie was in Glasgow, Scotland to attend the Scottish Autism 50th Anniversary Conference as Patron of the Danish Association for Autism.
Scottish Autism was established in 1968 by a group of parents and they are now the largest provider of autism-specific services in Scotland and a leading authority and advocate for good autism practice. Scottish Autism aims to “help those diagnosed with autism to lead full and enriched lives and become valuable members of the community they live in. We also seek to share our knowledge and expertise with parents, carers and other professionals in order to support the development of skills and strategies needed to provide the best care and support for autistic people. Building partnerships locally, nationally and internally provides us with the exciting opportunity to learn and share our knowledge of good autism practice with other countries. “
Scottish Autism’s Deputy CEO Charlene Tait is a member of the Council of Administration for Autism-Europe which is an association gathering almost 90 national and regional organizations advocating for the rights of autistic people from 30 European countries. Autism affects an estimated 50,000 people in Scotland or 1 in 100 people. In Denmark there are approximatively 70,000 people diagnosed with autism, it is more than 1 in 100.
Scottish Autism offers a wide range of support services for people with autism in Scotland: “We provide a wide range of flexible and innovative support services for children and adults across Scotland, each with a focus on improving quality of life. Central to this is recognizing that each person has a unique set of needs. We create personalized support plans which are based on an individual’s own strengths and motivations and on achieving outcomes which are meaningful to them.”
These support services include children services such as outreach support, respite, and short breaks services and education service to “take the time to build up a deep understanding of each young person, taking into account their processing and thinking style in order to maximize their learning potential. Our dedicated team of practitioners receives regular autism specific training and they are equipped with the knowledge and skills to enable each child and young person to have positive life experiences.”
But the association also focuses on support for adults such as supported living services which aim to help developing independence but also transition support services that aim “to assess an individual’s needs and build the skills and strategies required to enable them to move on to the most appropriate, sustainable and longer-term setting.”
Another important part of Scottish Autism’s support services is dedicated to the families in order to help them understand autism better and to help them whenever they need it but also to the professionals. Indeed the association has an advice line as well as a toolbox and training service available.
In order to celebrate their 50th anniversary, Scottish Autism organized several events all year with the big focus being this international two-day conference “Innovation in Autism Practice: The Future is Calling”.
The program of the conference was influenced by “a contemporary view that embraces autism as a developmental difference and focuses on a capacity view of the individual”. Scottish Autism also sponsored The Participatory Autism Research Collective (PARC) to host an Autism Fringe which included workshops, discussions and information sharing.
Princess Marie, as Patron of the Danish Association for Autism, made the opening speech after the welcoming speech by Charlene Tait. Sadly, the Court hasn’t updated Princess Marie’s speech yet but I’ll update the post as soon as they do. We do know she talked about the value of sharing knowledge and experience as well as the importance of working together to improve the lives of autistic people.
A passionate advocate for greater support & rights for autistic people, HRH Princess Marie is patron of Autism Denmark.
We are honoured to have HRH Princess Marie opening our conference & later meeting with Iceberg Film Productions – a group of autistic SA film makers #SAconf18pic.twitter.com/Q7efKS9oAP
After Princess Marie’s speech, Charlene Tait made a keynote speech called ‘The Future is Calling’.
#SAConf18@CharleneTait_SA talking about the negative language/imagery/narratives used when talking about autism "the things we say about people come true"…"the narrative is often deficit led"
Great intro to #SAConf18 @CharleneTait_SA “extraordinarily simple – if we want to know what autistic people want, we ask them”. Also reminded us that @MMCHealthPsy saw people not as a collection of challenges, -don’t try to change them. pic.twitter.com/dJb83D3hqx
The second keynote speech was held by Professor Roy Richard Grinker from the George Washington University called ‘Autism and the Disappearing Stigma of Mental Illness.’
Stigma is not a product of ignorance but of cultural social constructs of what is ‘the ideal person’. Well said Prof Rob Roy Grinker @scottishautism#SAConf18 What matters is not the word but the social/cultural implications of the word – autism.
Here’s a very important quote from Ruth Moyse’s seminar:
#SAConf18@mum2aspergirl : girls are capable of telling their stories but people don't think the girls' stories are as valuable or as valid as the stories of those around them
About Princess Marie attending the conference, Charlene Tait said: “We had the pleasure of meeting with Princess Marie at last year’s ‘Meeting of Minds’ autism event in Copenhagen to discuss a number of areas where Scotland and Denmark are working together in close collaboration. She is a real champion of the autism community and has been a great supporter of the joint working going on between ourselves and Autism Denmark. We look forward to welcoming her to Scotland and to hearing her speak at this year’s conference.”
Princess Marie indeed attended the Meeting of Minds conference last year in Copenhagen and I believe she will attend this year’s Meeting of Minds conference on November 29th although this wasn’t confirmed by the Court yet. This year’s theme is ‘Autism in Doubt’. According to the Danish Association for Autism’s website, some of the topics that will be discussed at the conference are :
“Co-occurring mental disorder”
“You don´t look autistic!”
“What is Autism?”
“Sex differences in boys and girls with ASD: Diagnostic criteria, stress, anxiety, and depression”
“Aging and being autistic: Lessons (not) learned.”
After the keynote speeches at the Scottish Autism Conference, seminars started while Princess Marie left the Grand Central Hotel where the conference was held to go to the Kelvingrove Art Gallery & Museum along with Deputy CEO Charlene Tait. The museum is part of an initiative along with the other eight Glasgow museums to become more autism aware. This year they launched a new programme of early openings, autism-friendly workshops, and resources. In 2017, three of those museums already made improvements and now have trained Autism Champions to raise staff awareness, visual storyboards and pre-visit information to help plan the visit and sensory kits that can be borrowed.
At the Museum, Princess Marie met with students from the Iceberg Productions including Jason Donaldson, Daniel Page, Lee Roibrown, Emma Stanley and John Sapseed. According to Scottish Autism’s press release: “Iceberg Productions is a group of young autistic film-makers which is based at Blue Central, one of Scottish Autism’s Day Services. This project is led by John Innes and Ian Noble of the Untold Motion Picture Company. Ian and John have considerable experience in film-making, photography and sound recording and work closely with Scottish Autism, running a number of film-making taster courses for the individuals supported by the charity. The aspiration is to enable autistic individuals who are interested in film-making to be part of an in-house production company.”
One of the students, Jason, was able to interview Princess Marie and he then took a selfie with her which was shared on his school’s twitter account. Jason is a student at the New Struan School which is a day and residential school for students between 5 and 19 years old. Their vision is “to enable our pupils to become included, confident learners in the community. We know that young people with autism can be successful learners and we strive to provide the structured and supportive environment which enables them to reach their full potential. ”
When asked by Jason what was the best thing about being a Princess, Marie said : “The best thing is to be out for a day like this and meet people like those I’ve met here today in Scotland.”
The school even has a rabbit named Freddie and he has his own twitter account! He even congratulated Jason for his meeting with Princess Marie and said that the class had been checking Twitter all day to see if there was any photo of Jason! Jason said Marie was lovely and it looks like it was an amazing moment for everyone involved!
Princess Marie and the students posed for a photo in front of their taxis at the end of the event and Glasgow Taxis tweeted that they were honored to be transporting Marie today.
Honoured to be transporting HRH Princess Marie of Denmark today, who is visiting Glasgow to speak at Scottish Autism’s international 50th Anniversary conference. A passionate advocate for greater support and rights for autistic people, HRH is patron of Autism Denmark. #SAconf18pic.twitter.com/3YFLWX3hTJ
You can see a video of Marie’s day in Glasgow here.
In the evening, Princess Marie attended the evening dinner at the Grand Central Hotel which is the Hotel where she stayed. Sadly, there is only one photo so far. I believe Marie wore a new dress but I’m not sure.
In their report about the day, the Danish Association for Autism said: “The Autism National Association expresses its sincere thanks to HKH Princess Marie for the great involvement in the autism area, both nationally and internationally – and for the amazing work of the protector and in the meeting with autistic people and their families. “
For this day in Scotland, Princess Marie wore a fully recycled outfit. She chose to wear a Giorgio Armani double-breasted that she first wore in 2014 and black trousers.
She paired the outfit with her Etui Bags grey clutch and ufo pumps from 2010. In one of the photos, we can see Marie carrying a new purple tote bag but I don’t have any ID for it yet.
She wore the same outfit except for the trousers when she debuted the jacket in 2014 at an event to celebrate the 60th Anniversary of the Epilepsy Children Hospital of Dianalund.
We’ll next see Princess Marie with Prince Joachim this weekend in Braine, France where they’ll commemorate the end of the First World War.
