Ministry of Foreign Affairs and UN Live spotlight Danish civilian support for Ukraine
At a time marked by Russia’s war, ordinary Danes and Ukrainians meet face to face—in their respective countries. Digital portals will help build connections across national borders.
From 8 to 16 September 2026, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in collaboration with Museum for the United Nations – UN Live, will open digital portals providing live connections from Aalborg and Copenhagen to the Ukrainian city of Mykolaiv. Through the portals, Danes and Ukrainians can meet, see and hear one another in real time, and talk about everyday life, hopes, resilience and life during Russia’s war in Ukraine. The meetings offer an opportunity to share personal experiences under very different circumstances.
A special opportunity in Copenhagen and Aalborg
On four afternoons, the portal will open its doors so that anyone interested can drop by and take part in a session. Each session will have a facilitator to guide the conversation, as well as specially invited guests with experience and knowledge of the topic. Everyone interested in the subject is welcome to attend.
Portal sessions overview
Leading Through Crisis: Women, Resilience, and Economic Reinvention
Partners: UNDP Ukraine, KVINFO
A celebration of women’s agency and leadership in business, especially during disruption. This session connects female entrepreneurs and investors from Ukraine and Denmark to share stories of resilience, adaptation, and growth. Together, they’ll explore how women support each other, sustain businesses under pressure, and shape stronger economic futures across borders.
Water resilience in Ukraine during wartime
Partner: Nefco - The Nordic Green Bank
Behind every functioning water service are people working to protect health, daily life and the future of their communities. Connecting participants in Mykolaiv and Copenhagen, this session will bring Ukrainian and Danish perspectives together to share practical experience, strengthen mutual learning and explore how long-term partnerships can support resilient water services during wartime and recovery.
Life After Service: Identity, Belonging, and Rebuilding Together
Partner: Mission East
How does identity evolve after miliary service? Danish veterans share long-term perspectives, while Ukrainian veterans discuss immediate reintegration challenges. This session fosters cross-border exchange on rehabilitation, community support, and rebuilding a sense of belonging, centering on connection and shared understanding.
Rebuilding Through Reskilling: Workforce Transformation for Ukraine’s Future
Partner: DanChurchAid
Reskilling is key to Ukraine’s recovery. This session explores how Denmark and Ukraine approach reskilling to address labor shortages, support reconstruction, and integrate vulnerable groups. Participants will share challenges, experiences, and opportunities, identifying common ground in navigating reskilling processes.
What Is Home? Memory, Loss, and Rebuilding in a Changed World
Partner: Danish Refugee Council
What does “home” mean when everything changes? This session creates a space for displaced families and Danish participants to reflect on home as memory, loss, and rebuilding. Through open dialogue, participants will explore how home is felt, redefined, and preserved, fostering connection and understanding across vastly different life circumstances.
Reclaiming the Plate: Food, Identity, and Resistance
Partner: World Food Programme
Food is memory, identity, and resistance. In Ukraine, dishes like borscht have become symbols of national pride. This session explores how food upholds and challenges culture, connecting communities and preserving identity in times of conflict. Participants will share culinary practices, stories, and the role of food in cultural resilience.
Building Under Pressure: Ethics, Collaboration, and Crisis Engineering
Partners: UNOPS, Architect Association
How do you build under pressure? This session connects Ukrainian engineers and Danish students to explore the realities of construction in crisis. Focused on a Mykolaiv nuclear fallout shelter project, participants will discuss technical demands, human dimensions, and how cross-border collaboration can foster resilient, responsible building practices.
Shared Paths - Danish and Ukrainian Perspectives on Veteran Reintegration
Partners: Danish Industries (DI), DTDA
As Ukrainian veterans return from the front, their reintegration into civilian life and meaningful employment is urgent. This session explores how Denmark’s experience with veteran support can inform inclusive pathways for Ukrainian veterans. Through dialogue and collaboration, participants will examine how trust, institutional partnerships, and community engagement can strengthen employment opportunities and mental wellbeing, fostering resilience for veterans and their communities.
Skills for Tomorrow: Reskilling for Recovery and New Opportunities
Partner: UNDP
The future of work is changing. This session brings together youth from Ukraine and Denmark to explore reskilling, lifelong learning, and rebuilding local economies. Participants will share experiences on vocational education, new career pathways, and how community support can create opportunities for marginalized groups, from veterans to rural youth.
Songs That Carry Us: Melodies, Memories, and Defiance
Partners: DCI
Songs carry our stories, values, and belonging. In times of war, they can be contested and fought for. This session invites participants to share songs from their cultures - lullabies, birthday tunes, or farewells - and discuss why these songs matter. Stop by for a song, and maybe learn a bit of Ukrainian or Danish along the way!
Whose Story Is Told? Ethics, Power, and Visual Narratives from War Zones
Partners: IMS
Whose story is told in war, and how can it be done ethically? Using a Mykolaiv photo exhibit as a case study, this session explores power dynamics, responsibilities, and the long-term impact of visual storytelling. Participants will discuss how local fixers, photographers, and media outlets can collaborate for ethical representation.
Community as a Lifeline: Youth, Activism, and Safe Spaces
Partners: DCI, Danish Youth House Mykolaiv
Community is a lifeline, especially for youth. This session explores how to create a space for young people - allowing for creativity, activism, and safe spaces. Participants will discuss how community helps process the world, build connections, and sustain hope, even with limited influence over one’s circumstances.
Safe to Grow: the People and Places that Shape Us
Partner: SOS Children's Villages
Young people may grow up in very different places and circumstances, but many of the things that matter to them are universal: having someone to trust, feeling that you belong, being heard, try – and make mistakes, thriving and imagining a future. Safe to Grow brings together young people from Denmark and Ukraine to explore what they have in common – and what they can learn from each other. Through personal stories, professional perspectives and unexpected voices, the session explores the relationships, experiences and communities that make young people feel safe enough to be themselves, build human bonds and believe in their futures.
Crafting Connection: Traditions, Techniques, and Shared Creation
Partner(s): Action Aid
Building on the previous session, this open format invites craft practitioners to share and create together, deepening the connection between Danish and Ukrainian traditions and stories.
Youth, Trust, and Democracy: Building Shared Values Across Borders
Partner: Aalborg Kommune
This conversation explores how democratic values come to life in school environments across Mykolaiv and Aalborg – shaping everything from the dynamics of the physical classroom to the digital spaces where students engage, question, and connect every day. Together, students will reflect on how schools can create inclusive spaces where students feel heard, respected, and empowered to share their perspectives. The session highlights the classroom as a key arena for dialogue and participation.
Digital Communities and Youth Culture
Partners: Aalborg University, NUoS - Black Sea University
Gaming and food culture bridge borders. This session connects students from Mykolaiv and Aalborg to share their passions, ideas, and digital spaces. Through informal dialogue, they’ll discover common ground, exchange perspectives, and reflect on being young in a rapidly changing world.
Healing After War: Peer Support, Trauma, and Mental Wellbeing
Partner: DIGNITY
Mental health is central to veteran reintegration. This session creates a space for veterans to share experiences, reduce stigma, and explore what makes support accessible and trustworthy. Focused on peer connection and trauma-informed approaches, participants will discuss how community-based support strengthens wellbeing.
Water as Life: Culture, Crisis, and Collaborative Solutions
Partner: Caritas
Water sustains life, tradition, and identity. This session brings together experts and community leaders from Denmark and Ukraine to discuss water’s role in livelihoods, faith, and survival. Participants will share stories of pollution, war, and resilience, and explore collaborative efforts to restore water systems and knowledge across borders.
Craft Across Borders
Partner: DCA
Participants in Aalborg and Mykolaiv will connect across borders through the shared language of threads and embroidery across cultures. During this creative masterclass with Følsomt Broderi, participants will learn basic embroidery techniques and create their own small pattern or handmade piece.
Youth and Re-imagining the Future Through Youth-Led Initiatives
Partner: Danish and Ukrainian Red Cross
Danish Red Cross supports the strengthening of youth engagement through methodologies in Ukraine that have been developed and adapted from the Danish context. In Ukraine, these approaches have been further evolved in response to frontline realities and community needs, particularly in regions affected by displacement and ongoing crisis.
This session aims to explore how young people can serve as a foundational force in community development and social resilience. It brings together youth participants from Denmark and Ukraine to exchange experiences, tools, and methodologies for rebuilding and strengthening communities.