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1. Intercultural awareness

2. Young people's rights

3. Key initiatives to safeguard democracy and prevent radicalisation leading to violent extremism

Intercultural awareness

In the Finance Bill for 2025, the government has maintained support for inclusive culture and youth participation. The culture pass scheme continues with a dedicated annual budget for 2025–2026. The 2025 budget also earmarks new funds for initiatives promoting diversity in cultural institutions and outreach projects targeting marginalised youth.

The national “Youth-to-Youth Dialogue against Antisemitism and Intolerance” programme, launched in 2024 under the Danish Immigration Service (Udlændingestyrelsen), supports young people as dialogue creators who facilitate discussions about identity, community, and prejudice in schools and youth institutions. The initiative builds on the National Action Plan against Antisemitism (2022) and aims to reduce intolerance and foster respect across cultural and religious differences.

Danish Youth Council

For more information about the Danish Youth Council, see section 5.3, ‘Youth presentation bodies’.

The Danish Youth Councils (DUF) programme Dialogue Ambassadors teaches young people how to express their own opinions and listen to and respect other people’s opinions. The ambassadors advance intercultural awareness and overcome prejudices.

The programme targets young people from Denmark, Egypt, Tunisia and Jordan. The programme has been externally evaluated by Als Research. Among other things, the report concludes that the programme strengthens the cooperation between groups of young people with different social, political, and religious backgrounds and that the programme decreases the level of conflict.

DUF has produced a dialogue handbook in Danish and English.

Furthermore, the very objective of non-formal general education (folkeoplysning) is to advance democratic understanding and active citizenship. Via the Act on Non-formal General Adult Education (folkeoplysningsloven, LBK nr 1115 af 31/08/2018), it is possible to receive funding for projects. See section 2.1.

Young people's rights

In May 2021, the government and a political majority presented the reform ‘Children First’. The reform allocates DKK 2 billion in the years 2022-2025 and DKK 734 million per year when fully implemented. Its purpose was to strengthen the rights of children and young people in vulnerable positions, improve stability for those placed in out-of-home care, and ensure smoother transitions to adult life. A key element of the reform was the drafting of a new comprehensive Child’s Act (Barnets lov, LBK nr 282 af 17/03/2025).

The Child’s Act (Barnets Lov) was adopted by the Danish Parliament in 2023 and entered into force in January 2024. The Act consolidates and replaces several previous pieces of child welfare legislation and establishes a unified framework for all children and young people in need of support – regardless of whether this is due to social problems, disability, or other challenges.

Under the new Act, children have been granted stronger legal rights, including party status from the age of 10, giving them the right to appeal decisions, have a spokesperson or support person, and be heard in all matters affecting their lives. The law also emphasises early intervention, coherence in support efforts, and the primacy of the child’s perspective in all casework.

The Act aims to ensure that every child and young person in Denmark experiences safety, stability, and inclusion – and that those placed outside the home receive continuous support and guidance into adulthood, enabling them to complete education and live independent lives.

As of 2025, the main political focus has shifted from the legislative phase to implementation. Municipalities are now working to operationalise the Act’s principles in practice. 

See more in section 4.8.

Beyond the Children First reform and the adoption of the Child’s Act (Barnets Lov), a range of national actors and organisations work to safeguard and promote young people’s rights in Denmark.

The Danish Government continues to prioritise efforts against honour-based violence and abuse (HBV/A) through funding in the annual Finance Acts. The National Centre Countering Honour-based violence (MÆRK) is Denmark’s national coordinating authority responsible for preventing and addressing honour-based violence and abuse. The centre collects and disseminates knowledge, develops interventions, strengthens the capacity of professionals, provides guidance to municipalities, civil society and professionals, and ensures coherent, evidence-informed efforts across sectors. MÆRK is situated within the Danish Agency for International Recruitment and Integration (SIRI) under the Ministry of Immigration and Integration. 

The Danish Authority of Social Services and Housing (Social- og Boligstyrelsen) informs young people about their rights when placed in foster care or residential institutions. It has produced articles and films explaining key rights such as participation, privacy, family life, and complaint procedures, often in collaboration with the National Council for Children (Børnerådet).

The Children’s Welfare organisation (Børns vilkår) operates the national helpline Children’s Phone (BørneTelefonen), offering free and confidential counselling via phone, chat, or SMS. The organisation also manages projects supporting children in complaint cases and contributes to national research on the inclusion of marginalised children.

The Children’s Portal (Børneportalen) run by the National Council for Children, provides 10- to 15-year-olds with accessible information on rights and available support. The Council itself advises the government on children’s conditions and monitors Denmark’s compliance with the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.

Finally, the Ombudsman’s Children’s Section (Ombudsmandens Børnekontor) ensures that children’s rights are respected in public administration. It handles complaints, conducts supervision visits, and may initiate cases if public authorities or institutions are suspected of violating children’s rights.

Key initiatives to safeguard democracy and prevent radicalisation leading to violent extremism

The Danish approach to prevention is based on several rationales and legislations:

• Preventing violence and other crime, as described in the penal code and other legislation.
• Protecting democracy, fundamental freedoms and human rights, as provided by the Public Information Act, the Act on a National Prohibition List of Undesirable Funding and other legislations.
• Ensuring social well-being of individuals, as provided by social legislation.
• Safeguarding working and learning environments, as provided by legislation in this field.
• Democratic formation, as provided by the legislations governing schools and youth educations.
   

These different rationales and legislations provide the basis for a broad, cross-sectoral cooperation involving local, regional and national authorities.

Handling persons at risk - the Danish Info-houses

The Info-houses are a cornerstone of prevention in Denmark. They are local crime-preventive collaborations where the key actors are the police and the municipalities, but other authorities like the regional psychiatry and the Prison and Probation Service, are also included.

There are 12 Info-houses in Denmark, one for each police region. An Info-house is comprised by two types of inter-agency collaboration each with its distinctive task:

• Info-house Municipality is tasked with assessing concerns on individuals who may be at risk of committing criminal acts motivated by extremism.
• Info-house Network is tasked with sharing information on relevant trends, challenges and preventive tools, nationwide or in the region.

The authorities in Info-house Municipality assess the risks and resources of persons at risk and make recommendations on how to help the person disengage from risk behavior. The relevant authorities then provide relevant services, such as mentoring or other assistance.

The local Info-houses are supported by national authorities who have formed a steering group and a secretariat for Info-houses.

Municipal action plans and the role of local communities

The broader efforts to promote resilience, civic citizenship, democratic cohesion and mutual respect amongst the general population is carried out in the daily life of schools, youth educations, associations, civic centers and other institutions.

The local efforts are often given direction by municipal policies, including action or contingency plans on prevention of extremism. With effect from April 2024 all Danish municipalities must have a plan of action to prevent, detect and handle extremism amongst children, youngsters and their families.

 

National action plans and measures

The Danish government regularly adopts action plans and initiatives, relevant to the prevention of extremism, for instance action plans against antisemitism, racism, discrimination and oppressive social control.

These action plans provide a wide range of initiatives. This includes e.g. mapping and research to understand challenges better, revision of legislations and setting up protective mechanisms to ensure the rights and safety of citizens, as well as initiatives aiming at creating prevention awareness among actors like municipal staff, police officers, teachers and health professionals.

As an example of a youth-focused initiative “youth-to-youth dialogue”-projects to strengthen mutual understanding and respect across religious, cultural and other divides can be mentioned. 

In addition to the formalized political action plans, national authorities such as the Centre for Documentation and Counter Extremism also take ad hoc initiatives, for instance: 

• Initiating and supporting community-efforts to handle challenges with polarization.
• Workshops and other events to create awareness and build capacity for professionals to prevent and tackle new and emerging challenges (for instance the normalization of extreme online content and the spread of youth radicalization).   
• Specialized advise to respond to acute local situations (for instance school shooting threats). 

In addition to its national implementation of international sanctions lists, e.g. to prevent travel of known criminals and terrorists, Denmark has also created the legal framework for two national sanctions list, aiming to safeguard democratic values and basic rights:

• The National Sanctions List of Religious Preachers with Entry Ban.
• The National Prohibition List of Undesirable Funding.

The Centre for Documentation and Counter Extremism – focal point for national coordination and support to local actors

In 2022, the Centre for Documentation and Counter Extremism was established under the government agency the Danish Immigration Service. As a part of its tasks the Centre gathers a broad range of information and knowledge on extremism and prevention, offers advisory services on how to handle local challenges and developing preventive action plans, and offers training and capacity building in the field of extremism and prevention. 

Read more about the prevention of extremism in Denmark on stopextremism.dk. 

The National Centre Countering Honour-based violence (MÆRK)

In recent years, Denmark has strengthened its national effort to prevent honour-based violence and abuse (HBV/A) and the formation of parallel communities. These challenges can severely limit individual autonomy, restrict access to education, employment and social participation, and in some cases lead to coercion, violence, forced marriages, involuntary stays abroad, or other serious harms. As with extremism, these mechanisms can undermine individuals’ well-being, social inclusion and fundamental rights.

To address these risks, the Danish Government launched the strategy “Et frit liv i Danmark” (A Free Life in Denmark) in 2025. The strategy builds on the same preventive logics described earlier, i.e. combining security, social and formative rationales and emphasises that harmful practices can restrict democratic participation and hinder equal opportunities for children, young people and adults.

The strategy contains four interconnected areas of intervention, and three of them are relevant in relation to young people:

1. Protection and long-term support for individuals affected by HBV/A. This includes expanding the national safety-consultant capacity, targeted funding for civil-society support, a new volunteer programme for isolated young adults, a specialised family shelter, aftercare services for individuals leaving shelters, as well as tailored guidance for municipalities and for women at risk of losing custody due to HBV/A.
2. Ensuring equal opportunities in childhood and youth. Schools and educational institutions are supported through tailored guidance, risk-based supervision, and pilot programmes offering rapid support to pupils and students experiencing pressure, surveillance or restrictions linked to HBV/A.
3. Preventing involuntary stays abroad and facilitating safe return. Through a national coordination unit, cross-ministerial cooperation and awareness campaigns, authorities work to prevent involuntary stays abroad and secure rapid assistance to affected children, young people and adults.

The strategy comprises 22 concrete measures, all fully funded by the Government for the period 2025–2028 and centrally coordinated by the National Centre Countering Honour-based Violence (MÆRK), located within the Danish Agency for International Recruitment and Integration (SIRI) under the Ministry of Immigration and Integration. Across all areas of intervention, the strategy relies on multi-agency collaboration, involving local and national authorities, police, municipalities, civil society. Similar to Denmark’s approach to preventing extremism, the aim is early detection, coordinated support and long-term pathways to integration, safety and participation. The approach aligns with broader EU priorities on protecting fundamental rights, preventing gender-based violence and strengthening the social inclusion of vulnerable groups. 

The National Centre for Countering Honour-based violence (MÆRK) further supports these initiatives through results-based contracts with the organisations with a focus on strengthening service quality, improving documentation practices, and ensuring alignment with national standards.