Successful Danish American Heritage Society Conference held October 10 – 12, 2013 in Des Moines, Iowa
The Danish American Heritage Society Conference entitled “Innovation – The Danish Way” was a great success on October 10 – 12, 2013 at the Embassy Suites, 101 E. Locust Street, in Des Moines, Iowa. More than 150 visitors from around the country signed up for the engaging conference, sponsored by the Danish American Heritage Society, The Danish American Archive & Library, The Danish Immigrant Museum (Museum of Danish America) and Grand View University.
To see a video of the excellent keynote speaker Soren Hermansen from the conference, visit www.grandview.edu/dahs.
The conference schedule included:
Thursday, Oct. 10, 2013
Noon – 6 pm: Registration
6:30 – 8:30 pm: Opening reception and keynote
Friday, Oct. 11, 2013
8:00 – 8:30 am: Registration
8:30 – 10:00 am:
Session A1: Innovation in Medicine, Public Health, and Patients’ Rights
-Lars Engberg: “Challenges and Success Stories in Danish Public Health”
-Craig Molgaard: “Notes on Danish Design Innovations”
Session A2: Innovation in Culture and the Arts
-Poul Houe: “Det Ny fra Thy”
-Nete Schmidt: “From Sexy to Serious to Anxious to Alienated: a Discussion of Contemporary Female Danish Crime Solvers”
-Kristi Johnson and Taru R. Spiegel: “The Spirit of Hans Christian Andersen in the United States”
10:00 – 10:30 am: Coffee break
10:30 – noon:
Session B1: Innovation in Architecture and Design
-Poul Bertelsen: “A Danish Architect in Africa: The MSAADA Story”
-Tova Brandt: “Danish Modern: A Design for Living”
Session B2: Innovation in Sustainability
-Robert Grese and Jens Jensen: “Jens Jensen and the Sustainable Landscape”
12:15 – 1:30 pm: Lunch and exhibits
1:30 – 3:00 pm:
Session C1: Innovation in Environmental Economics
-Arne Kildegaard: “Systems-thinking is Necessary but Not Sufficient: Reflections on Electric Vehicle Adoption in DK and the US”
-Henrik Klinge Jacobsen: “Why Wind Works: Denmark’s Model for Sustainability”
Session C2: Innovation in Danish Heritage and Culture
Digitization Project: “The Past Speaks to the Future – A Project to Digitize Major Danish-American Newspapers”
-Danish Immigrant Museum: John Mark Nielsen
-Grand View University: Sherri Muller
-Danish American Archive and Library: Tim Jensen
3:30 pm: Tours; Dinner on your own
Saturday, Oct. 12, 2013
9:00 – 10:30 am:
Session D1: Innovation in Children’s Literature and Translation
-Lise Kildegaard: “Thinking Inside the Box: The Remarkable Square Stories of Louis Jensen”
-Elizabeth Dyssegaard, translator of Bodil Bredsdorff’s Children of Crow Cove
Session D2: Gene Takle
“My Observations of Danish Innovation in Doing Science, Learning New Things, and Living an Interesting Life”
10:30 – 11:00 am: Coffee break
11:00 am – 12:30 pm:
Session E1: Innovation in Creative Arts and Literature
-Athena Kildegaard: “A Poet Lives in Denmark”
Session E2: Innovation in Interfaith Dialogue
-Todd Green: “In Search of a Danish Islam: Exploring the Challenges of Muslim Identity and Integration in Contemporary Denmark”
12:30 – 2:00 pm: Lunch
2:00 – 4:00 pm: GV Campus Tour & Songfest
6:30 pm: Banquet & Address by Ambassador Fulton
