Le Nord : revue internationale des Pays de Nord - 01.06.1943, Page 65

THE DANISH SOCIETY
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The same period saw the establishment of the Danish Summer
School in Copenhagen. This was a course for foreign students
which comprised instruction in the Danish language, lectures on
Danish literature and social conditions, and excursions to places
of interest, etc. Another institution established during this time
was the International High School at Elsinore, in which up to
1940 5000 young foreign students from 40 different countries
have attended courses together with young Danes.
In connection with these efforts to spread a knowledge of
Denmark and Danish civilization abroad, mention must also be
made of the Danish participation in various international exhibi-
tions, and the holding of separate Danish art exhibitions abroad.
These activities were on an especially large scale during the period
between the two World Wars, largely owing to the support they
received from the New Carlsberg Foundation.
Like Danish art, Danish science and scholarship also contri-
buted greatly to the establishment of contact with foreign coun-
tries during the period between the two wars. The Rask Oersted
Foundation (which is the subject of an article in »Le Nord« for
1938, pag. 92—100), established by the Danish State in 1919, has
given invaluable support in this field by affording considerable
financial assistance to the co-operation between Danish and for-
eign scientists and scholars. This applies with especial force to
science and archaeology. During the period under review the con-
tact of Danish philologists and literary historians with the rest of
the world was also facilitated, independently of the Foundations,
by the appointment of Danish lecturers at foreign universities,
where they have given instruction in Danish on linguistic and
literary lines and pursued research work on their own account.
These lecturers are supervised by a committee under the Danish
Ministry of Education.
It will be seen from the above that in various ways Denmark
has tried to call the attention of other countries to its existence
and its achievements in various fields. It may, however, be doubt-
ed whether this work has till recently had a sufficiently active
character. We have met the wishes of foreigners to learn some-
thing of our country, and, when they have asked us to do so, we
have given them the information they required. We have pre-
pared very fine publications about Denmark for foreign readers.
But we have not been sufficiently alive to the fact that we ought
to have personal representatives abroad, who could see to it that
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