By SDG Watch Europe
On September 10th 2021, from 362 points across Denmark, distributors gave the World’s Best Morning newspaper to passers-by.
Every year, Verdens Bedste Nyheder hosts the “World’s Best Morning” to spread information on the challenges and progress of the Global Goals. This year, the theme was Sustainable Cities, SDG 11.
Members of SDG Watch Europe based in Denmark woke up early in the morning to represent the alliance and joined Nyt Europa’s activists. Together, we started at 06.30 AM at Nybrogade, located in the beautiful heart of Copenhagen, where Nyt Europa’s office is based. We prepared coffee, packed the newspapers and enthusiastically walked towards Rådhuspladsen (City Hall Square) while the warm Danish sun slowly woke up the city. We carried boxes of hundreds of small leaflets with the World’s Best News and hundreds of chocolates ready to be handed out to the early birds of Copenhagen.
We arrived at Rådhuspladsen at 7 AM sharp. Slowly sipping coffee and handing the first dozens of leaflets, we saw the city waking up. At 8.30 AM, the city was awake: more full speed cyclists and passers-by grabbing newspapers from our hands, and bus drivers smiling at us. Only a few were passers-by, a few were cyclists, and a few were cars.
Nyt Europa activists and SDG Watch Europe in Rådhuspladsen
But we were only a few among the total of 2567 volunteers who, on that morning, have pulled on the white t-shirt with the orange “World’s Best News” logo. The rest were scattered around Denmark. Activists were youngsters, politicians, volunteers, students, ambassadors, journalists.
Activists were all around the city. In collaboration with Caritas, a group of dancers from Copenhagen Contemporary Dance School performed to draw people’s attention and raise awareness on the Sustainable Development Goals.
Klara Trane, from Mellemfolkelig Samvirke, described The World’s Best News as “cool, wonderful and fantastic journalism that provides a counterpoint to the other news that mostly spreads negative news. Of course, everything should not be on the pink cloud, but it is important to also talk about the positive ”, reported World’s Best News on their website.
To end the morning, a wonderful morning full of hope and activism, ambassadors from the Netherlands and Albania and Jens Christian Wandel, chairman of the United Nations and former adviser to UN Secretary-General António Guterres, helped hand out the newspapers too.
We were glad to be part of this great initiative devoted to spreading constructive news on progress and solutions to the world’s challenges. We would also be happy to participate in the future.