In late January, NWA joined partners from Denmark, Greece, and Italy on the island of Syros for the Forgotten Fish project’s second implementation meeting – two days that brought together chefs, fishermen, cultural organisations, local authorities, and educators around a shared question: what would it take for the fish we have stopped cooking to return to our tables?

The meeting was hosted by the Lazareta Cultural Association in Hermoupolis, the beautifully preserved neoclassical port capital of Syros. It was a fitting location. The Cyclades, with their rich Mediterranean marine biodiversity and their tradition of simple, resourceful coastal cooking, offer exactly the kind of living laboratory that the Forgotten Fish project needs.

The programme moved fluidly between the strategic and the sensory. Partners coordinated project progress across the three countries, watched video presentations from each partner community, and sat down to lunch with local fishermen over dishes prepared from species that rarely see a restaurant plate. Chef Dimitris Plitas led a demonstration with the Syros Gastronomy Association in the afternoon, showing how forgotten species can be transformed into dishes that meet the highest contemporary standards without losing their connection to place and tradition. The second day brought a visit to the fish market in Hermoupolis, a meeting with the Municipality of Syros, traditional sweet-making demonstrations, and an evening cooking session at Peritinos Restaurant.

For NWA, Syros was a vivid reminder of why the transnational dimension of this project matters. The knowledge flows in all directions: Greek culinary heritage informing Danish kitchen practice, Danish policy analysis supporting Greek and Italian advocacy, Italian survey depth grounding shared recommendations. The best arguments for sustainable food, it turns out, are still made through flavour.

The Forgotten Fish project is an Erasmus+ KA210-VET Small-Scale Partnership (2024-1-DK01-KA210-VET-000253675), co-funded by the European Union.

As part of our work in the EU Social Innovation+ Initiative project ISRICM, the Nordic Wellbeing Academy and its European partners are happy to release recording of the second webinar in our series from February 24 on social inclusion.

The webinar features the key experts Carina Dantas – SHINE 2 Europe and SHAFE Foundation, Eva Turk – UAS St. Pölten, and Lars Münter – Nordic Wellbeing Academy.

Press release – February 4th, 2026:
New webinar announced – In our series of webinars as part of the ISRICM project, we are happy to announce a new edition on leadership taking place March 4th, 10 CET.

Connecting CEO of Danish Life Science Cluster Diana Arsovic – leader, innovator, and architect – with Director of Leadership Excellence Program at Lotem, Roit Feldenkreis – leader, innovator, and conductor – our own International Director Lars Münter will be the three speakers in our webinar facilitated by National Director Nina Sønderberg to explore how leadership plays a role for the ability of future organisations to adapt to diversity, equity, and inclusion in an era of transformation.

“The role of leaders as connectors, value creators, and front runners is an obvious one,” says Lars Münter on behalf of NWA. “The current challenge however is that future leaders have to leave the domain of certainty and security and move towards holding the space for uncertainty and challenge. This means being willing to say “I don’t know – but let’s explore” and being able to truly lead this journey. And obviously this includes a different focus when hiring new staff where curious empathy becomes more important than cocky confidence.”

You can sign up via Eventbrite here.

For more than thirty years, Steve Worrall’s professional identity was forged in the intensity of the fire service. His career progressed from trainee engineer at Rolls-Royce to Assistant Chief Fire Officer for Shropshire Fire and Rescue Service. Leadership in that environment was shaped by rigid hierarchy and a directive “Incident Commander” mindset, where the objective was always clear: rescue the casualty and bring them to safety.

When Steve later transitioned into a third career in psychotherapy, he discovered that the greatest challenge was not learning new techniques, but undergoing a profound psychological, moral and relational reorganisation. The shift required him to fundamentally rethink what it meant to lead, to help and to serve.

The Wall of “Big Boys Don’t Cry”

Steve describes the emergency services as operating within an unspoken but powerful cultural rule: “There’s still an underlying current and underlying culture within the emergency services… of big boys don’t cry and it’s a sign of weakness to put your hand up and say I’m suffering.” Whilst a structured ‘critical incident debrief’ process existed for fire crews as a form of collective group therapy post traumatic incidents, very few firefighters reached out for individual support. Emotional struggle, vulnerability or trauma were rarely acknowledged and were often viewed as weaknesses that could threaten operational credibility. Throughout his thirty-year career, Steve never cried once, even after attending hundreds of deeply distressing and horrific incidents.

The emotional wall finally cracked shortly before his retirement in 2013, while undertaking charity work in Romania. During a visit to a former prison that had become an old people’s home, he sat holding the hand of a dying woman living in appalling conditions. She asked him if he had rope on his fire engine, explaining that she wanted to hang herself. Steve says: “A tear rolled down her cheek and dropped on my hand and it was like molten metal… I came away and returned back to the United Kingdom and I cried non-stop for two weeks.”

On returning to the UK, when his senior officer witnessed him breaking down, the response was silence: the officer simply turned around and walked out. As Steve reflects, in their professional world, officers simply did not know how to respond to emotional exposure. Looking back on that period in his life, Steve is only now able to acknowledge that he unknowingly was suffering from ‘post-traumatic stress syndrome.’

From Rescuer to Empowerer

At the age of 60, Steve made the decision to “go back to school” and train as a psychotherapist. The most difficult adjustment was letting go of the rescuer role. In the fire service, Steve had been trained to take control, act decisively, and solve problems under pressure in a dynamic fast-moving environment. In therapy, his tutors repeatedly challenged him to step back, slow the pace and trust the client’s capacity for self-rescue. Empowerment, rather than intervention, became the goal.

“I wanted to be a rescuer… I wanted to dive in and rescue people and take them to a place of safety because I am an incident commander… but you have to empower people to rescue themselves.”

He also found himself wrestling with the fire service’s deeply ingrained value of perseverance. In operational settings, you never give up on a casualty. By contrast, the constraints of charitable counselling services (where clients may receive only six or eight sessions) felt ethically and emotionally uncomfortable. Accepting these boundaries required another fundamental shift in Steve’s mindset.

Redefining the Eight-Pointed Star

Currently, Steve researches how the values forged in high-risk environments are not abandoned during career transition, but transformed, which he titled Crossing the Threshold. Using the eight-pointed star – the traditional symbol of the fire service – he maps how core traits evolve within the therapeutic context.

• Observation shifts from hypervigilance to mindful presence.
• Sympathy matures into regulated empathy. 
• Tact moves from command-based authority to relational influence. 
• Gallantry is redefined as the courage to tolerate uncertainty, rather than the need for decisive action.

Steve says: “When consciously reworked, these values become resources for ethical awareness, relational depth, and sustainable therapeutic practice.” Through this lens, he reframes his professional history not as something to overcome, but as something to consciously adapt.

A New Chapter of Service

Entering the world of counselling, Steve explains, is often marked by disruption and disorientation, accompanied by a temporary loss of professional certainty. For former first responders, the transition can feel like standing on unfamiliar ground without the armour of rank or command.

Yet, through supervision, reflection, and supportive professional spaces, identity can be reconstructed rather than replaced. Instead of a loss of self, Steve sees this transition as a continuation of service in a different form.

His journey suggests that while “big boys” may once have been told not to cry, it is precisely the capacity to feel, reflect and stay present with uncertainty that enables deeper and more ethical therapeutic work.

If you would like to get in touch with Steve, please reach out to him via email.

Press Release – Copenhagen, January 12, 2026
As part of the EU Social Innovation+ Initiative project ISRICM, the Nordic Wellbeing Academy and its European partners are happy to announce the new and fascinating webinar taking place February 24, 14.00 CET on social inclusion.

The webinar features the key experts Carina Dantas – SHINE 2 Europe and SHAFE Foundation, Eva Turk – UAS St. Pölten, and Lars Münter – Nordic Wellbeing Academy. As an integral part of the ISRICM project, the webinar will enable participants to learn more about key principles, tools, and indicators that help social inclusion become a valuable mechanism for the future of European workplaces.

“The value of diversity is the secret recipe for future workplaces and competitiveness” says Lars Münter and adds “Being able to better wield these principles in practice in HR organisations and in recruitment is a vital tool to unlock innovation, wellbeing, and resilience across the European labour market.”

The webinar is free of charge and registration can be done via the link below. Contact Lars Münter for further information.

As part of the EU Social Innovation+ Initiative project ISRICM, this is the first in our series webinar about social inclusion and leadership in HR.

Our first, held January 7th, connected Liza Collins, Kateryna Ostrovska, and Nina Sønderberg in a debate about future workplaces and the power of empathy in leadership as a transformative power for wellbeing and progress.

Working Together4Health – an obvious goal for stakeholders in the health ecosystem, but sometimes still a strategic challenge. It was therefore also the title of the Danish EU Presidency conference September 16-18 in Aalborg, Denmark. Read more about it here

During the conference NWA and the European Health Futures Forum co-hosted a workshop session with Natasha Azzopardi Muscat (WHO Europe), Charlotte Marchandise (EUPHA), and Stella Goeschl (JA PreventNCD Youth Advisory Group) on pathways for action for the Future Health Workforce and its wellbeing.

Find the full report about the workshop below with forewords by the speakers and the conclusion of top 5 key points as co-created by the speakers and audience:

1. KPI for workforce well-being
   – measure and hold leaders accountable
2. Technology validation
   – ensure an evaluation of AI/innovation (safety, impact, cost-effectiveness)
3. Stand up for people with science
   – evidence-based policies, not quick fixes
4. Inclusion of young people
   – systematically in panels, education, and policy
5. Stand up for communities
   – ensure public health and local engagement

Across the globe, a silent crisis is growing. Rates of mental illness, loneliness, and social distress are climbing, and our formal systems are struggling to keep up. But while governments and healthcare providers search for large-scale solutions, some of the most effective answers are emerging from an unexpected place: the community itself.

For a glimpse of what’s possible, Nordic Wellbeing Academy organised a study visit for 12 Estonian healthcare professionals in November 2025. One of the organisations visited was AskovFonden, a Danish civil society organization dedicated to developing social solutions for marginalised and vulnerable people. They run five core programmes (for domestic violence, eating disorders, social psychiatry, special education schools and youth) and have, since 1943, supported over 2,000 people annually through these initiatives.

Here, we are sharing the most surprising and impactful lessons from their decades of work on the front lines of social and mental health support. What they’ve learned challenges our most common assumptions and offers a powerful blueprint for a more human way forward.

To stop domestic violence, start with the people who cause it

“When we think of intervening in domestic violence, our focus naturally goes to the victim,” says Annika Svensson, who is Head of Knowledge and Documentation at AskovFonden. The foundation takes a different approach: they start with the perpetrator—revealing truths that challenge common assumptions.

Most importantly, many perpetrators were themselves exposed to childhood violence and now struggle with deep personal distress. This leads AskovFonden to question the instinct to immediately separate couples. As Annika explains: “No one wants to hit the one they love… So if you take the stand that you should separate them, we actually create more trauma because they want to be together.” Perpetrators also come from every background, not a single ‘type’. As Annika notes: “It’s not the bulky tattooed guys coming here. Not at all. It’s everyone.”

By focusing on the roots of violence rather than judgement, AskovFonden aims to break generational cycles and stop the violence for good.

Loneliness is more expensive than smoking and bad nutrition 

The numbers are staggering: loneliness costs Denmark 8 billion DKK  a year (source). To put that in perspective, the organisation’s research found a shocking truth: Loneliness is more expensive than smoking and eating badly. It is a massive factor in mental distress, a majority of people who come to AskovFonden’s social psychiatry programmes live alone.

Their solution is deceptively simple but incredibly powerful. The community centers are open 365 days a year, specifically because loneliness is most severe when the rest of the world is closed, i.e. on weekends and holidays. This provides a crucial lifeline, a place of belonging when people need it most. The results speak for themselves: 69% of participants report feeling less lonely, and 92% have successfully built a more stabile everyday life.This highlights a fundamental blind spot in our public health infrastructure. We focus on clinical treatments and individual therapies while often overlooking one of the most basic human needs: a place to belong.

To treat an eating disorder, find a “normal” roommate

AskovFonden’s rehabilitation programme for people with eating disorders is a brilliant example of social design. Instead of a purely clinical environment, they have apartments where clients live with a roommate who has a “normal” relationship with food.

The rules are strict and clear; the roommates’ only job is to live their life. The purpose is for the client to mirror the everyday patterns of another young person: to see them eat candy without guilt, share a fridge, and live without the rigid rituals that define the disorder. 

Typically, people who need to develop skills to live more independently live in shared housing. This is well suited for those who are ready to train social skills in relation to people without eating disorders. The students share the apartment with someone who does not have and has not had an eating disorder. They do not have a treatment role and are therefore not studying health or social work such as psychology, nutrition or social counseling.

This approach doesn’t replace formal therapy; it complements it. By immersing clients in a natural, non-clinical setting, it helps them re-learn what a normal relationship with food and life looks like. It uses the power of social mirroring to gently guide them back toward health, tackling a deeply psychological and isolating illness with the simple power of shared, everyday experience.

A radical return to community

The thread connecting all of Askov Fonden’s successes is a deeply human, community-first philosophy. Their work doesn’t seek to replace the formal system but to fill the critical gaps where that system so often fails. They succeed by being radically accessible and responsive. As Annika puts it, “We are not the system… We take the phone when they call.” As our societies face growing crises of isolation and mental distress, what if the most innovative solution isn’t a new technology or policy, but a simple, radical return to community?

More information

Press Release, December 2025
As part of the EU Social Innovation+ Initiative project ISRICM, the first webinar about leadership in HR has been launched. Coming January 7th, this webinar will bring together Liza Collins, Kateryna Ostrovska, and Nina Sønderberg in a debate about future workplaces and the power of empathy in leadership as a transformative power for wellbeing and progress.

The webinar builds upon the Guidelines for integrating refugees into workplaces that was published in October 2025 and will be followed by a webinars on social inclusion and a training session in Denmark for HR professionals.

“We are really excited about finally being able to share new perspectives from both workplace wellbeing, insights from the Ukrainian diaspora, and key results of our work in the ISRICM project so far.” says Lars Münter, International Director of Nordic Wellbeing Academy. “The challenge of workplaces to use empathy and psychological safety in both operations and recruitment increases in times of change – thus solving the challenge for the Ukrainian refugees could really benefit everyone and certainly also the company itself”.

The ISRICM project continues exploring innovative pathways that bridge social action and Ukrainian refugee integration. This webinar represents another step towards dialogue for progress in Europe. The project connects 9 partners across Europe lead by the International Centre for Sustainable Development from Greece.

Contact NWA for further information.

Five surprising innovation lessons from a Danish health initiative

Complex societal challenges—whether climate change, mental health, or broader public health issues—often become stuck in bureaucratic silos and rigid hierarchies. Well-intentioned initiatives stall under competing agendas and fragmented systems, making real progress feel painfully slow. But what if it doesn’t have to be this way?

In Denmark, a different model is showing what’s possible. The Danish Life Science Cluster, one of the country’s eight national “lighthouses,” brings together public and private partners to tackle issues such as mental health and obesity. Their approach moves beyond formal structures, prioritising collaboration and practical, measurable impact.

As Denmark’s national hub for life science and welfare technology, the Danish Life Science Cluster connects companies, researchers, and the healthcare system to drive innovation. They help turn Danish research into commercial and social solutions through public-private partnerships, regional collaboration, and international engagement.

During a study visit organised by Nordic Wellbeing Academy, 12 Estonian healthcare professionals saw firsthand how this model works in practice. These aren’t abstract theories—they’re hard-earned lessons on uniting diverse partners, learning from failure, and making real progress on problems that matter.

1. Ditch the hierarchy for a “coalition of the willing”

Instead of relying on top-down mandates, the Danish model prioritises a flexible, network-based approach. The focus is on gathering people who are genuinely motivated to address a shared challenge. Structure matters less than purpose.

“It’s like a coalition of the willing. We get the people into the room who want to address this common agenda,” says Kirsten M. Danielsen, senior project leader at the Danish Life Science Cluster.

They use a “flower” analogy: each partner is a “leaf,” bringing its own agenda and competencies. Rather than denying self-interest, the model harnesses it by uniting everyone around a strong, shared vision at the centre of the flower. This creates authentic buy-in and the agility needed to adapt without rigid hierarchies.

2. Find your breakthroughs in the “gaps”

The cluster’s work is built on the idea that innovation rarely emerges deep inside a single silo. It happens in the “gaps” between different fields and perspectives. A hospital, a tech startup, and a university researcher each see problems differently—and when those perspectives overlap, breakthroughs emerge.

To engineer these gaps, the cluster intentionally brings together public organisations, private companies, and academic experts. The result is more creativity—and more friction. Many solutions don’t fit neatly within existing funding categories: they aren’t just hospital projects or business ventures. This forces teams to stitch together a “patchwork” of financing.

As Kirsten M. Danielsen explains: “Innovation lives best in the gaps between knowledge and competences.”

3. Treat failure as a valuable data point

While many organisations bury failed projects, this model views failure as “just as valuable” as success. The philosophy is simple: fail fast, learn, and iterate. Failure isn’t an ending—it’s information.

Yet this mindset clashes with traditional funders. Large investors, especially EU programmes, are “looking very linear,” expecting predictable pathways to impact. Embracing failure requires educating funders and reframing success across a portfolio of experiments.

The payoff is clear. “One company went broke on a fast-track project after failing to secure public partners. They learned, reformed, and reapplied later with two public partners already secured,” Kirsten M. Danielsen shares. A categorical failure became the stepping stone to future success.

4. The secret ingredient is a “neutral hub”

For such diverse partners to collaborate, trust is essential. The Danish Life Science Cluster serves as a “neutral hub”—neither public nor private, but something in between.

Kirsten M. Danielsen puts it plainly: “You have to have someone who is not public and who is not private but in the middle to facilitate this meeting.”

This neutrality prevents partnerships from collapsing under mistrust or competing incentives. It creates a safe space where organisations can speak candidly, negotiate honestly, and stay focused on their common goal instead of protecting their own turf. Without this neutral facilitator, the whole structure risks falling apart.

5. Prioritise real-world data over formal evidence

While scientific research has its place, the cluster distinguishes between academic evidence and practical, real-world data. For many companies, seeing how a solution works across six schools in a municipality is more valuable for development than a peer-reviewed paper.

The Danish Life Science Cluster tracks progress using a “growth ladder” that maps a company’s journey from idea to impact. The results are significant: more than half of the companies in 2022 projects moved at least two steps up the ladder within two years.

These metrics translate to real-life impact. One company created a “midwife in the pocket” app for pregnant women, which has since expanded to Germany. Another built a divorce-support app for children—scaling from 30 Danish municipalities to 160 across the Nordic region.

As Kirsten M. Danielsen explains: “We do not research, but we can say we used this in six schools in one municipality and the solution or the results of that is so and so. So both the company and the administration get data. They don’t just say ‘I feel it’s a great idea’, but they can say ‘In this situation, it is a great idea’.”

Conclusion: A New Blueprint for Progress

Solving complex problems demands a fundamental shift in how we collaborate. The Danish Life Science Cluster offers a compelling model—one built on trust, shared purpose, adaptive learning, and real-world experimentation.

These principles aren’t just management theory. They are the engine that turns ambitious visions into solutions that improve real people’s lives. Because behind every successful innovation, the goal is always the same: to help humans live healthier, happier lives.

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