Aaja Chemnitz has received the Plenum award, which is awarded by the association of social studies teachers in upper secondary and upper secondary schools and the Plenum Fund publishing house. The price includes DKK 50,000.
Former member of the Danish Parliament for Inuit Ataqatigiit, Aaja Chemnitz, received the Plenum Prize (formerly known as the Columbus Prize) on Thursday evening, which is awarded by the association of social studies teachers in high school and high school and Forlaget Plenum Fond. The price includes DKK 50,000.
Aaja Chemnitz receives the prize for her persistent efforts for democracy, dialogue and factual political debate.
“Aaja Chemnitz is an excellent example of how political engagement and factual argumentation can go hand in hand. She has insisted on dialogue and mutual respect, even when the disagreements have been great. At the same time, she has helped make the relationship between Greenland and Denmark a central issue in the public debate. It is precisely the kind of democratic engagement that the Plenum Prize should honor,” says Janne Bisgaard Wikman, lecturer in social studies at Aarhus Cathedral School and head of Forlaget Plenum Fond.
A great recognition
For Aaja Chemnitz, it is a great recognition and a signal that Greenland is taking up more space in the public debate today.
– I am proud that there is much more interest in Greenland now than just a few years ago, and that the award recognizes my many years of effort to speak up for Greenland, so that a Danish audience also listens and understands. We need teachers in primary and secondary schools in Denmark to be better equipped to teach children and young people not only Greenland’s history, but especially Greenland’s present.
– We are embarking on a new, important chapter in our shared history, where there is a far greater formalization of the involvement of Greenlanders. We are no longer just the exotic feature, but part of the norm, and I believe that the award and recognition, along with much else, is an expression of that. A natural normalization and equal way of being in the Commonwealth. Much more of that, please, says Aaja Chemnitz to Sermitsiaq.
About the Plenum award
The plenary prize was instituted by Forlaget Columbus Fond and the Association of Social Studies Teachers (FALS) on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of social studies in high school.
The prize is awarded to a person or institution who, in the public debate, adheres to the ideas of democracy, genuine political commitment and the importance of factual arguments – and who thereby makes being a social studies teacher exciting.
Previous recipients include journalist Matilde Kimer, the media outlet Zetland, debater Emma Holten, journalist Nagieb Khaja, lecturer in international politics Peter Viggo Jacobsen and journalist Martin Krasnik.
