The Scandi Female Code E-Book

Annette Spanggaard

• Herausgeber: Books on Demand
• Kategorie: Geisteswissenschaft
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 73

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2018

Beschreibung

The book is about how you can empower yourself based on the Scandinavian female empowerment philosophy, one of the most famous methods for living a more independent and empowered life.

Leseprobe

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Foreword

CHAPTER 1

Introducing The Scandi Female Code

Why The Scandi Female Code?

How can The Scandi Female Code work for you?

CHAPTER 2

Dreaming

CHAPTER 3

Believing

CHAPTER 4

Planning

CHAPTER 5

Energising

CHAPTER 6

Stories that inspire

FOREWORD

As the founder of Pearl Stories and the Girls & Wisdom Blog, I am passionate about empowering girls and women through education and wisdom that helps them thrive and unlock their full potential. There are many good reasons, both personal and professional, why I feel so strongly about this topic. The most important one is my Danish heritage, for which I am very grateful. It is thanks to this heritage that I have enjoyed a free, uncomplicated upbringing and adulthood in a society that has bred some of the most empowered women in the world – a Danish sisterhood I like to call the "entrepreneurs of womanhood."

For many years, I have been intrigued by why and how Denmark and our Scandinavian neighbours have managed to create societies where women have a voice and a choice, unlike in many other countries.

This led me to analyse Danish society and the history that led us to democracy, freedom and equality–and to want to share my experiences as a Danish woman living in such a society. The result of this project is The Scandi Female Code: an educational toolbox comprised of a curated collection of established, hands–on tools and thinking from a Danish woman's perspective and experience.

I hope this book, and the Code, will inspire and empower girls and women the world over. Let's unite, let's help each other, and let's get wiser. Let's let go of fear, break convention, follow our hearts, discover our potential, and fight for a voice and a choice.

I have personally used this toolbox to break the bad habit of following the crowds and to find my own legacy. Privately, I got divorced, having married too young and gone in blind. Professionally, I settled for too little as I did not sufficiently believe in myself. I was constantly thinking, "This is as good as it gets." I am now wiser. Over time, using the tools you'll find in the coming chapters, I have built confidence to go after my dreams. I became the entrepreneur I wanted to be, left for London to take an extra degree in journalism with my then–three–year–old daughter. On my return, I built what became Scandinavia's strongest lifestyle PR agency with offices in Copenhagen, Oslo and Stockholm, and now Pearl Stories, a Danish jewellery company that empowers women through education.

Let's get to work – there is no time to waste!

Annette Spanggaard

FOUNDER OF PEARL STORIES AND THE GIRLS & WISDOM BLOG

As a child growing up in Denmark, I had a dream. I wanted to help exposed and vulnerable children. I was lucky enough to live in a caring family who gave me the love, protection, education, and confidence I needed to be able to follow my dreams.

My mother worked in an elderly home, teaching me the importance of taking responsibility for the poor and weak. She taught me about charity, compassion and human rights, educating, inspiring and enlightening me! She would often talk about the African children who starved and lived in extreme poverty. On these occasions, I was asked to be grateful and eat my dinner. But she also taught me that we all deserve to enjoy basic human needs. From a very young age, she infused in me a strong desire to help vulnerable children find a better life.

In 2008, I watched a horrifying British documentary about children in Africa being tortured, abandoned or killed in the streets on grounds of child witch stigmatization. I was shocked to learn that children are buried alive, burned alive, and tortured to death simply because of superstition – in other words, a lack of education and knowledge – and no world leaders seemed to care. So, I decided to do something about it, and to realize my childhood dream of making a difference in children's lives.

My mother died of cancer when I was only 23 years old, leaving me in deep sorrow and pain. I struggled to find peace of mind for many years. I had trouble taking care of myself, and my dream of Africa faded into the background. However, as the years passed, I became stronger, and the memory of the British documentary once again sparked my determination to make a difference for those in need. I was reminded of my mother's wise words: "If you want to change people's minds, shout it from the rooftops."

Today, my husband and I run Land of Hope, one of the largest children's centers in Nigeria, where we provide the same love and care I grew up with to 67 children who have been branded witches, abandoned and tortured. The lives of hundreds of children have been saved because of our organization's work. They receive medical care, go to school, and are loved. Their families and communities are educated to let go of the superstition. Land of Hope is the children's rooftop, from which their voices will be heard and their dreams can come true.

on the pages that follow, Annette Spanggaard lays out a plan for realizing your dream in smart, manageable steps. I recognize the values of The Scandi Female Code. A gift to have an experienced entrepreneur create transparency about what it takes, and essentially hold women's hands through the process.

Anja Ringgren Lovén

FOUNDER AND DIRECTOR, DIN NØDHJÆLP

CHAPTER 1

INTRODUCING THE SCANDI FEMALE CODE

WHY THE SCANDI FEMALE CODE?

The impact of investment in education and personal development is profound – and the most important one a country can make in its people and its future. Education is the single most effective means of reducing poverty. It results in rising incomes, improved health, and greater gender equality, and helps people thrive by making it possible for them to realise their dreams. Still, millions of women don't unlock their full potential because they don't go to school – and plenty of women who do have an education still don't live their dream lives.

Modern Danish women have the great fortune of being born and bred in a country with some of the best female–empowering fertile ground in the world. Because of this, we know that there is a solution to the immense problem of untapped female potential: one of the biggest issues facing our world today. The Scandi Female Code offers a starting point to uncovering and realising this potential, one woman at a time.

But first, a few words on how Scandinavian women got where we are today. An unlikely story, with a string of countries settled by bloodthirsty Vikings ultimately becoming a leading region for gender enlightenment. The change for women in Denmark and Scandinavia came with literacy, a legacy from the Protestant Reformation (1517–1648) led by Martin Luther, where Scandinavia underwent a huge shift from Catholicism to Lutheran Protestantism. The Scandinavian Lutherans were concerned with equality through education for men as well as for women. To make the wisdom of the day available to all, the Bible was translated into local languages.

Scandinavia believed in freedom and did not spend a lot of effort on huge imperialist adventures. Instead, it invested in the military, primarily to ward off invaders who threatened the region's freedom.

Industrialisation, another ingredient for the present societal model, hit Scandinavia in the late 19th century. Scandinavia had a rich merchant class, but no big industrial power centres. In the 20th century, farmers and workers joined trade unions to mount a serious challenge to the rich merchants and industry owners. A democratic, social and economic system emerged, with jobs for all, decent pay for equal work, and a strong social safety net.

The Scandinavian model developed further. Education continued to be key to societal progress and, though taxes, was made free and accessible to all citizens from the age of six and through university. With free education followed the possibility of DREAMING – one of four pillars upon which the Danish and Scandinavian models are built.

Democracy prospered and trade unions fought for gender equality, helping to empower women to believe in themselves and to unfold their potential. BELIEVING is thus the second pillar of The Scandi Female Code.