“It’s been a challenging year”: Princess Mary’s personal Christmas message
Princess Mary has posted a personal Christmas message on the Mary Foundation website.
The Hobart-born royal reflects “back on the year that has passed” and admitted that 2020 has been a “very special” and “challenging” year for everyone.
"For many people, the restrictions have led to a great social deprivation," the Crown Princess of Denmark writes.
"But 2020 has also confirmed us in how much we need each other. How much it means to have someone close in life. And it has been a year in which many have shown great commitment and a willingness to go the extra mile to help others. It has been both touching and uplifting to experience."
The 48-year-old also discussed how the foundation, like the majority of people, has had to adapt to working remotely.
"We have had to readjust and think in new directions so that our projects and efforts could continue. And our work to combat social isolation has not diminished. On the contrary.
"In close collaboration with our partners, we have moved around courses and teaching, experimented with digital formats, we have become experienced in online meetings — and we have encouraged parents to talk about 'Free from Bullying' and run the children's relay at home.
"During the closure, there was extra pressure on the shelters, and we therefore quickly sent several backpacks away to children who come to the shelter with their mother."
Princess Mary’s letter in full:
Christmas greetings from the Crown Princess 2020
The Crown Princess looks back on the year that has passed in the Mary Foundation and wishes everyone a Merry Christmas.
It has been a very special year. For all of us.
It has been a challenging year. For many people, the restrictions have led to a great social deprivation.
But 2020 has also confirmed us in how much we need each other. How much it means to have someone close in life. And it has been a year in which many have shown great commitment and a willingness to go the extra mile to help others. It has been both touching and uplifting to experience.
In the Mary Foundation — like many others — we have had to readjust and think in new directions so that our projects and efforts could continue. And our work to combat social isolation has not diminished. On the contrary
In close collaboration with our partners, we have moved around courses and teaching, experimented with digital formats, we have become experienced in online meetings — and we have encouraged parents to talk about 'Free from Bullying' and run the children's relay at home. During the closure, there was extra pressure on the shelters, and we therefore quickly sent several backpacks away to children who come to the shelter with their mother.
In parallel with our projects, we have published analyses that contribute new knowledge about loneliness, domestic violence as well as bullying and well-being. Among other things, we have initiated a new major analysis of the Danes' readiness to act when they witness violence. Through our analysis work and in other ways, we have also helped to create awareness around our three focus areas.
The campaign "See loneliness"
In the Mary Foundation, we have worked for many years to fight loneliness. During the corona crisis, loneliness has naturally come on everyone's lips. Many feel alone and studies also indicate that loneliness is increasing as a result of the crisis. And the young are among the hardest hit. Therefore, during the summer, we launched a major communication campaign, where we encouraged young people to spot the loneliness around them and reach out to each other. We have also set up a youth panel, which has come up with recommendations on how we can fight loneliness and create well-being for young people during the corona.
The school force
There are still too many children in Denmark who are bullied and who do not thrive on going to school. That is why we have been working for several years together with Børns Vilkår and Save the Children to develop what we believe is needed to combat bullying and create well-being: A holistic program that involves everyone in and around the school in the important work of identify and combat bullying. This year, we launched the initiative, which has been named the School Force, because it provides the necessary tools and knowledge for the schools themselves to handle bullying and promote well-being for all. The program is currently being implemented at 20 schools. For next year, even more schools across the country can participate — we look forward to that. And we are pleased that the schools in the first evaluation report back that the School Force is a strong, coherent program,
Together without violence
Sometimes a pregnancy is not just a happy event. For some expectant parents, a pregnancy can trigger or escalate violence in their relationship — already during pregnancy. In collaboration with Dialogue against Violence, Amager and Hvidovre Hospital and Østifterne, we launched In 2019 Together without violence. The project will help to detect violence among pregnant women through a newly developed screening tool and at the same time offer the couples help and counselling. In 2020, the first midwives began using the tool. And we can already see that the tool has now helped us identify pregnant couples to whom we have been able to offer help to get out of life with violence.
Thank you
In the coming year, we will continue to work on our projects and initiatives, hopefully free of the shadow of the corona sooner or later.Although it is a hard and difficult time, there is also a lot to be grateful for — which gives hope: The will to be something for each other and the courage to stand up and ask for help is something I have had the pleasure to experience many times in the past year. It gives me the belief that we — together — can get through a dark time and out on the other side.
I would like to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and say a big thank you to those who have shown consideration, compassion and empathy - and also to those who have stood through the past in spite of great deprivation.
Merry Christmas
HRH The Crown Princess