Tvind

Tvind is the name of an international school centre in the small town of Ulfborg in Denmark, founded in 1970. The school, which claims to have been the driving force behind many pedagogical changes in Denmark, has grown to more than 30 private schools throughout Denmark.[1]

As an alternative to the formal education system in Denmark, the Tvind schools have been controversial in their programs and attitudes toward education. In particular, The Necessary Teachers Training College, which educates primary and secondary school teachers, has been very influential over the years.[2]

But Tvind is also controversial for reasons far beyond its philosophy on teaching. Media reports worldwide as well as investigations conducted by European governments allege that Tvind is run by a political cult involved in financial criminal activities. (see Allegations of organised criminal activity and cult status)

History

Tvind began when a group of young Danish teachers got together in the late 1960s with plans to form a traveling folk high school. They wanted to gain knowledge about the Third World and to find solutions for combating poverty. They decided to travel in an old bus to see the world and meet people from other countries and different backgrounds.[3]

This idea developed into The Traveling Folk High School, which is based on the Scandinavian tradition of 'Folk High schools'. Such traditional schools allow for adults to participate in continuing education. In Denmark, these Folk High Schools are public institutions subsidized and supported by the Ministry of Education.[4][5]

As The Traveling Folk High School was created by young people who wanted to learn about the world, it attracted like-minded young people. The school quickly grew, opening similar schools as well as Continuation schools for teens between 13 and 16 years. A Teachers Training college, 'The Necessary Teachers Training college' ('DNS'), domestic science schools, boarding schools for children, a seaman school and 'Small Schools' for mainly youngsters with special educational needs were established as well.[1] Schools were also established in other countries.[3]

Location of Tvind

In 1972 the Tvind base was founded in West Jutland on a plot of farming land called Tvind, where several schools were built as well as a teachers training college. At that time, all of Tvind's schools received public subsidies in accordance with the very liberal education laws in Denmark.[5]

Progression in the 1970s and 1980s

More 'Tvind Schools' began to emerge and after 25 years more than 30 schools have been established all over Denmark and some abroad. An estimated 40,000 children and adults have attended Tvind Schools since the first school was established in 1970.

Tvind soon became a popular center for youth counter culture in the 1970s and 1980s. They undertook social development projects in the third world and developed some groundbreaking social and environmental experiments. The world's largest electricity producing windmill, known as Tvindkraft or Tvind Power, was constructed on the school grounds in Tvind in the mid 1970s in a massive collaboration effort of volunteers, teachers and students.[6]

Danish government subsidies, Special Act and Danish Supreme Court decision

From 1970 to 1996, the Tvind schools received government financial support and supervision in accordance with Danish laws for private schools. Official support of The Necessary Teacher Training College, Tvind's volunteer training school in Denmark, had ended four years earlier, in 1992.[7][8]

A Special Act passed in 1996 by the Danish Parliament discontinued the official support beginning January 1, 1997. This act prevented the Tvind schools from receiving such support under the general rules, which they otherwise would have been entitled to.[9]

Wikisource English translation of the Supreme Court's Judgement in The Tvind-Case (1999)

In 1999, the Danish Supreme Court — in a unanimous, 11 judge ruling — set aside the Special Act on the grounds that it had circumvented the Danish Constitution. The controversial decision was the first time in the history of Denmark's Constitution that the Supreme Court had ever discarded an act as being unconstitutional.[9]

The Court's decision happened to coincide with the 150th anniversary of the Danish Constitution.[9]

Despite the Court's ruling, the Tvind schools never regained financial support from the Danish government.[10][11][12]

Tvind today

Fundraising, income generating activities and employment in other enterprises has become a successful part of the curriculum in the schools for adults, "Travelling Folk High Schools" and the "Necessary Teacher Training College".[13][14][15][16][17]

In the schools for children and youngsters the student base was shifted so that the focus is now on students who had a bad start in life, being subjected to abuse, being involved with alcohol abuse or other drug abuse, being from immigrant or refugee families with conflict ridden background or being orphans, etc. Financial support for training and education of such young people are available from the social services of the municipalities in Denmark, which are now providing the funds for the school fees and boarding fees. Those schools were named "The Small Schools" because of many smaller units with different programs.[18]

An estimated 40,000 children, youth and adults have until 1996 attended the Tvind schools since the first school was established in 1970.

School types

The Travelling Folk High Schools

The Travelling Folk High Schools were schools for young adults. The curriculum was the social, political, economical and cultural conditions of the world.[1][3]

The Travelling Folk High Schools did away with the classrooms as the only room for teaching and learning and took in peasants in the fields, workers in the workshops and factories, students and professors in the universities, house wives in their homes, politicians in the parliaments and ministers in the government buildings as teachers for the visiting and asking and investigating students.[1][3]

The schools became known for the travels which took place in old busses converted to classroom, living and study-area, library, kitchen and sleeping room. The busses went from Denmark across Asia to India and across Sahara to West Africa. Later on travels also were made by plane to other parts of the world such as Latin America and Southern Africa.[3]

Upon returning from the travels the students produced slide shows, speeches, lectures, films, books, plays, songs etc. and went on tours bringing all their experiences to the public and having lots of discussions.[3]

The experience and the meetings with the many poor people resulted in new programs at the Travelling Folk High Schools, where preparation for and work as "Development Instructor" on a development project in the Third World became part of the programs of the schools.[3]

Special programs were established in the late 1970s and the beginning 1980s for young people from the so-called Frontline States in Southern Africa. The programs emphasized on vocational skills. Students from Zimbabwe, South Africa, Mozambique, Angola, Namibia and Guinea Bissau completed such programs.[19]

The Necessary Teachers Training College

The Necessary Teacher Training College was established in 1972. The training leads to diploma as primary and secondary school teacher. The program has 3 praxis areas:

The Continuation Schools and the Free Schools

The first Continuation School for students from 14–18 years old was established in Tvind in 1974 and was followed by 6 other continuation schools and 6 international continuation schools with government financial support and supervision. The first International Continuation School received financial support from the EU Commission as well. A Danish Continuation School is a boarding school with the same curriculum and exams as the public schools, but the program may be very different.[1]

The First Free School for pupils from 7–16 years old was established in 1976 and was followed by 6 other Free Schools, 5 of them boarding schools, with financial support and supervision from someone chosen in the general public or from the municipality. A Danish "Free School" has the same basic curriculum as the public school. But the program may be very different.[23][24]

These two school types were discontinued after the Government withdrew its financial support from 1997.[25]

The Small Schools and The Second Generation School Cooperation

In 1979, the Small Schools started operations.

Many of the students are so-called "difficult" students. They are students with a bad start in life, being left on their own by adults, with backgrounds as runaways, being subject to abuse, criminality in the making, alcohol abuse and violence etc. Such students have often so-called "bad" behaviour, hardly any trust or confidence in adult people and react in many anti-social ways.[26][27]

Today the Small Schools have developed many different profiles for the programs. And the schools are organized in school centres where the actual "school" is located and where there may be other types of schools, such as the Travelling Folk High School or the Necessary Teacher Training College. The Small School Students live in "care homes", which are small units in a distance of 10-30 kilometres from the school centre.[28]

Other school types

There were also other school types such as domestic science schools and a seamen's school approved by the Danish government.[29]

Pedagogical principles, practical work and DMM

Pedagogical principles

The following pedagogical principles have been fundamental in the programs of the schools and their implementation:

Practical work

It has always been a practice in all the schools that the students have participated in and on many cases have had full responsibility for cleaning, maintenance of the buildings, cooking, part of the economy, gardening, repair of cars etc. This has had the consequence that the students have learned to take responsibility for and to handle issues and problems in the daily life, to find solutions and to rely on their own capabilities.[32]

DMM

DMM was developed in 1995. It is a revolutionary educational concept that turns the traditional class room lessons with the teacher at the blackboard and the students listening behind their desks, oin its head. In the DMM system, the student is at the center of his or her own education, planning what to study, at which level to study and when to study the different subjects.[33]

DMM stands for "Determination of Modern Methods". The main disciplines within the content of learning are Studies, Courses and Experiences.[33]

A digitally designed program was created to facilitate the newly defined educational method by the use if information technology. Each student has his/her own computer. Each school has a server with the digital DMM program with all its content: The School's Digital Library.[33]

Studies: In the Digital Library are all the subjects to be studied in order to complete the curriculum and pass the exams. Each subject is divided into sections representing different themes and again divided into tasks. Each task has an inspiring introduction and an instruction to the student about what to do. All the tasks include contact with the teacher, sending answers or reports and the final results. Own studies put the students at the center of their own learning. It is not about being present, keeping quiet, listening to the teacher. It is about being in the driver seat yourself. The demands on the personal effort are incontrovertible. It is a system, of education that sets clear demands, but simultaneously gives freedom to develop and exploit one's own potential. Old barriers that often hindered the strongest and weakest students are gone, because everybody is not forced to work at the same level and at the same speed. A greater learning ability among the whole student body is built up by having the individual student at the center of his or her own learning process. The students learn to become entrepreneurs who are active in shaping a rich variety of skills and functional knowledge and able to solve a broad range of tasks, thus picking up the DMM method can be used not only in learning but in life also, contributing to a good future for themselves and others.[33] Half of the education time is used for studies.[33]

Courses: Courses are lessons involving the whole class. The courses are interdisciplinary lessons led by the teacher. The courses touch all kinds of important matters within politics, science, nature, human life, ethics, philosophy, the universe etc. The courses are where the teacher performs. A quarter for the education time is used for courses.[33]

Experiences: The schools have always valued experiences as part of school life. At the schools many cultural traditions, travels, out of school activities and outreach programs have been part of the yearly school programs ever since the first school started. Being personally stimulated bye a variety of experiences is an important part of a person's life. Many of the students have not been used to getting new experiences. They need experiences that create a whirlwind of emotions, from happiness to surprise, indignation, anger and a deep wonder about the world with all its living organisms, its life forms and its absurd contradictions. Experiences are not things that just happen. They are part of the program. There is no doubt that experiences have at least as much influence on a student's life, on his development and his ability to live a full life, as studies and courses. Shared experiences such as sporting events, theater competitions,[34] classical concerts [35] and building actions are part of the educational programs.[33]

The experiences with DMM are the following:

Tvindkraft windmill

The wind turbine at Tvind
Front view of the down-wind wind mill at Ulfsborg, Denmark. Windmill built by Tvind

Teachers at the schools in Tvind decided in late 1974 to build the great wind turbine Tvindkraft (Tvind Power in English) to produce the energy needed by the schools in Tvind, at the same time as the Swedish Nuclear Power Plant Barsebäck was about to commence production of electricity. Tvindkraft started to produce electricity in 1978 and was the world's biggest wind turbine with a 53 m concrete tower and 3 wing blades of 27 m length each for a number of years. Tvindkraft continues to produce electricity as planned, while Barsebäck has been closed down. The world has since seen an explosion in the number of really big wind turbines in many countries. The Windmill Team was the group of people who build the windmill. It consisted of some teachers from the schools at Tvind together with different people from all over the country and from abroad, who had come to build the windmill. They all worked under the same conditions. They did not receive a salary, but board and lodging and pocket money. Some of the students joined in from time to time. The building of Tvindkraft served from the outset several purposes:

Tvindkraft has since supplied the energy needed for the schools in Tvind. The building of Tvindkraft inspired and gave rise to a growing wind mill industry in Denmark. The then HQ of Vestas Wind Systems was located only 25 km away. Tvindkraft receives a lot of attention and a lot of guests from Denmark and from abroad for being the first among the really big wind turbine, especially during the building and in the first years of operation. In December 2008, Tvindkraft as part of the schools in Tvind was awarded a European Prize, the Solar Prize, as a recognition of the pioneering effort of the decision to build, as well as actually building, the windmill in the 1970s. Tvindkraft received the award in the category Education. The German organisation Eurosolar awarded the prize and the following is quoted from Eurosolars motivation for the award: "During the years of the oil crisis in the 1970s ... the Danish schools in Tvind set out to build a 2 MW wind turbine in the year 1975. Students and volunteers from numerous countries came to Tvind in order to help the teachers and the students mount the 'Tvindkraft' (wind power) turbine. ... Only because of the innovative and the courageous work at the schools in Tvind was it possible to realize the 'Tvindkraft' turbine. Congratulations to the schools in Tvind. Winner of the European Solar Prize 2008." [6]

The Teachers Group

The teachers employed by the Tvind Schools in Denmark formed the Teacher Group in the early years. The Teachers Group or TG is not a legal body, but is way of sharing life and does not have legal personality. Most of the teachers in the Danish schools in the 1970s and in the early 1980s pooled their savings and invested these savings in acquisition of the school buildings via the Private Foundation Fælleseje, which became the owners of the buildings. The Teachers Group bases its principles along the lines of having a common economy, common time and common distribution (of what actual work position to take up).[42]

International Perspective

International issues have always been an integral part of the school programs in practice and in theory. A few out of many examples are:

Controversies and opposition

As the number of schools grew in the '70s, '80s and '90s from 1 to 30, as the number of students exploded, and as the financial support received from the government grew proportionally — suspicion emerged. Controversies emerged as the school programs were groundbreaking, as the challenges for students and teachers were very high, as the pedagogical ideas were put into practice, and as many new thoughts were formed and expressed and put into action. The programs dealt with some of the pressing issues at the time — such as what happens in the world today, how teachers shall be educated, what to do with so-called "difficult" students when such ideas were put into action — and disagreement and even anger emerged. Opposition was raised over the impact of 30 schools emerging in 25 years with total new and challenging programs in a tiny country with an area of 42,915.7 km2 and a population of 5,659,715.[44]

Some mistakes were made on the part of the schools and not all issues were handled in the best way. Such mistakes were often taken out of their context and used by media and others to create a fuss, earn money or create opposition.[5][45][46][47]

Investigations by authorities

The Danish authorities carried out extra investigations to check if everything was in order. For example, the Danish Public Accounts Committee made a special investigation in 1979-80, the tax authorities made a special investigation in 1995-1997, and the police made an unannounced visit to check visas of all foreign students in 1993. The only irregularities found were minor, disputable, and corrected subsequently when needed.[44][47]

Politicians and political opposition

Some politicians were in opposition and some supported the schools. Now and then questions from the members of Parliament to ministers led to investigations. The opposition grew and led the Minister of Education to declare he wanted the schools to be closed, but it could not be done administratively because the schools adhered to the laws of the country. Therefore a Special Act withdrawing government support from named schools was put before the Parliament and passed.[44][47]

The schools and their pedagogy had not any political affiliation but have received fierce criticism and opposition from the right for being left wing as well as from the left for being authoritarian and using capitalistic approaches.[44][45]

Supreme Court of Denmark

As described above the full court of eleven Supreme Court Justices declared unanimously the special act unconstitutional. It was the first and only time in the 150 years of the Danish constitution an act had been declared unconstitutional.[9][44]

Criminal allegations and two verdicts

In 2001 and 2002, eight individuals from the Teachers Group were charged with embezzlement and tax fraud against a private foundation which had as its purpose to support humanitarian causes, to protect the environment and to promote research. The allegations were that these eight had caused funds to be used for private and commercial purposes and not for the purpose of the foundation.[44][48] Seven of the eight persons were fully acquitted after 160 days of hearings in court. One person received a suspended jail sentence of one year for acts he had admitted before the hearings started. This happened in 2006. The verdict filled 4,200 pages.[48]

In Denmark the prosecution can appeal an acquitting verdict to a higher court (contrary to common law jurisdictions as USA and England) and it did so in relation to six of the original eight but on a limited scope of the original charges. In Denmark, however, a notice of appeal has to be served personally. Five of the six persons had not been living in Denmark for several up to fifteen years and returned to their home countries after the acquittal without being served with an appeal.

The appeals were only made 12 days after the acquittals and subsequent to demands made publicly by the chairman of the Legal Commission of the Danish Parliament and other politicians.[49]

The notice of appeal was served for the one person living in Denmark. The appeal trial has been completed and that person was declared guilty and received a jail sentence of 30 months, which was served in an open prison.[50] Later a notice of appeal was served for one more person.[51] No notice of appeal has been served for the remaining four.[52]

Some media and politicians did not make any distinction between the above schools and the individuals indicted and later acquitted in this criminal matter. They forget that no schools were involved in the trials and seven of the eight persons were fully acquitted.[44][53][54][55] It has been said more than once that the media has been playing to the tune of the prosecution, by legal experts and by others.[56][57]

The criminal matter has further been described as Denmark's legal showdown with "Tvind".[44][58] It has been added that this criminal matter undoubtedly forms part of a greater context of a political nature.[44]

The above four persons not having received the notice of appeal have been living abroad before becoming indicted; they left Denmark after being acquitted and before the decision by the prosecution to appeal the acquittals. No court in Denmark has admitted the appeal by the prosecution and the above four persons are not "fugitives" from the law.

The Appeal Court verdict of 30 months (above) has come under severe criticism in a leading Danish legal journal for being extremely complicated and not easily accessible — from a factual as well as a legal point of view. The grounds of the Appeal Court verdict are labelled as "noteworthy" and for being "not an everyday occurrence" and "exceptional".[44]

Media and controversies

Danish media and media in other countries have been extremely critical when reporting about "Tvind" for more than 30 years. There has been a consensus that everything "Tvind" was fair game for the media.[57]

It was noted by a commentator in a leading Danish newspaper after the first verdict that one should hope the it would be a signal to end an unpleasant and in every aspect uncritical partner race between the prosecution and Danish media.[57]

The leading prosecutor Poul Gade admitted after the acquittals that the prosecution from the outset did not have one single piece of evidence to get Mogens Amdi Petersen convicted. "That is why we chose to put forward a long row of circumstantial evidence which taken as a whole should prove Mogens Amdi Petersen guilty of embezzlement and tax evasion," said prosecutor Poul Gade to Denmarks Radio after the acquittals. (Translated from Danish.) [59]

A Danish lawyer with an intimate knowledge of the basis for the above special act compared in statements to a newspaper and on live TV Danish minister of education Ole Vig Jensen with Joseph Goebbels stating both ministers used lies systematically to fight political opponents. "Send a bouquet of flowers to Dr. Goebbels. He would enjoy what is happening now", said the lawyer and added on live TV: "Exchange the concept Tvind teachers for the word Jews, and this is precisely what we are talking about." (Translated from Danish.) The minister of education ordered a trial brought against the lawyer. The Regional Court of Appeal allowed in its judgement the statements of the lawyer in the circumstances and ordered the minister of education to pay costs.[60][61]

Former teachers and students

An estimated 40,000 children, youth and adults have until 1996 attended the Tvind schools since the first school was established in 1970. Thousands of students have attended since. A Google search for "Tvind 40,000 students" produced 3,750 hits, but the exact figure remains unknown. One of the first students wrote 25 years later:

"Many thousands of young and adults have been students at the Tvind Schools. Some of them couldn't stand it or accept the spirit and they have quite naturally criticised Tvind. By far the greatest number got something very valuable with them for their life. They went out and recommended Tvind so warmly that the school cooperative grew bigger and bigger throughout those 25 years elapsed since I was with the first team of the Travelling Folk High School in 1971." (Translated from Danish.)[45]

Allegations of organised criminal activity and cult status

According to a 2001 case summary by Danish police and Denmark's Public Prosecutor for Serious Economic Crime, Tvind's scope had by 1992 "expanded far beyond pure school activities." Such activities were said to include the ownership of Third World fruit plantations, farms, shoe factories, sawmills, aid agencies, used clothing shops as well as the leasing of property, ships and containers.[62]

The organisation has for decades generated considerable controversy worldwide. Numerous media reports as well as investigations by European governments suggest that Tvind's alleged controlling body, the "Teachers Group," is a political cult involved in financial criminal activities.[62][63][64][65][66]

In Denmark, Teachers Group leaders have been prosecuted for serious financial crimes, with two convictions in separate trials, in 2006 and 2009 respectively.[67][68]

Every year, alleged Tvind-run non-profit companies in the United States, Europe and elsewhere receive millions of dollars in governmental and private-sector funding intended for Tvind-related humanitarian programmes in Africa and other areas of the Third World. However, Danish prosecutors have claimed that Tvind members cleverly channelled a portion of funds earmarked for charitable use into purchases of property and luxury items, offshore tax havens and private business investments, all controlled by Tvind's top leaders.[62][69]

Tvind was founded c. 1970 by Mogens Amdi Petersen, then a young, radical idealist in Denmark. Handsome, charismatic and driven, Petersen is said to have collected about 40 followers and established a government-funded alternative school system for troubled youth in Denmark.[66][69]

Another type of Tvind institution, the "travelling folk high schools", were created to send teachers and students together to Third World countries with the ambition of improving living standards of the poor. Now collectively known as the "DRH Movement" (Den Rejsende Højskole in Danish), these schools train volunteers for humanitarian work overseas.

Some former DRH Movement students say that even after paying tuition of several thousand dollars, they were required to spend much of their time trying to raise yet more money by what some of them call begging in the streets. Students also complain that the training they received is not recognised by governments or aid agencies.[70][71][72][73]

In 1977, Tvind members founded the International Humana People to People Movement to oversee several self-described humanitarian aid projects in the Third World. In Scandinavia the group is known as "Ulandshjælp fra Folk til Folk" (UFF).[66]

Headquartered in Zimbabwe, Humana People to People claims on its website to be a "network of non-profit aid organizations in Europe, North America, Africa, Asia and Latin America, all working in the field of international solidarity, cooperation and development."[62][74]

But several programmes run by organisations that Humana People to People claims as its members have been criticised by former volunteers as being ineffective, culturally insensitive, environmentally unsustainable and even abusive toward volunteers.[65][75][76][77][78]

The Danish media began to suspect Tvind of fraud by the late 1970s.[66] Petersen, growing increasingly paranoid and claiming to be a target for the SIS and the CIA, disappeared one day in 1979, not to be seen again for the next 22 years. The elusive Dane is alleged to have continued to covertly run his organisation from various locations, subverting Tvind's original 'humanitarian' mission to create a lucrative financial web using standard money-laundering techniques. Petersen's network soon became a business empire based on property and used clothes collection.[69]

Tvind has since then grown into a global conglomerate with numerous profit-motivated enterprises reportedly worth hundreds of millions of dollars. Its interests range from farming and timber to property, retail clothing and furniture, with businesses in Europe, the United States, Brazil, Belize, Ecuador, Malaysia and China.[66]

Alleged Tvind-run organisations have placed tens of thousands of used clothes collection bins — most of these ostensibly for charitable purposes — throughout the United States and Western Europe. Humana People-to-People's donation bins can be found in many European countries except in Scandinavia, where clothes are collected under the name UFF.[62][78]

In the UK, clothes collection organisations said to be tied to Tvind include the for-profit companies Green World Recycling[79] and Planet Aid-UK,[80] as well as the charity called Development Aid from People to People UK (DAPP-UK).[81]

Tvind has also been linked to the College for International Co-operation and Development (CICD), located in Hull, East Yorkshire, England. Part of Tvind's "DRH Movement," this residential college advertises widely on the Internet as providing 'training' for young people wishing to volunteer in Africa. However, many former CICD students have complained about poor teaching, low-grade facilities, and being obliged to work long, unpaid hours collecting and sorting used clothes for commercial companies allegedly owned by Tvind. CICD has hundreds of clothes collection boxes across Northern England.[71][82][83]

In the United States, the non-profits Planet Aid[84][85][86][87] and Gaia Movement Living Earth Green World Action[73][88] and the for-profit company USAgain,[89][90][91][92] which have each placed thousands of clothes drop-off bins nationwide, have attracted significant unfavourable publicity over their business practices and alleged affiliation with Tvind. All three companies have denied any wrongdoing or a connection to Tvind, although executives of USAgain have publicly admitted to membership in the Tvind Teachers Group, and Planet Aid has stated that "less than 5%" of the 250 people working with the company belong to the group.[72][93]

There are three other alleged Tvind-run clothes collecting groups in the U.S., two of which are DRH Movement schools claiming to train volunteers for related humanitarian projects overseas: Institute for International Cooperation and Development (IICD), with branches located in Williamstown, Massachusetts and in Dowagiac, Michigan. But the IICD schools have elicited numerous complaints from former volunteers, with allegations ranging from low standards of "training," to dire living conditions, unreasonable work hours, bullying and even a "cult-like" atmosphere. Many of these volunteers also claim they were required to beg for money on American city streets and were exploited as free labor benefiting Tvind-owned businesses.[75][76][94][95][96][97]

A third DRH Movement school in the U.S. — Campus California, had been located in Etna, California, but reportedly closed under mysterious circumstances in December, 2009. The organisation has since relocated to Richmond, California, where it has continued with its clothes collection operation in the San Francisco Bay Area. The company has placed over 1,000 of its donation bins in the Bay Area, as well as hundreds more in Phoenix, Arizona.[73][98] In November 2014, Campus California announced its new name, Recycle for Change.[99]

In February 2002, FBI agents in the U.S. arrested Amdi Petersen between international flights at Los Angeles International Airport. An arrest warrant on Petersen had been issued in 2000 by the international police agency Interpol. A federal judge extradited the lanky, silver-haired guru to Denmark, where he and his top assistants would face trial for a multimillion-dollar tax fraud and embezzlement scheme.[100]

The highly publicised trial began in March 2003. Three years later, on August 31, 2006, Petersen, Tvind spokesperson Poul Jørgensen, top aids Kirsten Larsen and Ruth Sejerøe-Olsen, former chairperson for Tvind's 'Humanitarian Foundation' Bodil Ross Sørensen, financial director Marlene Gunst, and lawyer Kirsten Fuglsbjerg (aka 'Christie Pipps') were all acquitted of charges. However, another former chairperson of Tvind's 'Humanitarian Foundation,' Sten Byrner, was found guilty of fraud and given a one-year conditional sentence.[67]

The Public Prosecutor in Denmark immediately appealed the verdict to a higher court. However, the appeal is still pending for Petersen and four of the accused, all of whom fled Denmark shortly after being acquitted by the lower court.[66]

Poul Jørgensen, who had remained in Denmark for the appeal trial, was found guilty of tax fraud and embezzlement in January 2009, and sentenced to two and a half years imprisonment.[68] According to Danish prosecutors, Jørgensen diverted millions of dollars earmarked for charitable use into private businesses owned by Tvind leaders.[62]

List of some Tvind schools

Den Rejsende Højskole (DRH) (The Travelling Folk High School)

Other schools

Teams from Travelling Folk High Schools

DAPP Zambia Team 32

Notes

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 "Building Tvind"; DNS-Tvind / The Necessary Teacher Training College website; Ulfborg, Denmark; accessed December 27, 2011.
  2. ↑ Thomas Bredsdorff in the Danish daily Politiken, 23 February 2002, p. 4 under the heading "Tab og Tvind med samme sind"
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 3.7 3.8 3.9 3.10 "DRH Movement"; website of the Institute for International Cooperation and Development (IICD), Williamstown, MA, USA; accessed December 27, 2011.
  4. ↑ Konsulent Klavs Østergaard in the Danish daily Aktuelt, 14 June 1996, p. 21 under the heading "Tvind vil overleve".
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Danish News Agency Ritzaus Bureau, 28 August 1997 under the heading "For 25 år siden kom de første studerende til Tvind".
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 http://www.eurosolar.de/en/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=316&Itemid=24 "Appreciation Tvind School"; Website for The European Association for Renewable Energy; Bonn, Germany; accessed December 27, 2011
  7. ↑ Explanatory note to Bill No. 506 (Official report of Parliamentary Proceedings 1995/1996) read by Danish Parliament Folketinget, under the heading "Økonomiske og administrative konsekvenser" shows a grant of 103 million DKK (app. 17 million USD) from the Ministry of Education to 31 Tvind Schools for the year of 1995 only.
  8. ↑ The act itself is made public at https://www.retsinformation.dk/Forms/R0710.aspx?id=81616.
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 9.3 The Supreme Courts Judgement of 19 of February 1999 in Wikisource link to The Tvind-case (1999). Wikisource.. A summary can be found in the Venice Commissions database CODICES: DEN-1999-2-005
  10. ↑ Danish daily Aktuelt, Copenhagen, 7 October 1999, under the heading "Tvinds socialpædagogik", p. 10.
  11. ↑ Journalist Ulrik Dahlin in the Danish daily Information, Copenhagen, 21 March 2002, under the heading "Tvinds 'fodringsmaskine'", p.3.
  12. ↑ Journalist Ulrik Dahlin in the Danish daily Information, Copenhagen, 4 May 2002, under the heading "Tvind har sat sig tungt på socialpædagogisk marked", p.4.
  13. ↑ http://www.cicd-volunteerinafrica.org/TextPage.asp?MenuItemID=20&SubMenuItemID=186
  14. ↑ "25 years and still going strong!". iicd-volunteer.org.
  15. ↑ http://www.dns-tvind.dk/The-economy-of-DNS/what-does-saving-up-mean.html
  16. ↑ http://www.dns-tvind.dk/The-economy-of-DNS/common-economy.html
  17. ↑ http://www.dns-tvind.dk/The-economy-of-DNS/where-does-the-money-go.html
  18. ↑ Danish daily Aktuelt, Copenhagen, 2 February 1998, under the heading "Tvind trives", and the Danish daily Aktuelt, Copenhagen, 4 February 1998, under the heading "Tidligere Tvind-skoler langt nede i den kommunale bunke"
  19. ↑ 19.0 19.1 http://www.petkommissionen.dk/fileadmin/bind/pet_bind9.pdf 'PET Kommissionen', an official Danish Commission of Enquiry into the Intelligence Service of the Danish police, Copenhagen 2009, reports on page 351 of volume 9 as follows (translated from Danish): "According to PET (Abbreviation for the Intelligence Service of the Danish police) DAPP arranged courses in Denmark to assist the Africans to live a better live in the refugee camps. When the white regime in South Rhodesia fell, and the country became Zimbabwe, DAPP had built an expertise about the country, which likely would pave the way for that the organisation to establish itself as a local partner of cooperation for a number of donors. DAPP extended its field of activity in Africa throughout 1980s and started projects in Zambia and Guinea Bissau. The so-called Frontline Institute became established in Denmark in 1983 where both Africans and Europeans became trained to build up Front Line Village Centres to function as examples of the positive development in Africa. Tvind's commitment in Africa should be seen in the light of the Danish foreign policy which from the end of 1960s focused increasingly on the independence and the development of the developing countries, and the activities of Tvind may be seen to a certain point as an extension of the official Danish policy in the development aid area." It is noted at page 352 that 110 'ZANU partisans' had visited the Tvind Schools "to learn to govern their country".
  20. ↑ http://www.dns-tvind.dk/A-substantial-discription-of-DNS/the-training-in-details-1-year.html
  21. ↑ http://www.dns-tvind.dk/A-substantial-discription-of-DNS/the-training-in-details-2-year.html
  22. ↑ http://www.dns-tvind.dk/A-substantial-discription-of-DNS/the-training-in-details-3-year.html
  23. ↑ http://www.tvind.dk/TextPage.asp?MenuItemID=55&SubMenuItemID=165
  24. ↑ The Continuation Schools and the Free Schools are named in section 6 and section 7 the above mentioned special act, which is made public at https://www.retsinformation.dk/Forms/R0710.aspx?id=81616.
  25. ↑ The Danish News Agency Ritzaus Bureau, Copenhagen, 28 August 1997 under the heading "For 25 år siden kom de første studerende til Tvind" with an outline of developments in a news report to Danish media.
  26. ↑ The Danish News Agency Ritzaus Bureau, Copenhagen, 20 March 1996 under the heading "Tvinds småskoler - redningsplanke eller skraldespand?" with an outline of a Tvind Small School and some general information about small schools in a news report to Danish Media.
  27. ↑ http://www.tvind.dk/sporvogn/new_page_5.htm.
  28. ↑ "Tvindportalen - Velkommen - Tvindportalen". tvindportalen.dk.
  29. ↑ https://www.retsinformation.dk/forms/R0710.aspx?id=133228, Explanatory note to Bill 39 2010 read by The Danish Parliament Folketinget, See section "2.1. De maritime uddannelser".
  30. ↑ http://www.dns-tvind.dk/The-history-of-DNS/pedagogical-principles.html
  31. ↑ Elin Hansen: "Skoleerfaringer", Volume I, Ulfborg 1978, ISBN 87-87429-26-8
  32. ↑ Building weekend: http://tvindnewsupdate.blogspot.com/2011_04_01_archive.html
  33. ↑ 33.0 33.1 33.2 33.3 33.4 33.5 33.6 33.7 http://tvind.dk/files/om%20dmm.pdf
  34. ↑ Art Association of Tvind: http://www.tvindskunstforening.dk
  35. ↑ http://www.tvindskunstforening.dk
  36. ↑ http://www.tvindkraft.dk/default.asp
  37. ↑ "Waymarking - A scavenger hunt for unique and interesting locations in the world". waymarking.com.
  38. ↑ http://www.tvind.dk/TextPage.asp?MenuItemID=55&SubMenuItemID=160
  39. ↑ "Tvindmøllen kører stadig". Ingeniøren.
  40. ↑ "Tvindmøllen viste vej". folkecenter.net.
  41. ↑ ":: Winds Of Change :: Stories of a dawning Wind Power Industry  ::". windsofchange.dk.
  42. ↑ http://www.tvind.dk/TextPage.asp?MenuItemID=45&SubMenuItemID=140
  43. ↑ Administrator. "Welcome to Humana People to People". humana.org.
  44. ↑ 44.0 44.1 44.2 44.3 44.4 44.5 44.6 44.7 44.8 44.9 Danish legal scholar, Professor, Doctor of Laws, Jan Pedersen, Department of Law, Aarhus University, in a legal analyses under the heading "Tvind-straffesagen - en retsvidenskabelig epilog" ["The Tvind criminal case - a jurisprudential epiloque"] Juristen, Copenhagen, No. 10 2010, p. 293-308.
  45. ↑ 45.0 45.1 45.2 Journalist cand. mag. Claus Bangsholm in the Danish daily Politiken, Copenhagen, 12 May 1996, under the heading "Tvinds ideer lever videre", p.9.
  46. ↑ Journalist and former folk high school principal Soeren Plum in the Danish daily Politiken, Copenhagen, 14 May 1996, under the heading "Tvindstanker", p. 3.
  47. ↑ 47.0 47.1 47.2 Journalist Martin Oestergaard Nielsen in the Danish Magazine Press, Copenhagen, 1 June 1997, under the heading "analyse af særloven mod Tvind, Hemmeligheder og løgne om Tvind".
  48. ↑ 48.0 48.1 Orla Borg and John Hansen in the Danish daily "Morgenavisen Jyllandsposten", Aarhus, 1 September 2006, under the heading "Retten troede paa Amdi Petersen". Translation of heading "The Court believed in Amdi Petersen"
  49. ↑ Statements made by Peter Skaarup, MP and chairman of Legal Commission of Danish Parliament to Danish News Agency Ritzaus Bureau on 31 August 2006 shortly after live TV transmission of the verdicts from Court under the heading "DF er overrasket over frifindelsen" at 14.41 and repeated later at 19.07 under the heading "Undren hos K og DF over Tvind-dom" with similar statement from Danish conservative MP Tom Behnke.
  50. ↑ Orla Borg and John Hansen in Danish daily "Morgenavisen Jyllandsposten", Aarhus, 27 December 2009, Section "Indblik" under the heading "Det gyldne bur" and sub section "Fakta: Spørgsmål og svar"
  51. ↑ Ritzau. "Tvindfolk kan ikke gemme sig i udlandet". dr.dk.
  52. ↑ Sabine Matz / Hilmar Vester. "Nye metoder i jagten på Tvindtoppen". dr.dk.
  53. ↑ "Barberet anklageskrift mod Tvind". Information.
  54. ↑ Orla Borg and John Hansen in the Danish daily Morgenavisen Jyllandsposten, Aarhus, 1 September 2006, p. 5, under the heading "Retten troede på Amdi Petersen"
  55. ↑ Astrid Grunnet in the Danish daily Politiken, Copenhagen, under the heading "Amdi: Dommen over Tvind".
  56. ↑ Professor Lars Bo Langsted cited in the Danish daily Politiken, Copenhagen, 1 September 2006, under the heading "Politikere vil tjekke loven", p.2.
  57. ↑ 57.0 57.1 57.2 Egon Balsby in the Danish daily Berlingske Tidende, Copenhagen, 2 September 2006, under the heading "Medier: Uskønt parløb", 2nd section, p. 19.
  58. ↑ Hans Drachmann in the Danish daily Politiken, Copenhagen, 1 September 2006, under the heading "Amdi pure frifundet – Tvind er tilbage på sejrens vej", frontpage
  59. ↑ http://www.dr.dk/P1/orientering/indslag/2006/09/01/165659.htm
  60. ↑ http://www.harlanglaw.dk/dokumenter/Emne%2034.%20Laes%20mere%20klip.pdf
  61. ↑ http://www.information.dk/find/artikler/send%20en%20buket%20til%20dr%20goebbels?as_filter=13_50617-
  62. ↑ 62.0 62.1 62.2 62.3 62.4 62.5 The Chief Constable in Holstebro and The Public Prosecutor for Serious Economic Crime (Denmark). "Case Summary - The Public Prosecutor v. Mogens Amdi Pedersen et al", November 1, 2001 (English translation by the Danish government); accessed convenience link June 26, 2011.
  63. ↑ Henley, Paul. "Denmark's Tvind", British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC); March 21, 2002; accessed June 26, 2011.
  64. ↑ "Charity faces ongoing cult accusations", The Copenhagen Post, December 17, 1998
  65. ↑ 65.0 65.1 Wakefield, Rebecca. "Trouble From Denmark", Miami New Times; March 21, 2002; accessed June 26, 2011.
  66. ↑ 66.0 66.1 66.2 66.3 66.4 66.5 Waterman, Michael. "Mysterious Danish Group Builds Exotic Compound on Baja Coast", San Diego Reader; February 3, 2010; accessed June 26, 2011.
  67. ↑ 67.0 67.1 "Tvind: Danish court convicts 1, acquits 7, in fraud case involving humanitarian groups", Religion News; September 1, 2006; accessed February 9, 2015.
  68. ↑ 68.0 68.1 "Humanitarian Fraudster Convicted", Copenhagen Post (Danish news in English); January 20, 2009; accessed February 8, 2015.
  69. ↑ 69.0 69.1 69.2 Durham, Michael. "Enigma of The Leader", The Guardian; June 9, 2003; accessed June 26, 2011.
  70. ↑ Durham, Michael. "How Tvind attracts young people", Humana Alert website - page on DRH schools; accessed February 23, 2013.
  71. ↑ 71.0 71.1 Murphy, Paul. "Concerns raised over college", BBC Look North - Yorkshire and North Midlands (UK); August 22, 2008; accessed December 27, 2011.
  72. ↑ 72.0 72.1 Thompson, Tisha. "Planet Aid Denies Cult Connection", WTTG FOX-5 News; Washington, DC; June 9, 2009; accessed June 29, 2011.
  73. ↑ 73.0 73.1 73.2 Werner, Anna. "Behind the Green Box", CBS San Francisco; December, 2006; accessed July 4, 2012.
  74. ↑ Humana People to People website, page titled "About Us"; accessed June 27, 2011.
  75. ↑ 75.0 75.1 Heckscher, Zahara. "Zahara Heckscher's story", by a former IICD-Massachusetts volunteer in Zambia, 1987-1988; posted in 2000; accessed February 9, 2015.
  76. ↑ 76.0 76.1 "Complaint against IICD-MA", by former IICD-MA students (names unavailable); August 8, 1991; sent to the Massachusetts Attorney General; accessed April 30, 2013.
  77. ↑ Sonani, Bright. “Students blow whistle on DAPP”, Malawi News, October 4, 2003; accessed May 2, 2013.
  78. ↑ 78.0 78.1 Nordahl, Bjørn Olav; Sylte, Turid. "Skreddersydd for svindel" (in Norwegian), Vårt Land (a newspaper in Norway); October 23, 2010; accessed June 29, 2011. "A Perfect Fit for Fraud" is a link to an English translation of the Vårt Land article; accessed June 29, 2011.
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  80. ↑ Latcham, Giles. "Second hand clothes", BBC Inside Out - West Midlands (UK); February 11, 2009; accessed June 27, 2011.
  81. ↑ Manek, Nizar. "LSE reuse scheme sends fake charity to recycling bin after investigation", The Beaver Online – London School of Economics Students' Union; March 16, 2009; accessed June 27, 2011.
  82. ↑ Durham, Michael. "CICD – a college in Hull, England" (summary includes testimonials by former CICD students); accessed July 17, 2013.
  83. ↑ Durham, Michael. "Cruel Mind Games – Inside the Secret World of a Cult", The Times (UK); May 2, 2000; accessed April 30, 2013.
  84. ↑ Thompson, Tisha. "Kindness into Cash" - FOX 5 Investigation: Planet Aid, WTTG FOX-5 News, Washington, DC; May 12, 2009; accessed October 31, 2010.
  85. ↑ Goldstein, David. "Charity Watchdog Accuses Planet Aid Of Misleading Its Donors", CBS Los Angeles website; December 6, 2011; accessed December 16, 2011.
  86. ↑ Terlizzi, Gena. news investigation of Planet Aid; KTKA-49 ABC News, Topeka, Kansas; 2007; accessed convenience link November 3, 2011.
  87. ↑ Stockman, Farah. "Planet Aid's charity work draws worldwide scrutiny"; The Boston Globe; April 7, 2002
  88. ↑ Eng, Monica. "Clothing operations linked to controversial Danish group continue to thrive", The Chicago Tribune; May 14, 2011; accessed June 18, 2011.
  89. ↑ Halsne, Chris. "Truth Behind Donation Bins", KIRO 7 Eyewitness News, Seattle, WA; November 16, 2009; accessed November 18, 2011.
  90. ↑ Freeman, Huey. "No charity cases: Some clothing boxes are not what they seem to be", Herald & Review, Decatur, IL; February 9, 2011; accessed November 3, 2011.
  91. ↑ Durham, Michael. "The Truth about USAgain", Tvind Alert (watchdog blog about the Teachers Group); June, 2012; accessed July 5, 2012.
  92. ↑ "Red, white...and confusing", Better Business (newsletter of the Denver/Boulder Better Business Bureau); July/August 2005; accessed November 3, 2011.
  93. ↑ Halsne, Chris. "Local Mayor Wants Red Bins Out", KIRO 7 Eyewitness News, Seattle, WA; November 25, 2009; accessed July 5, 2012.
  94. ↑ Eng, Monica. "Humanitarian work turns into servitude", The Chicago Tribune; February 13, 2004; accessed July 9, 2012.
  95. ↑ Sara (last name withheld). “Sara's story”, by a student who left IICD-MI while planning to go to Zambia in July 2002; Humana Alert, 2002; accessed May 31, 2013.
  96. ↑ Cheshes, Jay. "Mission Control", Boston Magazine; October, 2000
  97. ↑ Willis, Jessica. "Questions in Williamstown - IICD: Humanitarian aid, or money & principles gone awry?", The Berkshire Eagle, Pittsfield, MA; February 11, 2007; accessed February 9, 2015.
  98. ↑ Smith, Matt. "Your Rags to Their Riches: Donated Clothes May Fund International Fugitive", San Francisco Weekly; June 8, 2011; accessed June 14, 2011.
  99. ↑ “Campus California is Celebrating its 14th Year by Becoming Recycle for Change”, EINPresswire.com; November 21, 2014; accessed February 9, 2015.
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External links

Tvind websites