About Me

Today: You can find me, battling with snails and whatnot, in the garden near my house in Hals (near the fjord). Once I turned thirty, I decided together with my wife, Monika, that a decade of travelling the world was enough and it was time to create our little corner of paradise. In the meantime, our family expanded with a little girl (Luna Aurelia) and we are still navigating the perilous sea of early parenthood. 

Origins: I grew up in a small village in North-East Romania (Moldova). During my childhood, I developed a thirst for adventure (by reading every traveler book in my mom’s library), a desire for diversity (by collecting plants in my grandma’s garden), an interest for the world (by reading my grandpa’s newspaper everyday) and an aptitude for leadership (by running the village football team). Every night, I would fall asleep with a book in my hand, dreaming that one day I would leave my beloved hidden valley between the grapevine hills, and go discover the world.

From village to city: Once I turned twelve, my parents decided that it was time for me to be placed in a more challenging environment. More exactly, 30 km away in the nearest city. Living alone in the city allowed me to learn how to be independent and self-sustaining. Also, as a village boy, I discovered the harsh reality of bullying and discrimination against “others”. This is the first time I started to think about social justice and with the help of a teacher from high school, I discovered my affinity for social democracy. It was also the time, I started to write short fiction stories, produced radio shows for the high school, created a club for Japanese culture enthusiasts and went to academic Olympics (Geography / History).

From Romania to Denmark: Once I turned eighteen, I decided it was time to start my adventures. As Japan was not an option (Finished a Philology High School; No real focus on mathematics – main requirement to study there), I looked on the map of Europe and discovered that you could study in English in the Nordic states. Denmark was the closest and Aalborg was the cheapest. Therefore, my parents filled the car with cans and whatnot, drove me for two days and here I was ready to begin my university life at UCN.

The Danish dream: The first year in Denmark has been difficult. Too cold. Too dark. The locals would not speak to me. Rent was expensive and food was scarce. My first job as a newspaper deliverer proved to be a hoax and my second job as dishwasher earned me 60 kr per hour. The few people I got to get along with, slowly started to give up and return to their home countries. To escape, I signed up for an Erasmus semester abroad in Palma de Mallorca (University of Balearic Islands), followed by an internship at a Champions League football club from Romania. Being away from Denmark, I noticed that people would treat me differently whenever they heard I came from a Danish university (probably making the mistake that I am Danish). This intrigued me and fueled my desire to learn more about Danish society.

Why Danish politics?: I returned to Denmark with a different attitude. It was time to shed the veil of “invisibility” over the existence of international students in Denmark. After a little bit of research, I discovered that “we” (as in non-Danish citizens) have political rights in Denmark. After asking, right and left, about it, I understood that this was Denmark’s best kept secret. Denmark, the country that celebrates democracy every year, the country that takes pride in high turnout at the voting sections, the country that was built on the principles of democracy. The fact that almost a quarter million people were kept in the dark, away from what makes Denmark truly great, fueled my motivation to enter Danish politics and it became one of my life missions. 

The first year in Danish politics: After reading the political history of Denmark, I understood that Socialdemokratiet is the political party that aligns the most with my principles. Not long after I joined, I met Lasse Frimand Jensen (who was preparing his first time candidacy for Local Council). After a presentation in which I told him about my intention to spread the knowledge of political rights to all the non-Danes and motivate them to use those rights, we started a collaboration, in which he would become the voice of the internationals in the Local Council of Aalborg. We worked together for one year, in what will later be known as “the first English political campaign in Denmark’s history”. 

Local politics for English-speakers: With every year spent inside the Danish political stage, my life mission became more complex. It started with spreading the knowledge about political rights to non-Danes, and it continued with adapting the Danish political system to non-Danish speakers. Together with the other internationals that got a taste for local politics, we started an english-speaking social democrat youth wing. Every Thursday, we would meet (quite a few – at least fifty) and discuss local politics. It was the only political club in Denmark where you could debate in English. Some of the fine young people in that club even went on to hold top level positions within the youth party. 

Political promises become reality: Not even two years passed after the 2013 local elections, and the political program that we wrote for Lasse’s campaign became reality. From the campaign promises, my favorite one has been the establishment of an International House. So you can imagine my joy, when the political idea we visualized at a brainstorming event was standing right in front of me. This reinforced my trust in the Danish political system and it made me understand that if you organize and fight for something, it can become a reality. 

Building bridges: After almost half a decade spent in Aalborg, I started to notice that two parallel worlds existed in the same place. The English-speaking world and the Danish-speaking world, and with a few exceptions, those worlds would be completely oblivious to one another. That’s how my involvement with European Youth North Denmark began. I wanted to build an association, made up half by Danes and half by non-Danes, basically a “melting pot” that would create the new Aalborgenser, the cosmopolitan type. In the end, thanks to the efforts of hundreds of young people, the organization became a symbol for the internationalization of the city. In 2014, we were the only bilingual association in Aalborg. Few years later, there would be dozens of choices for a non-Danish speaker. 

“Aalborgenser” abroad: As European Youth North Denmark reached its peak years (2016-2017), by becoming the largest youth organization in town with events every 2-3 days, our work started to be recognized abroad. We started to be invited to all kinds of conferences and events, and everywhere we would go as “ambassadors” of Aalborg. Why? Because after spending so many years here, trying to make the city more international, we became attached to it. It was a symbiotic relationship, in which Aalborg would become more welcoming, and we would become more connected to it. And what better way to illustrate that, then the moment when we won the silver medal from the European Parliament and the Danish flag would be harbored behind our representative (despite the fact she was from Poland). 

Representing Denmark abroad: In 2017, I was chosen as the youth delegate of Denmark at the Council of Europe (Congress of Local and Regional Authorities). For a year, together with the delegates of Norway and Sweden, we have developed the Visby model of political engagement. The model was created with the intent to help local authorities include non-nationals within the democratic process. 

Making AAU more international: During my master at Aalborg University, I noticed the well-established democratic governing structure and to my surprise, no international students elected within. As you can imagine, I couldn’t live with that considering that there were thousands of international students who had no voice in student government. I talked with the international students, wrote a manifesto based on their issues and convinced more than a dozen to run in the student elections, under the banner of Frit Forum Aalborg. Several of them got elected (making history at AAU – first non-Danes ever) and it pushed the university to pay more attention to the international students. 

First time candidate: After running 3 campaigns for other politicians (since 2012), I decided that it was time to join the political arena and became a candidate for the Regional Council North Denmark. Under the slogan “Let’s make history together…” and with an awesome team, I have managed to become first deputy regional councilman. During the campaign I focused mainly on disseminating the knowledge about political rights to non-Danes. 

First non-Dane in a Regional Council: In May 2020, I received an email I will never forget. I was invited to join the Regional Council North Denmark for an undetermined period as one of the councilmans had to temporarily step down. You can read more here about my first council meeting. During the months spent in the Regional Council, I have learned how the yearly budget is negotiated (and how difficult it is to get even one wish in the budget law), I have made my first political proposals (The International Clinic, more money for National Genome Center, Bi-lingual public health apps, etc.) and obtained valuable experience.