Folkedybet

This year, the Folkedybet festival will try to reclaim concepts from many negative perceptions we experience in TV debates or read in newspaper articles. The fact that the terms “outskirts” and “populist” are often overshadowed by “local” and “national” is dangerous and troublesome. Energy Academy has a slogan that goes, “It’s not easy, but difficult.” Therefore, the phenomenon of Folkedybet aims to exchange and come together to explore how we can continue to live a good life and consciously challenge ourselves and “the deep state” together.

Samsø, as an island, has thrived for decades because the island’s culture is very strong. Agriculture on Samsø was and is well-organized with a lot of knowledge. The ability to cultivate the land and turn it into a profitable business, combined with experience in understanding weather and wind, makes them essential key figures who know nature much better than many of us.

We should remind each other that farmers are out there every day. They have contributed to creating the welfare that we on Samsø enjoy, and yes, there is still much that needs to change. But remember, the farmers were instrumental in transitioning from fossil fuels to renewable energy in just 10 years.

We have delved into local archives and seen how farmers and citizens created Circus SUS, a show with lion tamers and tightrope walkers, and they were the performers themselves. The funds raised, built the round arch hall at Samsø School. This attests that there is a surplus to care about issues that bring the local community together and foster communities and the good life.

Without the rural culture, Energi Akademiet would not be able to call itself pioneers and Denmark’s Renewable Energy Island today. All the island’s collective memory and diverse experiences are like a precious human bank, where we all share and exchange with human surplus. How have we, the locals on Samsø, acted on both technical and behavioral local changes that now impact the “deep state” and inspire the rest of the world to follow suit? One of many results is the appointment by the UN of Samsø as one of three global climate leaders, in good company with two international cities.

Both here and in the many other local communities in Denmark, Energy Academy finds that there is a lack of space to meet and be informed about the many changes that need to happen. Folkedybet doesn’t have the answer, but it aims to inspire and open up for a much broader and democratic understanding of what we should collectively believe in despite challenges and excitement.