The Danish government has refused to grant visas to delegations from the Global South to attend the UIA World Congress of Architects in Copenhagen this summer.
Although the stated aim of the event is to “leave no one behind”.
Kabag Karanja, co-founder of Kenyan architecture studio Cave Bureau, said:
A member of the team behind a Louisiana exhibition presented at the conference has had his visa application “unjustifiably rejected”.
He said that although Karanja spoke at the July event, his wife, mother and sister were also denied visas.
Very clear distinction
“Over the past year, my family has traveled to Canada,
the United States and other parts of the world without any of them being denied visas,” Karanja said.
“So there is no doubt that there is very clear discrimination happening in Denmark.”
In another case, a participant from Pakistan was told that her visa had been rejected;
Because the Danish government considers people coming from the country to pose a risk of illegal immigration.
Executive Order of the Danish Government “On the arrival of foreigners to Denmark on the basis of an entry visa”
It includes Pakistan in a small group of countries whose citizens are considered to “pose a particularly high risk of migration to Denmark or other Schengen countries.”
Karachi-based architect and researcher at WM Creative Studio, Elsa Ahmed, was invited.
To the conference to present her work in building shelters for women.
“Although I understand that every country has the right to ensure protective laws against illegal immigrants,
However, I was surprised that even though the documents attached to the application were complete and legitimate, I was still denied entry based on the most vague reason.”
She claimed that the Danish Foreign Ministry initially refused to reconsider despite the request of the UIA conference organizers – but at their insistence,
The decision was eventually overturned and she was able to present her research in Copenhagen.
“But many others were unable to arrive due to Danish visa policies,” Elsa added.
“It is unfortunate, because this could have been a career-changing opportunity for many individuals like me.”
A source close to organizing the conference claimed that some of the people who were invited to give presentations at the conference,
They were forced to do this online after being banned from entering Denmark.
Latest example of visa refusal
This is the latest example of architects from the Global South being banned from attending historic architectural events.
After similar issues at the Venice Architecture Biennale in May.
Mette Lindberg, CEO of UIA World Congress Copenhagen 2023, said:
“We regret to learn that some participants were unable to obtain a visa to travel to Copenhagen.”
“Despite these unfortunate instances,
we had a successful international event with participants from 135 countries creating a dynamic, diverse and inspiring atmosphere.”
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