Danish People's Aid selects People's Aid of the Year 2026: The award goes to economist, researcher and author, Birthe Larsen, for her significant contribution to the debate on economic inequality and social mobility.
Every year, the Danish People's Aid's organizational board awards the People's Aid of the Year award to a person who has made a very special contribution within the organization's field of activity. This year, it took place at the Danish People's Aid's annual meeting on September 19 in Middelfart.
The Danish People's Aid's organizational board justifies the award with Birthe Larsen's significant and important contribution to the public debate on economic inequality and social mobility.
Lars Andersen, chairman of Danish People's Aid and director of the Danish Labour Movement's Business Council, says:
”"Based on her research, Birthe Larsen has managed to convey the complex connections between inequality, poverty and social development in a nuanced and accessible way. Her voice and research have and have been of crucial importance for the recognition that poverty exists in Denmark and that it will not go away just because we remain silent. In her book, Birthe Larsen asks what we are doing about the increasing inequality and has some advice that everyone who works with social development should know." In Birthe Larsen's latest book 'Why is inequality increasing – and what are we doing about it?', one point comes through clearly: We must do something about inequality, otherwise we will lose trust in each other and thus in the community that society should be.
”"With her research behind her and her own uncertain childhood as personal empirical evidence, Birthe Larsen is the most important voice we can possibly listen to in these years. Because it is fundamentally about economics. How we distribute and redistribute to ensure that we are there for each other and with each other in the community," emphasizes Lars Andersen.
