From now on, Danish will no longer be the working language at DIGNITY’s board meetings. As part of a broader internationalisation strategy, DIGNITY has admitted the Austrian human rights lawyer Manfred Nowak and the South African psychologist Nomfundo Mogapi in the board, whose working language will from now on be English.
»We are so happy that we have managed to recruit new, strong profiles for our board. They will contribute to our development as a leading international human rights organisation with continued strong Danish roots«, says DIGNITY CEO Rasmus Grue Christensen.
Chairman of the DIGNITY board, Christian Balslev-Olesen, adds: »DIGNITY is a specialized rehabilitation clinic as well as an active advocacy voice in Denmark and abroad, an international development organisation, and a modern centre of knowledge and research. Our new board excellently reflects this «.
Manfred Nowak is the secretary general of the Global Campus of Human Rights – an organisation, based in Venice, working to globally promote research and expertise in human rights. In the UN system, Manfred Nowak has served in prominent positions, among others as the UN special rapporteur on torture from 2004 to 2010.
Nomfundo Mogapi is a clinical psychologist and executive director of DIGNITY’s partner, the Centre for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation in Johannesburg. She has many years of experience with work in NGOs in prevention of violence and therapy directed at victims of political and other violence.
At the board meeting in January 2021, the board also welcomed a new Danish member, attorney Emil Kiørboe, who specializes in social law and human rights. During the last couple of months the board has been joined by three other new members: Lotte Leicht, the European director of Human Rights Watch, Camilla Noelle Rathcke, chairperson of the Danish Medical Association, and Marie-Louise Nørredam, professor of migration and health at Copenhagen University.
The new DIGNITY board:
Chairman Christian Balslev-Olesen, senior consultant and former UN executive (appointed by the DIGNITY board)
Vice chairperson Dea Seidenfaden, psychologist and leading official at Copenhagen Municipality (appointed by the Danish Psychological Association)
Louise Holck, CEO at the Danish Institute for Human Rights (appointed by the Danish Institute for Human Rights)
Lotte Leicht, European director, Human Rights Watch (appointed by the DIGNITY board)
Manfred Nowak, secretary general of the Global Campus of Human Rights (appointed by the DIGNITY board)
Nomfundo Mogapi, psychologist and executive director at the Centre for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation (appointed by the DIGNITY board)
Emil Kiørboe, attorney (appointed by the Danish Bar Association)
Camilla Noelle Rathcke, physician, chairperson of the Danish Medical Association (appointed by the Danish Medical Association)
Marie-Louise Nørredam, professor at Copenhagen University (appointed by Copenhagen University)
Tomas Martin, senior researcher, DIGNITY (elected by staff)
