About

The Trampoline House is a non-profit, self-organized, user-driven culture house, where asylum seekers, Danish citizens and anybody else can meet, share experiences, and learn from one another on equal terms.

Located in the center of Copenhagen, the house was established in October 2010 by more than 100 volunteering asylum seekers and Danish asylum activists in reaction to Denmark’s asylum policies.

The Trampoline House offers a series of services and activities that have two aims:

1. To break the isolation that most asylum seekers find themselves in – and to provide them with the agency and tools needed for them to better their social and legal situation.
2. To inform the Danish public about the conditions of refugees and asylum seekers in Denmark, in an attempt to motivate the public to work to make the refugee and asylum policies more just and humane.

Activities

The Trampoline House strives to make the everyday life of asylum seekers in Denmark a little better by offering a space where they can engage in activities together with Danish citizens on equal terms. The house aims to create meaningful meetings and agency based on mutual respect, democratic learning, knowledge exchange, and network building.

The Trampoline House is open four days a week, from Tuesday to Friday, and offers:

• social and legal counseling
• lectures and debates
• medical and dental services
• film screenings and concerts
• Arabic, Danish, English, and French classes
• IT courses
• workshops and art exhibitions
• pay-what-you-can hair cuts and makeup courses
• children’s, youth, and women’s programs
• magazine production and excursions
• guided tours to different Danish asylum centers
• Yoga classes
• pay-what-you-can soup kitchen and entertainment every Friday night

All services and activities are free and draw on the skills, knowledges, and competences present among the users of the house and volunteering professionals. More information ➜

All asylum seekers living within greater Copenhagen, who don’t have tickets/monthly travel card from the Danish Red Cross, will get one ticket per week from the Trampoline House to visit the house and participate in its activities.

How to Join

You can become ‘user’ of the Trampoline House simply by showing up. The idea of a user-driven house means that you have the opportunity to influence what goes on. More information ➜

Background

The Trampoline House was realized thanks to the hard work of more than 50 volunteering asylum seekers  with various professional backgrounds from all over the world, in collaboration with more than 50 Danish artists, activists, curators, lawyers, social workers, writers, and theorists. For more, read the history of the Trampoline House ➜

Sponsor

The OAK Foundation Denmark has generously funded the establishment of the Trampoline House and is the main sponsor of its administration and programs until 2013.

Awards

The Trampoline House was awarded the prestigious Hal Koch Award 2011 in the spring of 2011 (click here to read the press release (in Danish)). The house was also nominated for the KPH AWARDS 2011. In addition, the house’s Creative Coordinator, Morten Goll, was nominated for the Årets Ildsjæl 2011 by City of Copenhagen.