CEO of Villum Foundation, part of VELUX foundations: We Have to Teach Young People They Can Shape the Future

In the Prešov center of the Open Future program, we welcomed representatives of Villum Foundation, part of VELUX foundations. The foundation has supported the expansion of our educational innovation to other cities. Martina Kolesárová, the Co-CEO of the Pontis Foundation, compared our Danish partner to a donor who truly cares about the projects and shows interest in the challenges. On the occasion of this visit, we spoke with Lars Bo Nielsen, CEO of Villum Foundation.

Danish foundation Villum Fonden is a generous supporter of educational programs across Europe. Our social innovation initiative Open Future is one of them. Why are you particularly focused on supporting this kind of project?

One of the key challenges we face today across Europe is the shift in knowledge needed in order for young people to be able participate actively and contribute to building a sustainable society. Digital skills must go hand in hand with an understanding of the green transition. Denmark is an integral part of Europe and our goal is to support efforts that can strengthen this development across our European society. This means ensuring that young people acquire not only technical competencies but also the soft skills that can empower them to shape their own future and contribute meaningfully to society. We have supported initiatives in Slovakia for several years and plan to continue this work in the years ahead.

One of the goals of the Open Future program is to support children’s creativity. Why do you consider it important to have creative and curious students?

My background is in university teaching, so I certainly can’t claim to be an expert in this area. But when it comes to creativity, I think it is a difficult skill to teach. What we can do, however, is create a learning environment that is open and inclusive, one that stimulates curiosity.
Creativity is an important lever for the digital and green transition, which is ultimately about preparing youth to contribute to innovation and developing new solutions.

We need to learn from each other and spread the experiences  

What are the main goals and focus areas of your organization’s support programs aimed at fostering an enlightened, sustainable, and democratic world?

We aim to contribute to an enlightened world by increasing knowledge and understanding in the natural and technical sciences. We therefore have a large research support program focused on these areas. In addition, we have an educational program that supports initiatives related to the digital and green transitions, as well as programs that support equal access to education, similar to some of the initiatives you have here. We also support cultural projects and institutions as a way to broaden our understanding of the world. The overarching goal is to help build an enlightened world with a sustainable and democratic society that is able to meet and solve the challenges faced by society today.

What is your goal during this visit in Slovakia?

First of all, as a relatively new CEO of the foundation, my goal is to learn about the projects in person. We have of course read about them, but meeting the people behind them is something entirely different. It is extremely important to understand and discuss the real needs and to see how the projects function in practice. Additionally, visiting Slovakia allows us to learn about the societal system, and the role of NGOs and foundations in the educational sector. This knowledge is valuable and might inspire projects in other countries and in Denmark as well. Learning from you is also one of the key objectives.

In which countries does the Villum Foundation currently support programs such as Open Future?

We support programmes in Slovakia and the Czech Republic, as well as in Poland and Hungary. More recently, we have also started supporting programmes in France and Italy. These are the countries where our social programme is active at the moment. Looking to the future, one of our key focus areas will be to strengthen the systemic impact of our grants and enhance cooperation between projects across national borders, so that we can learn from each other, not only within each country but across Europe. I believe this cross-border exchange will be an important focus going forward.