Home to the skylark - The Velux Foundations

Foreword
Past and future in the same vein
The VILLUM FOUNDATION and the VELUX
FOUNDATION have frequently made donations
to activities designed to preserve the past for pos-
terity. Only a fraction of our donations, but still a
prominent theme.
To name but a few examples of our range under
this theme: a TV series about women in the Danish
Resistance Movement, a biography of the scientist
H.C. Ørsted, protective glass casings for the runic
stones at Jelling, archaeological digs around Ribe
Cathedral and funding for an extension to house
the archaeological and ethnographical collections of
the Moesgård Museum. From small bites of Danish
history – memories and destinies – to large-scale re-
search and dissemination projects, all of which serve
to define our common understanding. For these
purposes, donations from the Foundations have
helped to document the past and bring it to life.
A new green theme
The VILLUM FOUNDATION’s and the VELUX
FOUNDATION’s environment and sustainability
donations support a relatively new funding area and
have been made mainly in aid of research projects.
But in 2011, we trod new ground, and decided to
set our sights on a more distant future. 100 years
from now.
A future-oriented project designed to demonstrate
what it takes to become a sustainable society based
on conscientious use of resources and protection of
the natural world.
By sustainable development we mean – to quote the
Brundtland Report of 1987 – ”development that
meets the needs of the present without compromis-
ing the ability of future generations to meet their
own needs”.
We all know that the world’s complex environmen-
tal challenges require innovation. We hope to be
able to contribute to the debate on several fronts.
Among other things by supporting the develop-
ment of new economic models, other mindsets and
Lars E. Kann-Rasmussen
VILLUM FOUNDATION
patterns of consumption and behaviour. In sum,
projects that look far into the future and acknowl-
edge that what we do today will to a great extent
determine what is possible tomorrow. In this way,
by opting for some things, we will necessarily have
to opt out of others.
In the coming years, the Foundations will be con-
tinuing to cater for past, present and future alike
through donations with the common interest in
mind.
We would like to convey our thanks for the con-
tinued attention from applicants within our many
funding areas. And for the discussions and openness
we meet whenever we launch new initiatives. Our
thanks also to board members, experts and employ-
ees for their efforts over the past year.
Hans Kann Rasmussen
VELUX FOUNDATION
8 FOREWORD VILLUM FOUNDATION AND VELUX FOUNDATION
9