Scan Magazine

Dear Traveller,

I imagine you will be reading this Christmas greeting in an airport or onboard a plane, on either a business or pleasure trip, perhaps thinking about your journey, going over expectations and worries.

And there is a good chance that while you are reading my Christmas greeting, I will also be travelling, sitting in an airport or onboard a plane, also considering expectations and worries. This December I am travelling heavily, working intensely to achieve the very best agreement possible at the Climate Change Summit in Copenhagen, in close cooperation with international heads of state and governments.

Writing this I do not know the concrete result of our endeavours. But I know that leaders, grass roots and citizens all over the world have sent a strong message of hope for our planet. And without hope for a better world there is no basis for a sustainable agreement in Copenhagen.

Hope is the basis of all major efforts. Hopes shape our future. If you deprive people of their hopes, you also deprive them of their lives. Hope is a strong survivor, but for those less fortunate, it may not always seemso. To encourage hope in others is the essence of Christmas.We all have a common future. Danes are among the happiest people in the world. And with happiness comes hope even in times of trouble as in the current year of economic crisis. One out of three Danes find themselves more hopeful now than last year, while only one out of ten is less hopeful. And even more importantly: We Danes are willing to share our hopes.

Letme endmy Christmas greeting by encouraging you all to share your hopes with a fellow human being during the holiday season, for the benefit of himor her, yourself – and the world.

I wish you all a hopeful Xmas!

Lars Løkke Rasmussen, Prime Minister of Denmark