popular activity in UngeVærket is without a doubt our food club.
Free dinner from Monday to Friday 18.30 - 19.30!
Each day, a sign-up list is posted with the menu, the person responsible for the food and a box where you can sign up as a "helper". A great opportunity to take an active part in cooking and preparing the communal meal. It breathes life into the "Skills" profile designation, as you can learn how to make different dishes together with the adult, which can be directly used at home in the family's own kitchen.
The list has room for 30 diners. You sign up (or call down) before 17.00, which is the deadline for registration. If we have enough food, it will be offered to those on the waiting list.
We can seat anywhere from 10 to 45 young people at dinner. Mobile phones are packed away and presence is in focus.
If you've helped prepare the food, you don't have to help with the washing up!
At the end of the meal, everyone helps to take their own plates and cutlery to the kitchen. We find 3-5 helpers who can clean pots, pans and the final touch in the kitchen. We don't operate with a "dishwashing penalty", but we talk up the service and motivate volunteers to sign up, which is applauded by everyone present.
It's quite cosy to stand with a nice adult, listen to cool music and help each other in the kitchen.
NB: Our take on why young people hate washing dishes is that the task can be too abstract for them and therefore triggers a lot of frustration. That's why we make sure we stand by their side, showing them how to approach the task with the right technique and utensils, so that the task feels tangible and easy to approach. Hopefully, the experience can be transferred to your own kitchen at home!
Once a week we go on trips out of the house. This can be:
We're also happy to do the slightly larger tours, for example:
In Ungeværket we operate with something we call "Spot activities". It is one of several activities on the evening in question that are highlighted and specially advertised, especially on our Instagram and Snapchat.
Examples of Spot activities:
Open Mic on the café stage, Chaos ball in the cage, Sam's fashion talk, GirlTalk with Natja, Rowing machine competition, Kahoot, Valorant tournament, Basket 2v2, Film night, Cookies baking, LaserTag and many more.
See the week's spot activities on our Instagram weekly schedule here:
Many things happen in a year at Pumpen. Here are some of the highlights:
October: Party at Pumpen!
Soda party.
1-2 times a week we do something called Youth Choice. A democratic forum where young people make suggestions for activities and initiatives - and then vote on them. We do this in the kitchen just before we're about to eat. The voted activities are usually written directly into the activity schedule for the following week - so they experience the cohesion from words to action. This is an extremely important process that gives the young people co-determination and influence over their own programme.
At UngeVærk Pumpen we have established a Youth Council consisting of:
Cille, 9u Nyboder
Mikkel, 7a Institut Sankt Joseph
Claire, 8c Langelinieskolen
Mathilde, 8th grade Niels Steensen Gymnasieskole
Carmen, 8z Nyboder
Ludmilla, 7u Nyboder
Their job is to be spokespersons and representatives for UngeVærket's users. They participate in meetings with the Ungeværks manager and have a say in the range of activities on offer, the pedagogical approach and framework, and make suggestions and adjustments to our programmes - to reflect the users' wishes and perspectives.
