The soon to be released app called “Religious Holiday Calendar” in AppStore and “Holiday Calendar” in PlayStore provides an overview of holidays of the 5 largest religions in the world, and of UN observances.

The app is inspired by the paper calendar produced by the Association New Dane (Foreningen Nydansker) every year since 2001. This calendar has a new theme every year. In 2018 the theme is “cultural meetings at the job”, and the calendar sheds light on the different rules generally unspoken of, but existing and taken for granted in most workplaces in Denmark – in other words, the small quirks and peculiarities that can be difficult to understand when coming from the outside. The idea is to address the common ways in which people with other cultures can misunderstand the Danish workplace culture, and to create a platform for debate concerning things that are not always easy to talk about - and thus to avoid further misunderstandings.

In Denmark, the app and the paper calendar have been used in a variety of ways in the Danish public administration, e.g. at hospitals when planning duty rosters. However, also private enterprises have incorporated the calendar in their monthly planning, e.g. transportation companies taking into consideration the staff’s religious holidays, thus making it possible for staff with a Christian background to have days off during Christmas, and for staff with a Muslim background to have days off during Eid ul-Fitr etc. Moreover, the calendar is being utilized for teaching in Danish high schools, making the functions of the calendar versatile.

As of now, the app covers Christianity in the protestant form, Islam, Judaism, Buddhism, Hinduism, and the UN observance days. However, if it appears that other countries are interested in adapting the app to their national context, the app is rather dynamic, making it possible to add or remove religions from the list. In other countries, it might for instance be relevant to add the Orthodox or Catholic forms of Christianity as categories, or to distinguish between different forms of Islam.

In any case, the app can help bettering the intercultural understanding, thus making diversity a strength.

For further information about the app, and about potential collaborations on developing an app specifically for your country, contact project manager Jes Vissing Tiedemann on jt@foreningen-nydansker.dk