let me be very honest I’m here to
persuade view that our differences in
the world should be seen as a strange
source to inspiration and development
not intolerance prejudice
so today I want to encourage each and
one of us to do our very best to stay
curious to be open minded so we can all
enjoy a better a more diversified world
so how do we become more open-minded you
might ask and I believe that travel is a
great weapon to fight narrow mindedness
travel broadens our mind when we meet
new people experience new people new
places something different we also start
to think differently and that is why my
team and I for a decade have worked
really hard to make travel simple but
also to inspire people to travel more
because we believe that traveling really
opens up our mind and our latest global
travel study has studied
among more than 7,200 people in 18
countries shows that 76% actually say
that traveling has given them a more
positive view on other cultures in
general seventy-five percent say that
traveling has given them a more positive
view on people from countries they have
actually visited and 61 percent believe
that there would be less intolerance in
the world if it traveled more so that is
something I really like to hear but
there is a challenge and the challenges
says 48% also believes that people have
become less tolerance towards other
cultures than we were five years ago
this is something we have to find it’s
almost half of the people we asked for
set this so it’s about time we start a
conversation about who we really are and
how we can all become more tolerant and
have less prejudice and I can start that
conversation but that doesn’t really
matter if I’m the only one having that
conversation so that’s why we want to
start a movement and moving where
hopefully all of you people who can
support and believe in our purpose about
opening up the world can help us spread
the word that is at least what we hope
for and when I heard somebody suggesting
using a DNA test as a tool I thought
that was a perfect way to actually
confront people with their own narrow
mindedness and at the same time showing
that we actually have more things in
common than we think what we did was we
invited oh because of you could say 67
people we aim for very diverse crowd we
interviewed the 67 people for 10 minutes
each ask them questions about where
you’re from what do you think about your
country what do you particularly like
about your country are the
internationality you would like to be
other internationales you don’t like to
be and so on and afterwards we tested
all the 67 people waited for the results
and when we got the results we matched
the results with the interviews we had
we then selected 15 people from where we
thought we could maybe get some strong
reactions then we got a call from the
DNA company telling us that something
really rare came up because among these
67 people we tested it turned out the
two of them were actually cousins
distant cousins so we thought maybe if
we’re lucky we can have a good story
about that so we actually ended up
having 16 people in Copenhagen for the
shooting of the DNA journey three days
of shooting with three cameras and of
course we really hoped to capture some
strong moment especially for
on the second where the participants got
the resource but let’s just see the
movie I’m proud to be English my family
have served and defended this country
and been to war for this country I’m
really patriotic about them in the dish
[Music]
definitely
this is Kurdish wedding with my mom in
which traditional Kurdish cloth we’re
just proud black so that’s it yeah I
think we are probably the best country
in the world if I’m honest think about
other countries and other nationalities
in the world there any that you you
don’t feel you you get on with well you
you won’t like particularly Germany yeah
I’m not found in the Germans you might
think they’re a little bit particularly
India and Pakistan probably because of
all the conflict because I have this
side of me there’s like that hates
Turkish people not people but the
government but French no but we’re just
best you know it’s just fact I’m more
important than you I don’t know you but
is my opinion I am strong and I am I am
more important than a lot of people
how would you feel about taking a
yeah I feel very intrigued what could
you possibly tell me that I don’t know
see do you know how DNA works so you get
half from mum and half from dad’s a 50%
from each of them a negative 50% from
their parents and back and back and back
and all those little bits of your
ancestor they filter down to make you
you and you just fit in this tube for me
we spit up to the little black line
that’s a lot of spit the story of you is
in there – what’s it gonna tell me it’s
gonna be oh yeah you’re French oh wait
your grandparents are French and wait
I’m a guy
so did Iraqi I’m CUBAN gonna tell me
J you come down join us I’m a little bit
neveress I have to say so you’re ready
to find out your results and you made it
out to us please oh my god Wow Shh
didn’t expect that no no carcasses which
was Turkish yeah Eastern Europe Spain
Portugal Italy Greece
5%
German I’m Irish yeah so I’m a Muslim
Iceland has definitely moved closer to
Europe now I’m gonna go a bit far right
now but this should be compulsory that
would be no such thing as like extremism
in the world if people knew the heritage
like that like who would be stupid
enough to think of such thing as like a
pure race in a way we’re all kind of
cousins in a broad sense in a much more
direct sense you have a cousin in this
turn around and guess who it is wash
yeah what’s that
why don’t you come down here to meet
your cousin
wow that’s beautiful
thank you so would you like to travel to
all of these places
yeah so the DNA journey is very much
about taking a journey exploring your
own diversity but it’s also about a
journey where you can actually travel to
the places you’re from and maybe you
don’t know where you’re from but then I
know that you at least one of you are
able to win a DNA kit I heard that
earlier today so that’s really exciting
I have to say that the DNA journey has
been an incredible experience for me
personally as well I was there behind
the scene during the entire shooting and
it was just so emotional from very first
second you could just feel the emotion
just sitting there and listening to
people’s stories hearing the background
seeing them showing the family pictures
and of course always the highlight when
the envelope was passed through and
people had to open it it was just
incredible really really amazing
experience and I think it’s pretty
obvious that if you find something that
turns out to be part of yourself you do
start to think and feel differently but
what really struck me was that even the
participants who actually got a result
that was very close to what they
predicted also seemed to react quite
heavily and I think it probably has to
do with sudden you sit there with an
envelope in your hand and you know
biology is telling you who you are
then you start thinking about how have
you been acting have you been patriotic
without really knowing who you are does
it then make sense to be patriotic when
you don’t know who you are but the
important thing is that a DNA test
doesn’t change you you are who you are
but it might change your mindset and I
think that’s the important thing for us
and that was what we’ve tried to achieve
that we can actually change people’s
mind after the shooting I know this is a
terrible picture of me but it was the
only one I had on my phone and I wanted
to share with you because after the
shooting all the participants and all of
us
had been involved we hang out and we
talked we laughed we hugged we had fun
we acted like we were one big family and
in a way we are but remember none of us
knew each other none of us had met
before but just because we had listened
to each other stories suddenly we
started to act like we were best friends
and going back to the company and
telling my employees that I personally
experienced how we change people’s mind
how the fight and the purpose we’ve had
for 10 years actually resonate deeply
with other people it’s just the best
feeling I ever had
much better than reaching a revenue goal
or reaching a profit goal or something
like that so that was really remarkable
that was my experience this is what some
of the participants they said it was one
of the most incredible experiences of my
life
I’m so grateful to have lived that
experience grateful for the way it
changed me and how it’s shaping my work
as an artist today it was a profoundly
emotional experience and made me
question Who I am and who I thought I
was and this is what Callas the Cuban
guy he said it’s truly amazing because
all the sudden you’re a part of
something that is changing the world in
a good way I never expected to be or to
yes to be from so many or to have my
ancestors from so many parts in the
world and exactly because of that I want
to travel I want to discover Africa I
want to discover their music I want to
discover my ancestors so that was Carlos
and the funny thing about Carlos is that
I activate him two weeks ago I was
cycling home from work look across the
street and I think it could be Carlos
but I’m not sure he starts to wave and
get so excited I way back and before I
even know it I start to send him a
finger kiss across the street I met the
guy twice maybe talked to him for 10
minutes and now I’m sending finger
kisses
the street isn’t that crazy but it’s
because we have shared a great
experience together and I’m really
really grateful for that of course we
also had to make a DNA test
among all the employees and we are a
company who celebrates diversity so I
think some of the employees were
actually a bit disappointed when they
saw the results because now we all aim
to have a very diverse profile we
actually had one who or has a 100% from
just one region which is really really
rare and also one with 99 and 98 but in
general most of us actually have a DNA
where we come from
maybe four or five regions I think so
all in all a very diverse crowd and I
think that’s also reflected in our DNA
my own profile looks like this I’m 70%
from Scandinavia 22% from Great Britain
so some would say a pretty strong Viking
profile sometimes it’s good to be a
Viking sometimes it’s not I’d look at it
as positively I have 2% from West Europe
which is Germany I knew that from the
stories I heard about ancestors then I
have 5% from Italy Greece I have no idea
where that comes from but I’m proud of
it and then I actually have 1% from
South Asian can’t deter it’s just great
and I love it because it’s part of me
and I’m proud to have part of Asia in it
as well but the reflection in general
about having had this DNA journey for me
is very much about nationalities I think
in general we speak way too much about
nationalities for me it’s not really not
to nationalities and I say that even
though we have 36 nationalities in my
company I’m usually proud of it but it
is not the nationalities that makes a
difference it is in our differences we
seek the inspiration so let’s not let’s
not pay too much attention to our
biological path but instead let’s
remember that there are more things
uniting us than dividing us and the DNA
journey was the first step in
tipped of creating a movement and it has
been a really really good attempt I
think we have seen that within four
months or actually less than four months
we have more than 175 million views of
the DNA journey that is great but we
need to move on so let’s all of us
challenge ourself to do what we can do
to open up the world and just to recap
is very very human to have prejudice we
actually all have some just more than
others
so let’s lowering our guards
let’s talk to strangers let’s say yes to
new experiences and remember that travel
broadens our mind but even though you
don’t want to travel or you don’t plan
to travel we can still each and every
one of us do things David we can do
things to actually open up the world so
I really want to encourage you to do
that and I also want to encourage you to
really stay curious but before I leave
the stage I also want you to stand up
this is now a third time you have to
stand up today isn’t it but it works
because this is an exercise we always do
in my company and we we use it when we
need inspiration or if we need to raise
the energy level so basically I’m just
gonna ask you to follow me so you do
like this and we’re gonna paint the arm
and the leg at the same time and it has
to be really really powerful like this
otherwise it won’t work and there is
nothing about no half way you have to go
all-in otherwise it doesn’t work and
it’s when you combine a physical
activity with your voice the energy
level comes so I’m gonna ask your
question and that’s only one answer and
that is yes so I’m gonna ask you three
times
and let me tell you three times you turn
around and you give a high-five to
whoever’s next to you and you will see
how the energy level has increased in
this room and remember go all in and you
have to yell
show courage will you have okay thank
you so much yeah high five
[Applause] [Music]
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