Only In Danish!

Why are the magazines published by MS-Denmark only in Danish and not in English, the head of the publishing department, Niels Elbæk, was asked during his visit to the MS-Zambia Annual Meeting 2004.

By Clement Tembo, NewZ reporter

MS-Denmark has been publishing books and magazines for the past 60 years.

However, the magazines are only published in Danish, which limits partners and other interested readers outside Denmark from reading them.

“We like your magazines especially the KONTAKT magazine, but you don’t publish them in English,” said one of the participants at a presentation before the Annual Meeting.

The question was directed at Mr. Niels Elbæk, head of MS-publishing, who gave a presentation on MS activities for the NewZ reporters before the Annual Meeting.

No access to the world market

“We cover information from around the world, especially federal countries. I also think it is important and would be a good idea to publish in English but unfortunately it is not feasible, because we are a Danish publishing house and don’t have great access to the world market,” he said.

Mr. Elbæk brought examples of the magazines published by MS-DK:

Kontakt, ZAPP, Etcetera and Global Education Magazines.

Kontakt comes out six times annually unlike the previous years when it came out eight times annually.

“This is because of economic constraints and little editorial resources,” he said. Kontakt deals with global issues and has features from all over the world – including Zambia.

ZAPP, like Kontakt, is published six times annually at a total number of 9000 copies per edition.

This magazine targets the youths of Denmark and also has its focus on global as well as local issues of interest to the youth. ZAPP is mostly bought by schools in Denmark and distributed among students for educational purposes.

The demand is high

Etcetera is another interesting magazine that the NewZ reporters have challenged MS-DK to publish in English.

It is published eight times annually and 1,500 copies per edition. Etcetera is a magazine for the people with minority rights such as the refugees and immigrants in Denmark.

What next. When partners like the magazines and the demand is so high? Communication is key in this aspect. We want the magazines published in English.

However Mr. Elbæk could not promise anything on that account.