Erkan Özden: My Story

Erkan Özden's account traces his family's journey to a new country far to the north, from countryside to city - and a dramatic social climb from minimal or no schooling to European academic status in a single generation. In the broader picture, it was a quiet revolution within the walls of a terraced house in Taastrup.

But the story also encompasses profound upheaval, pain, and loss. For the first generation born in Denmark, the duality and inner conflict were constant companions - and that is precisely what Erkan articulates in his Danish history.

Erkan Özden is a journalist, moderator, lecturer, and author. Since 2014, he has been a news anchor on TV Avisen at DR, previously a US correspondent based in Washington and a roving reporter in disaster and conflict zones. He has covered events such as the tsunami in Southeast Asia, the earthquakes in Pakistan and Turkey in spring 2023, and has also hosted DR2 Udland and Krigens Døgn. For 10 years he led one of the core areas of DR's children and youth initiatives. He holds a cand.comm. degree in journalism and Danish from Roskilde University.