Tvind

2021-09-08T00:08:11Z

Pietro786: New info with source

{{tone|date=January 2017}}
[[File:College from above.jpg|thumb|Tvind School Center in [[Ulfborg]] seen from a [[hot air balloon]].]]

'''Tvind''' is the informal name of a confederation of [[private school]]s, [[humanitarian]] organizations, and [[business]]es, founded as an [[alternative education]] school in Denmark circa 1970. The organization is controversial in Denmark, where it runs a number of schools primarily for troubled youth. Some former students and employees have described the organization and its controlling body, the '''Teachers Group''', as a political [[cult]].<ref name="BBC Tvind">{{Cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/crossing_continents/1885116.stm |title=Denmark's Tvind |author=Henley, Paul |date=21 March 2002 |website=[[BBC News]]}}</ref><ref name="UK Aid"/> Investigations by journalists and law-enforcement agencies have suggested the presence of an extensive [[money-laundering]] network within the group's commercial and non-profit ventures,<ref name="BBC Tvind"/> wherein charitable funds are diverted to private businesses and individuals, including several of the group's leaders. In 2013, several of Tvind's senior members were sentenced ''[[Trial in absentia|in absentia]]'' to prison in Denmark for suspected [[tax evasion]] and [[embezzlement]], after an earlier acquittal.<ref name="Sentenced"/> {{As of|2016|August}}, the defendants, who are wanted by [[Interpol]], are believed to be hiding in Mexico.<ref name="UK Aid">{{Cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-36940384|title=Teachers Group: The cult-like group linked to a charity that gets UK aid|last=Meisel|first=Anna|date=2 August 2016|work=BBC News|access-date=April 20, 2018|last2=Cox|first2=Simon|language=en-GB}}</ref>

==Overview==

Following a provision of the Danish constitution that allows any group to form a school and receive government funding, Tvind has founded numerous private schools across Denmark.<ref name="BBC Tvind"/> According to ''[[The Copenhagen Post]]'', {{Quote|"Debate has raged for years as to whether Tvind, the western Jutland school that reformed the Danish educational system through out the ‘70s and ‘80s is a boon to the country‘s school system or little more than a hippie cult that has diminished the quality of education".<ref name="Sentenced"/>}}

Over time, the group's financial dealings grew to encompass various non-profit and commercial enterprises such as African AIDS work, South American plantations and second-hand clothing dealers.<ref name="BBC Tvind"/>

Some former members of the group have made allegations that Tvind is run as an authoritarian cult, controlled by an inner circle known as the "Teachers Group". Its purported leader, Mogens Amdi Petersen, born 9 January 1939 in [[Tønder]], had been in hiding since the 1970s and reappeared in 2002 when apprehended on charges of fraud and tax evasion.<ref name="BBC Tvind"/> {{as of|2016|August}}, Petersen and a group of the organization's leaders are facing charges of fraud in Denmark.<ref name="UK Aid"/>

==History==

Tvind was founded {{circa|1970}} by Petersen, then a young, [[political radicalism|radical]] idealist. Petersen is said to have collected about 40 followers and established a government-funded alternative school system for troubled youth in Denmark.<ref name="San Diego Reader"/><ref name="Guardian"/>

In 1972 the Tvind base was founded in West [[Jutland]] on a plot of farming land called Tvind, where several schools were built as well as a teachers training college. At that time, all of Tvind's schools received public subsidies in accordance with the very liberal education laws in Denmark.<ref name="Ritzaus"/>

It is located in the countryside near [[Ulfborg-Vemb Municipality|Ulfborg]] in Western Jutland, Denmark - 12 km from the North Sea.

===1970s and 1980s===

More 'Tvind Schools' began to emerge and after 25 years more than 30 schools have been established all over Denmark and some abroad. An estimated 40,000 children and adults have attended Tvind Schools since the first school was established in 1970. {{citation needed|date=December 2011}}

Tvind soon became a popular center for youth [[Counterculture|counter culture]] in the 1970s and 1980s. The world's largest electricity producing turbine, known as Tvindkraft or Tvind Power, was constructed on the school grounds in Tvind in the mid 1970s in a collaboration between volunteers, teachers and students.{{citation needed|date=August 2016}} In 2008, The [[Eurosolar|European Association for Renewable Energy]] awarded Tvind the European Solar Prize for education, in recognition of the effort of planning and building the turbine in the 1970s.<ref name="Eurosolar">[http://www.eurosolar.de/en/index.php/solar-prizes-mainmenu-24/european-solar-prizes-2008-mainmenu-96/316-appreciation-tvind-school "Appreciation Tvind School".] ''eurosolar.de''. Retrieved October 2015.</ref>

[[File:Tvindmøllen.jpg|thumb|The [[wind turbine]] at Tvind]]
Tvindkraft has since supplied the energy needed for the schools in Tvind.
The building of Tvindkraft inspired and gave rise to a growing [[Wind power in Denmark#Wind turbine industry|wind mill industry in Denmark]].<ref name=ingTvind1>{{cite web |first=Anne Marie |last=Lykkegaard | url=http://ing.dk/artikel/forsker-tvind-gav-smaa-virksomheder-mod-paa-vind-176379 | title=Forsker: Tvind gav små virksomheder mod på vind | work=Ingeniøren | date=28 May 2015 | accessdate=May 28, 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://ing.dk/artikel/32805-tvindmoellen-koerer-stadig |title=Tvindmøllen kører stadig|work=Ingeniøren}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.folkecenter.net/dk/rd/vindkraft/48017/tvindmollen/ |title=Tvindmøllen viste vej|work=folkecenter.net}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://windsofchange.dk/WOC-tvind.php|title=Winds Of Change :: Stories of a dawning Wind Power Industry |work=windsofchange.dk}}</ref> 

===Danish government subsidies, Special Act and Danish Supreme Court decision===

From 1970 to 1996, the Tvind schools received government financial support and supervision in accordance with Danish laws for private schools. Official support of The Necessary Teacher Training College, Tvind's volunteer training school in Denmark, had ended four years earlier, in 1992.<ref>Explanatory note to Bill No. 506 (Official report of Parliamentary Proceedings 1995/1996) read by Danish Parliament Folketinget, under the heading "Økonomiske og administrative konsekvenser" shows a grant of 103 million DKK (app. 17 million USD) from the Ministry of Education to 31 Tvind Schools for the year of 1995 only.</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.retsinformation.dk/Forms/R0710.aspx?id=81616|title=The act itself is made public at www.retsinformation.dk|publisher=}}</ref>

A Special Act passed in 1996 by the Danish Parliament discontinued the official support beginning January 1, 1997. This act prevented the Tvind schools from receiving such support under the general rules, which they otherwise would have been entitled to.<ref name="Press release-1999.12.19">The Supreme Courts Judgement of 19 of February 1999 in {{cite wikisource |The Tvind-case (1999)}}. A summary can be found in the Venice Commissions database CODICES: [http://www.codices.coe.int/NXT/gateway.dll/CODICES/precis/eng/eur/den/den-1999-2-005?f=templates$fn=document-frameset.htm$3.0#JD_E_DEN-1999-2-005 DEN-1999-2-005]</ref>

{{Sister|project=Wikisource|text=Wikisource English translation of the Supreme Court's Judgement in [[s:The Tvind-case (1999)|The Tvind-Case (1999)]]|position=right}}
In 1999, the Danish Supreme Court — in a unanimous, 11 judge ruling — set aside the Special Act on the grounds that it had circumvented the [[Constitution of Denmark|Danish Constitution]]. The controversial decision was the first time in the history of Denmark's Constitution that the Supreme Court had ever discarded an act as being unconstitutional.<ref name="Press release-1999.12.19"/>

Despite the Court's ruling, the Tvind schools never regained financial support from the Danish government.<ref>"Tvinds socialpædagogik" (7 October 1999) ''Aktuelt'' (Copenhagen). p. 10.</ref><ref>Dahlin, Ulrik (21 March 2002). "Tvinds 'fodringsmaskine'". ''Information'' (Copenhagen). p. 3.</ref><ref>Dahlin, Ulrik (4 May 2002). "Tvind har sat sig tungt på socialpædagogisk marked". ''Information'' (Copenhagen). p. 4.</ref>

In the schools for children and youngsters the student base was shifted so that the focus is now on students who have been subjected to abuse, involved with [[alcohol abuse]] or other [[drug abuse]], being from immigrant or refugee families with conflict ridden background or being orphans, etc.{{citation needed|date=August 2016}} Financial support for training and education of such young people are available from the social services of the municipalities in Denmark, which are now providing the funds for the school fees and boarding fees. Those schools were named "The Small Schools" because of many smaller units with different programs.<ref>"Tvind trives" (2 February 1998). ''Aktuelt'' (Copenhagen).</ref><ref>"Tidligere Tvind-skoler langt nede i den kommunale bunke" (4 February 1998). ''Aktuelt'' (Copenhagen).</ref>

==Schools==

===The Travelling Folk High Schools===

One type of Tvind institution, the "travelling folk high schools", were created to send teachers and students together to Third World countries with the ambition of improving living standards of the poor. Now collectively known as the "DRH Movement" (''Den Rejsende Højskole'' in Danish), these schools train volunteers for humanitarian work overseas. Some former DRH Movement students say that even after paying tuition of several thousand dollars, they were required to spend much of their time trying to raise yet more money by what some of them call begging in the streets. Students also complain that the training they received is not recognised by governments or aid agencies.<ref name="BBC-LookNorth">Murphy, Paul (22 August 2008). [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/7576863.stm "Concerns raised over college"], ''Look North'' (BBC). Retrieved December 2011.</ref><ref name="2nd WTTG report">Thompson, Tisha (June 9, 2009). "Planet Aid Denies Cult Connection". ''WTTG-TV'' (Washington, DC).</ref><ref name="KPIX-TV">Werner, Anna (December 2006). "Behind the Green Box". ''KPIX-TV'' (San Francisco).</ref>

In Denmark, these Folk High Schools are public institutions subsidized and supported by the Ministry of Education.<ref name="Ritzaus">"For 25 år siden kom de første studerende til Tvind" (28 August 1997). ''Ritzaus'' (Denmark).</ref><ref>Østergaard, Klavs (14 June 1996). "Tvind vil overleve". ''Aktuelt'' (Copenhagen). p. 21.</ref>

Special programs were established in the late 1970s and the beginning 1980s for young people from the so-called Frontline States in Southern Africa. The programs emphasized on vocational skills. Students from Zimbabwe, South Africa, Mozambique, Angola, Namibia and Guinea Bissau completed such programs.<ref name="Petkommissionen">{{cite book |language=Danish |title=PET’s Oovervågning af den Antiimperialistiske Venstrefløj 1945–1989 |url=http://www.petkommissionen.dk/fileadmin/bind/pet_bind9.pdf |format=PDF |publisher=PET-Kommissionens Beretning |location=Copenhagen |date=2009 |volume=9 |pages=351–352 |quote=[Translated] According to PET, DAPP arranged courses in Denmark to assist the Africans to live a better life in the refugee camps. When the white regime in South Rhodesia fell, and the country became Zimbabwe, DAPP had built an expertise about the country, which likely would pave the way for that the organisation to establish itself as a local partner of cooperation for a number of donors. DAPP extended its field of activity in Africa throughout 1980s and started projects in Zambia and Guinea Bissau. The so-called Frontline Institute became established in Denmark in 1983 where both Africans and Europeans became trained to build up Front Line Village Centres to function as examples of the positive development in Africa. Tvind's commitment in Africa should be seen in the light of the Danish foreign policy which from the end of 1960s focused increasingly on the independence and the development of the developing countries, and the activities of Tvind may be seen to a certain point as an extension of the official Danish policy in the development aid area.}}</ref>

===Necessary Teachers Training College===

The [[Det Nødvendige Seminarium|Necessary Teachers Training College]] (''Det Nødvendige Seminarium'' or DNS) was established in 1972. The training leads to a diploma in primary and secondary school teaching.{{citation needed |date=November 2015}}

===The Continuation Schools and the Free Schools===

The first Continuation School for students from 14 to 18 years old was established in Tvind in 1974 and was followed by 6 other continuation schools and 6 international continuation schools with government financial support and supervision. The first International Continuation School received financial support from the EU Commission as well. The First Free School for pupils from 7–16 years old was established in 1976 and was followed by 6 other Free Schools, 5 of them boarding schools.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.retsinformation.dk/Forms/R0710.aspx?id=81616|title=The Continuation Schools and the Free Schools are named in section 6 and section 7 the above mentioned special act, which is made public at www.retsinformation.dk|publisher=}}</ref> These two school types were discontinued after the Government withdrew its financial support from 1997.<ref name=Ritzaus/>

===The Small Schools and The Second Generation School Cooperation===

In 1979, the Small Schools started operations. Many of the students have experienced [[Child neglect|neglect]] and other difficult circumstances such as [[Child abuse|physical abuse]] and parental [[alcoholism]]. Many are "runaways".<ref>Tvinds småskoler—redningsplanke eller skraldespand?" (20 March 1996). ''Ritzaus'' (Denmark).</ref> The Small School at Red House near [[Buxton]] operated from 1984 to 1998 with local councils paying 700 pounds a week for the school to house troubled youngsters. More than a dozen former pupils have alleged that they were sexually and physically abused at the school and have even provided photographic evidence. A former Tvind head teacher described the English Small Schools as a "money machine" and alleged that Tvind used the schools to funnel money out of the UK to fund the extravagant lifestyles of Tvind's leaders. The English Small Schools were closed by inspectors after a 1997 Charity Commission report exposed the financial malfeasance that was taking place.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Bristow |first1=Tom |title='House of horror' school used as 'money machine' by controversial group |url=https://www.edp24.co.uk/news/crime/red-house-school-norfolk-used-as-money-machine-by-tvind-1-6227703 |website=www.edp24.co.uk |publisher=Eastern Daily Press |accessdate=12 January 2020}}</ref> In 2001 a former student successfully sued his child services department for sending him to a Small School and another abusive children's home.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Bristow |first1=Tom |title=Revealed: Fresh abuse allegations at children's 'home of horrors' with links to 'cult-like' group |url=https://www.edp24.co.uk/news/crime/abuse-allegations-at-small-school-at-red-house-norfolk-tvind-1-6181113 |website=www.edp24.co.uk |publisher=Eastern Daily Press |accessdate=12 January 2020}}</ref>

==Humana People to People==
{{anchor|Humana People-to-People}}

In 1977, Tvind members founded the International Humana People to People Movement to oversee several self-described humanitarian aid projects in the Third World. In [[Scandinavia]] the group is known as "Ulandshjælp fra Folk til Folk" (UFF).<ref name="San Diego Reader" /> Headquartered in [[Zimbabwe]], Humana People to People claims on its website to be a "network of non-profit aid organizations in Europe, [[North America]], Africa, [[Asia]] and [[Latin America]], all working in the field of international solidarity, cooperation and development."<ref name="Exhibit C" /><ref>[http://www.humana.org/About/about-us "About Us".], ''Humana People to People''. Retrieved June 2011.</ref> Several programmes run by Humana People to People member organisations have been criticised by former volunteers as being ineffective, culturally insensitive, environmentally unsustainable and even abusive toward volunteers.<ref name="Miami New Times"/><ref>Sonani, Bright (4 October 2003). [https://web.archive.org/web/20150209100028/http://www.humana-alert.org.uk/newspapers/2003/malawi_news.htm "Students blow whistle on DAPP"], ''Malawi News''. Retrieved May 2013.</ref><ref name="Vårt Land">Nordahl, Bjørn Olav; Sylte, Turid (23 October 2010). [https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/67767543/VartLand.2010.10.23.pdf "Skreddersydd for svindel"] (in Norwegian). ''Vårt Land'' (Norway). [https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/67767543/VartLand.2010.10.25-10.30.pdf Follow-up reports] (25–30 October 2010). English translation: [https://web.archive.org/web/20120323205054/http://www.tvindalert.com/media/vart-land-1/ "A Perfect Fit for Fraud"]. ''tvindalert.com''.</ref> Humana People to People volunteers who are Teachers Group members are forced to donate up to 50% of their salary to fund the Teachers Group calls the "common economy." Humana employees, many of them from vulnerable backgrounds, are told that joining the Teachers Group is the only way to ensure job security. This practice has caused [[UNICEF]] to pull all funding from Humana project. High ranking positions within Humana People to People are reserved for Teachers Group members.<ref name="BBC Tvind" />

Tvind has also been linked to the College for International Co-operation and Development (CICD), located in [[Kingston upon Hull|Hull]], [[East Riding of Yorkshire|East Yorkshire]], [[England]]. Part of Tvind's "DRH Movement," this residential college advertises widely on the Internet as providing training for young people wishing to volunteer in Africa. However, many former CICD students have complained about poor teaching, low-grade facilities, and being obliged to work long, unpaid hours collecting and sorting used clothes for commercial companies allegedly owned by Tvind. CICD has hundreds of clothes collection boxes across [[Northern England]].<ref name="BBC-LookNorth"/><ref>Durham, Michael (2 May 2000). [https://web.archive.org/web/20130118115654/http://www.humana-alert.org.uk/newspapers/2000/times_2.htm "Cruel Mind Games—Inside the Secret World of a Cult"], ''The Times'' (UK). Retrieved April 2013.</ref>

=== Used clothes collection ===

Tvind and Humana People to People are alleged to be behind a group of similar organisations that have placed tens of thousands of used clothes collection bins throughout the [[United States]] and [[Western Europe]]. Advertised as supporting environmental causes, the organizations behind the bins instead sell the clothes and channel the profits to a small circle of Tvind leaders, say investigators. Humana People-to-People's donation bins can be found in many European countries except in Scandinavia, where clothes are collected under the name UFF.<ref name="Exhibit C" /><ref name="Vårt Land" />

In the [[UK]], clothes collection organisations said to be tied to Tvind include the for-profit companies Green World Recycling, Planet Aid UK and Development Aid from People to People UK (DAPP-UK).<ref>Durham, Michael (17 December 2000). [https://web.archive.org/web/20010212022153/http://www.independent.co.uk/news/UK/Environment/2000-12/recycling171200.shtml "Charity's recycling claims mislead public"], ''The Independent'' (UK). Retrieved February 9, 2015.</ref><ref>Latcham, Giles. [https://web.archive.org/web/20090323014747/http://www.bbc.co.uk/insideout/content/articles/2009/02/10/west_midlands_clothes_s15_w5_video_feature.shtml "Second hand clothes"]. 11 February 2009 .''Inside Out'' (BBC). Retrieved June 2011.</ref><ref>Manek, Nizar (16 March 2009). [http://beaverarchive.alexanderyoung.info/2009/03/16/lse-reuse-scheme-sends-fake-charity-to-recycling-bin-after-investigation/ "LSE reuse scheme sends fake charity to recycling bin after investigation"], ''The Beaver''. London School of Economics Students' Union. Retrieved June 2011.</ref>

According to the [[British Broadcasting Corporation]], the [[charitable organization]] Development Aid from People to People (DAPP) is controlled by the Teachers Group.<ref name="UK Aid"/> DAPP has been paid millions by the UK and US government for its work in Africa.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.revealnews.org/article/unicef-cuts-off-funding-to-nonprofit-linked-to-alleged-cult/ |author1=Smith, Matt |author2=Walters, Amy |work=Reveal |publisher=The Center for Investigative Reporting |location=Emeryville, California |title=UNICEF cuts off funding to nonprofit linked to alleged cult |date=1 August 2016 |language=en-US}}</ref><ref name="Smith Walters Ngwira">{{cite news |url=https://www.revealnews.org/article/us-taxpayers-are-financing-alleged-cult-through-african-aid-charities/ |author1=Smith, Matt |author2=Walters, Amy |author3=Ngwira, Kandani |date=23 May 2016 |work=Reveal |location=Emeryville, California |publisher=The Center for Investigative Reporting |title=US taxpayers are financing alleged cult through African aid charities}}</ref> An August 2016 report by the BBC, in partnership with the [[Center for Investigative Reporting]], led the [[United Kingdom Department for International Development]] to suspend payments as well.<ref name="UK Aid" /><ref name="bbcnews">{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-36953455|title=UK to stop funding Malawian charity amid 'cult' links|date=2 August 2016|work=BBC News|accessdate=15 August 2016|publisher=British Broadcasting Corportaion}}</ref>

In 2019 Ulla Carina Bolin (named "Karin Bolin"), CEO and President of Humana People to People Italia, publicly admitted to be an active member of Teachers Group and expressed solidarity to the fugitive Amdi Petersen, sayng that the allegations against him are not really serious <ref>…https://archivio.ecodallecitta.it/notizie/390915/abiti-usati-e-progetti-sociali-humana-people-to-people-si-racconta/</ref>. Humana People to People Italia is the bigger player in the italian sector of used clothes collection.

In the United States, the non-profits [[Planet Aid]] and [[Gaia Movement USA|Gaia Movement Living Earth Green World Action]] and the for-profit company [[USAgain]], which have each placed thousands of clothes drop-off bins nationwide, have attracted both favorable and unfavourable publicity over their business. Planet Aid is a member of the Humana People to People Federation and has supported these projects economically.
The Gaia Movement is not a member, but has in the past partnered with Humana People to People to support environmental projects in developing countries.
<ref>Stockman, Farah (16 November 2009). "Planet Aid's charity work draws worldwide scrutiny". ''Boston Globe''.</ref><ref name="Eng May 2011"/><ref>Freeman, Huey (9 February 2011).[http://www.herald-review.com/news/local/article_b3869dde-3401-11e0-ae2a-001cc4c03286.html "No charity cases: Some clothing boxes are not what they seem to be"], ''Herald & Review'' (Decatur, IL). Retrieved November 2011.</ref><ref>[http://www.denverbbb.com/files/public/2005_0708_July-August_Better_Business.pdf "Red, white...and confusing"] {{webarchive|url=https://www.webcitation.org/63PaLg8L5?url=http://www.denverbbb.com/files/public/2005_0708_July-August_Better_Business.pdf |date=2011-11-23 }}, ''Better Business'' (newsletter of the Denver/Boulder Better Business Bureau); July/August 2005. Retrieved November 2011.</ref> Planet Aid has stated that "less than 5%" of the 250 people working with the company belong to the Tvind Teachers Group. Some executives in USAgain have also stated that they personally belong to the group.<ref name="2nd WTTG report" /><ref>Halsne, Chris. "Local Mayor Wants Red Bins Out". 25 November 2009. ''KIRO-TV'' (Seattle).</ref>

There are three other alleged Tvind-run clothes-collecting groups in the U.S., two of which are DRH Movement schools claiming to train volunteers for related humanitarian projects overseas through the [[Institute for International Cooperation and Development]] (IICD), located in [[Williamstown, Massachusetts]] and in [[Dowagiac, Michigan]]. Former students of IICD have reported being obliged to endure substandard living conditions, unreasonable work hours, bullying, and a "cult-like" atmosphere. Volunteers have also reported that they received little to no training, being instead required to solicit donations door-to-door, sell postcards on the street, and provide labour to Tvind-owned businesses under the guise of raising funds to support their overseas projects. Others recalled the aid programs themselves being fraught with mismanagement and even disastrous results.<ref name="Cheshes">{{cite magazine |last=Cheshes |first=Jay |title=Mission Control |journal=Boston Magazine |date=October 2000 |pages=85– |issn=0006-7989}}</ref><ref name=Eagle>Willis, Jessica (11 February 2007). [http://www.berkshireeagle.com/headlines/ci_5205486 "Questions in Williamstown"], ''The Berkshire Eagle'' (Pittsfield, Massachusetts). Retrieved February 2015.</ref><ref name=Servitude>Eng, Monica; Jackson, David (13 February 2004). [http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2004-02-13/features/0402130250_1_gaia-raise-projects "Humanitarian work turns into servitude"], ''The Chicago Tribune''. Retrieved July 2012.</ref> In June 2013, The two IICD schools changed their name to One World Center.<ref>Neldon, Ambrosia (5 November 2013). [https://web.archive.org/web/20150516222428/http://www.leaderpub.com/2013/11/05/719311/ "IICD becomes One World Center"]. ''Leader Publications'' (Niles, Michigan). Retrieved May 2015.</ref>

A third DRH Movement school in the U.S., Campus California, had been located in [[Etna, California]], but reportedly closed under mysterious circumstances in December 2009. The organisation has since relocated to [[Richmond, California]], where it has continued with its used clothes collection bin operation in the [[San Francisco Bay Area]] and the [[Central Valley (California)|Central Valley]].<ref name="KPIX-TV" /><ref>Smith, Matt (8 June 8, 2011). [http://www.sfweekly.com/2011-06-08/news/mogens-andi-peterson-campus-california-donated-clothes-cult-matt-smith/ "Your Rags to Their Riches: Donated Clothes May Fund International Fugitive"], ''San Francisco Weekly''. Retrieved June 2011.</ref> In November 2014, Campus California announced its new name, Recycle for Change.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20150209115501/https://www.einnews.com/pr_news/235920952/campus-california-is-celebrating-its-14th-year-by-becoming-recycle-for-change "Campus California is Celebrating its 14th Year by Becoming Recycle for Change"]. 21 November 2014. ''EINPresswire.com''. Retrieved February 2015.</ref>

==Criminal investigations==
Tvind has historically received a great deal of interest from both media and officials. Minister of Education Ole Vig and the Parliament attempted to tighten the legislation in order to prevent the Tvind Schools from receiving public funds. The Danish Supreme Court declared such attempts as contrary to the Danish Constitution. Vig was advised by the National Audit Office and the Parliament's Barrister (Kammeradvokaten) to raise the case accusing Tvind School Center of fraud. Around two years later, the Public Prosecutor in Aalborg dismissed the case - the materials did not contain sufficient evidence for prosecution.<ref>{{Cite web|title = Tvind|url = http://www.fonden.org/UK/tvind.htm|website = www.fonden.org|accessdate = 2015-11-11}}</ref>

According to a 2001 case summary by Danish police and Denmark's [[Danish Prosecution Service|Public Prosecutor for Serious Economic Crime]], Tvind's scope had by 1992 "expanded far beyond pure school activities". Such activities were said to include the ownership of [[Third World]] fruit plantations, farms, shoe factories and sawmills, [[Aid agency|aid agencies]], used clothing shops as well as the leasing of property, ships and containers.<ref name="Exhibit C">The Chief Constable in Holstebro and The Public Prosecutor for Serious Economic Crime (Denmark) (1 November 2001). [http://humana-alert.org.uk/Exhibit_C.pdf "Case Summary: The Public Prosecutor v. Mogens Amdi Pedersen et al"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150209144551/http://humana-alert.org.uk/Exhibit_C.pdf |date=2015-02-09 }} (PDF). Retrieved June 2011.</ref> Numerous media reports as well as investigations by European governments suggest that Tvind's alleged controlling body, the Teachers Group, is a [[political cult]] involved in criminal financial activities.<ref name="BBC Tvind"/><ref name="San Diego Reader">Waterman, Michael (February 3, 2010 ). [http://www.sandiegoreader.com/news/2010/feb/03/cover-mysterious-danish-exotic-compound-baja/ "Mysterious Danish Group Builds Exotic Compound on Baja Coast"], ''San Diego Reader''. Retrieved June 2011.</ref><ref name="Exhibit C" /><ref name="Miami New Times">Wakefield, Rebecca
(21 March 2002). [http://www.miaminewtimes.com/2002-03-21/news/trouble-from-denmark/ "Trouble From Denmark"]. ''Miami New Times''. Retrieved June 2011.</ref><ref>"Charity faces ongoing cult accusations" (17 December 1998). ''Copenhagen Post'' (Denmark).</ref> In Denmark, Teachers Group leaders have been prosecuted for serious [[financial crime]]s, with two convictions in separate trials, in 2006 and 2009 respectively.<ref name="Religion News">[http://www.religionnewsblog.com/15796/tvind-danish-court-convicts-1-acquits-7-in-fraud-case-involving-humanitarian-groups "Tvind: Danish court convicts 1, acquits 7, in fraud case involving humanitarian groups"] (1 September 2006). ''Religion News''. Retrieved February 2015.</ref><ref name="Fraudster">[https://web.archive.org/web/20131027001451/http://cphpost.dk/national/humanitarian-fraudster-convicted "Humanitarian Fraudster Convicted"]
(20 January 2009). ''Copenhagen Post'' (Denmark).</ref>

British journalist Michael Durham has tracked the "many interconnected businesses, properties and charitable operations around the world" owned by Tvind/TG.<ref name="Eng May 2011">{{cite news |author=Eng, Monica |date=5 May 2011 |title=Clothing operations linked to controversial Danish group continue to thrive |url=http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2011-05-14/news/ct-met-tvind-gaia-update-20110514_1_planet-aid-tvind-gaia |newspaper=Chicago Tribune}}</ref>

Annually, alleged Tvind-run non-profit companies in the [[United States]], [[Europe]] and elsewhere receive millions of dollars in governmental and private-sector funding intended for Tvind-related humanitarian programmes in [[Africa]] and other areas of the Third World. Danish prosecutors have claimed that Tvind members instead channelled a portion of funds [[Earmark (finance)|earmarked]] for charitable use into purchases of property and luxury items, offshore [[tax havens]] and private business investments, all controlled by Tvind's top leaders.<ref name="Guardian">Durham, Michael (9 June 2003). [https://www.theguardian.com/society/2003/jun/09/charitymanagement.g2 "Enigma of The Leader"], ''The Guardian'' (UK). Retrieved June 2011.</ref><ref name="Exhibit C"/>

An [[FBI]] investigation into Tvind stated that "Tvind derives income from the creation of developmental aid organizations. Money is raised by the collection of used clothes. The clothes are recycled and sold in third world countries. The proceeds are sent to charitable trust funds established in off shore tax havens. [...] In each of these organizations the funds are ultimately controlled by captioned subjects who divert the money for personal use. Little to no money goes to the charities".<ref name="Smith Walters Ngwira"/>

[[Media of Denmark|Danish media]] begun to air stories accusing Tvind of [[fraud]] as early as the late 1970s.<ref name="San Diego Reader"/> Petersen, claiming to be a target for the [[Secret Intelligence Service|SIS]] and the [[CIA]], disappeared in 1979, and was not seen again for the next 22 years. He is alleged to have continued to covertly run his organisation from various locations, subverting Tvind's original humanitarian mission to create a lucrative financial web by diverting charitable funds into private coffers. Petersen's network soon became a business empire based on property and used clothes collection.<ref name="Guardian"/> Tvind has since then grown into a global conglomerate with numerous profit-motivated enterprises reportedly worth hundreds of millions of dollars. Its interests range from farming and timber to property, retail clothing and furniture, with businesses in Europe, the United States, [[Brazil]], [[Belize]], [[Ecuador]], [[Malaysia]] and [[China]].<ref name="San Diego Reader"/>

[[File:Mogens Amdi Petersen.jpg|thumb|Mogens Amdi Petersen in 2002]]
In February 2002, FBI agents in the U.S. arrested Amdi Petersen between international flights at [[Los Angeles International Airport]]. An [[arrest warrant]] for Petersen had been issued in 2000 by the international police agency [[Interpol]]. A [[United States federal judge|federal judge]] [[extradited]] Petersen to Denmark, where he and his top assistants would face trial for a multimillion-dollar [[tax fraud]] and [[embezzlement]] scheme.<ref>[http://www.religionnewsblog.com/16771/tvind-boss-comes-home-to-face-the-music "Tvind boss comes home to face the music"]. (19 September 2002). ''Copenhagen Post'' (Denmark). Retrieved December 2011.</ref>

The trial began in 2003. Three years later, on August 31, 2006, Petersen, Tvind spokesperson Poul Jørgensen, top aides Kirsten Larsen and Ruth Sejerøe-Olsen, former chairperson for Tvind's 'Humanitarian Foundation' Bodil Ross Sørensen, financial director Marlene Gunst, and lawyer Kirsten Fuglsbjerg ([[Pseudonym|aka]] 'Christie Pipps') were all [[Acquittal|acquitted]] of [[Criminal charge|charges]]. However, another former chairperson of Tvind's Humanitarian Foundation, Sten Byrner, was found guilty of fraud and given a one-year [[Conditional sentence (Canada)|conditional sentence]].<ref name="Religion News"/>

The Public Prosecutor in Denmark immediately [[appealed]] the [[verdict]] to a higher court. Petersen and four of his co-defendants fled Denmark shortly after being acquitted by the lower court.<ref name="San Diego Reader"/> Poul Jørgensen, who had remained in Denmark for the appeal trial, was found guilty of tax fraud and embezzlement in January 2009, and sentenced to two and a half years imprisonment.<ref name="Fraudster"/> According to Danish prosecutors, Jørgensen diverted millions of dollars earmarked for charitable use into private businesses owned by Tvind leaders.<ref name="Exhibit C"/> In 2013, Petersen and four others were sentenced ''[[Trial in absentia|in absentia]]'' to a year in prison for their suspected role in embezzling millions of Danish [[Danish krone|kroner]] from the Tvind Humanitarian Fund, an outgrowth of the Tvind schools. Danish police then instituted procedures for issuing an international arrest warrant, according to Jens Madsen, head of "Bagmandspolitiet", the Danish national [[financial crimes]] division.<ref name="Sentenced">[http://cphpost.dk/news14/international-news14/cult-school-leader-sentenced-to-prison.html "‘Cult school’ leader sentenced to prison"] (30 August 2013). ''Copenhagen Post'' (Denmark).</ref> {{as of|2016|August}}, the five, who are wanted by the police agency [[Interpol]], are believed to have taken refuge in a coastal resort compound in Mexico.<ref name="UK Aid"/>

==References==

{{Reflist|2}}

==Further reading==

* {{cite book |author1=Collins, Joseph |author2=DeZerega, Stefano |author3=Heckscher, Zahara |title=How to Live Your Dream of Volunteering Overseas |location=New York |publisher=Penguin Books |date=2002 |isbn=978-0-14-200071-7 |oclc=47831627 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wAkxkDeSnMkC&pg=PT130}} Tvind's subsidiary [[Institute for International Cooperation and Development]] (IICD) is profiled beginning on page 304.

==External links==
* [https://www.tvind.dk/ Tvind International School Centre] Official site (in Danish)
*[http://tvindalert.com/ Tvind Alert] Website by Frede Jakobsen and Michael Durham detailing an ongoing investigation of Tvind/The Teachers Group
*[https://www.culteducation.com/group/1203-tvind/20940-denmarks-tvind.html Cult Education Institute: Denmark's Tvind"] Outline and description about the group
*[http://culteducation.com/group/1203-tvind.html Cult Education Institute: Tvind] Collection of news articles about the group

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[[Category:Tvind| ]]
[[Category:Educational organizations based in Denmark]]
[[Category:Crime in Denmark]]

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