A picture taken on June 3, 2018 shows chidren at a playground in Klaksvík, on the island of Borooy, one of the Faroe Islands located between the North Atlantic Ocean and Norwegian Sea. Ungdomsoen, or Youth Island, is the world's first island for young people and has just opened in the Sound Strait between Danish capital city of Copenhagen and the Swedish city of Malmo. (PIERRE-HENRY DESHAYES / AFP)

COPENHAGEN - Ungdomsoen, or Youth Island, is the world's first island for young people and has just opened in the Sound Strait between Danish capital city of Copenhagen and the Swedish city of Malmo.

Formerly a fortress, the 50,000-square-meter Middelgrundsfortet, or Fort Middelgrund, has been renovated and turned into a playground for young people

Formerly a fortress, the 50,000-square-meter Middelgrundsfortet, or Fort Middelgrund, has been renovated and turned into a playground for young people.

The cost of the redevelopment is 25 million euros (US$28 million) and it is the world's largest artificial island.  

On Saturday, Princess Benedikte, younger sister to Denmark's Queen Margrethe II and patron of the scouting movement of Denmark, officially opened the islands' activities.

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The island has been created to engage young people in Denmark. Its aim is to be a place where youth can take positive charge and make a change, both in their own and other lives. 

It hopes that experiences encountered on the island will be taken back to different communities and help contribute to the social development of Danish society.

Princess Benedikte, speaking to an audience at the end of her island tour, said she was "very impressed" of what she had seen.

The Princess reminded the audience that she had visited the island several times over the past few years and witnessed a "huge transformation".

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Youth Island is owned by the Danish scouting movement and the island's renovation has been done with the help of volunteers.  

"We have a golden egg in our hands and work purposefully for young people across age, geography, and interests to run the island on a daily basis and also set the framework for what will happen from activities, with the right support to ensure a healthy operation," said Dea Forchhammer, director of Youth Island.