Women in Shipping Promote Environmental Agenda as Conference Focuses on the Arctic

NORWAY – WORLDWIDE – The Women's International Shipping and Trading Association (WISTA), which is dedicated to furthering the careers of women in management positions involved in the maritime transportation business and related trades worldwide, has picked a particularly appropriate place to hold its 2018 WISTA Conference.

Between 23-26 October over 200 international delegates are expected to converge on Tromsø, the Arctic capital of Norway in a country with a rich shipping history, to discuss issues of critical importance for the future of the region. Under the title ‘Breaking the Ice’ the conference will feature such notable speakers as Nina Jensen, CEO of environmental group X FOUR-10/REV, Frederick Kenney, Director of Legal and External Affairs at the International Maritime Organization (IMO), Harald Solberg, CEO of the Norwegian Shipowners’ Association, and Kristin Westvik, NCS Strategy Manager at Equinor.

The presence of the IMO is particularly poignant as in July the governing body approved WISTA International’s application for consultative status. Main topics for the conference include energy and logistics, the growth of Arctic cruising, new technologies for the Arctic, and search and rescue. Tromsø mayor Kristin Røymo will open the conference and introduce the concept of Tromsø as a ‘plastic-free city’, with plastic pollution currently a major talking point across the whole of society.

The keynote address will be given by State Secretary to the Norwegian Minister of Trade and Industry, Daniel Bjarmann-Simonsen and WISTA Norway president Bjørg Ekornrud emphasised the environmental spirit of the Conference, saying:

“We chose Tromsø to highlight the issues facing this region as development, tourism and political engagement in the Arctic continue to grow. This is a particularly sensitive part of the world, and each choice we make must be carefully considered. The aim of the conference is to raise the most critical issues and promote dialogues for sustainable business development in the Arctic.”