This year, Nordic Innovation participated at the democracy festivals in Denmark (Folkemødet), Sweden (Almedalsveckan), Finland (Suomi Areena) and Norway (Arendalsuka) and organized a total of 12 events around artificial intelligence, critical minerals, mobility and transport, health tech, sustainable tourism and digitalization.
Together with our partners we contributed to the democratic debate and engaged people in discussions on a brought variety of innovation topics including the opportunities and challenges in reaching our overall goal – to make the Nordics the most sustainable and integrated region in 2030.
A Kalmar Union for AI
A red thread through the discussions has been the need for and importance of Nordic collaboration in a time with geopolitical uncertainty, climate changes and an increased need for new and greener solutions.
“We need a Kalmar Union for AI. We have the competences and resources, but we need to be better in collaborating with each other,” said Morten Irgens in the discussion: ‘Etisk AI -hvordan kan Norden ta føringen’ at Arendalsuka.
The message was clear: Nordic collaboration is necessary for Nordic companies to compete with their counterparts from other regions.
This view was supported by Olivia Rekman, Advisor at Nordic Innovation, in the discussion ‘Med AI som medel – så stærker vi Sveriges konkurrenskraft’ on TechSveriges stage at Almedalsveckan:
“If we don’t build our own AI solutions in the Nordics, then we will see a shift in power. It means a lot geopolitically. If we just keep consuming technology, then we have no impact on how the technology is developed”.
The Nordic mineral value chain
Nordic collaboration as a tool for resilience was also a theme in the discussion ‘Nordens bærekraftige mineraler som geopolitisk trekkplaster’ at Arendalsuka. A panel of experts from Geological Survey of Norway, Geological Survey of Sweden, Innovation Norway and Grangex discussed Nordic collaboration as a tool to develop short travelled, traceable and transparent value chains within battery production and mineral extraction.
The panel looked into the new visualization of the Nordic mineral value chain which has been developed as an initiative for a more resilient Nordic region. The purpose of the visualization is to understand the value chains of the minerals and metals sector as a tool to increase the circularity of mining in the Nordics.
The new visualization was also discussed during the event ‘Circulär Ekonomi – lättere sagt än gjort’ at Almedalsveckan.
“The new visualization is an important tool to identify and trace distribution and application of raw materials, products and activities as well as to increase transparency and secure that raw materials are extracted in a responsible way,” said Lena Henriksson, Head of Communication at Nordic Innovation.
Massive potential in health data
Sharing of health data between the Nordic countries is essential to support a Nordic health care system under pressure and to establish a more resilient system in the future. That was the clear message in the discussion: ‘Deling av din helsedata – vi må handle nu’ at Arendalsuka. Sharing of health data is also key for the Nordic health tech industry to develop new, innovative solutions to the benefit of companies, hospitals and people.
“When I look at digital health it makes the smart phone market looks small,” said Richard Bergström from IQVIA, when highlighting the business potential in health data.
Thank you!
Nordic Innovation also organized events within electric aviation, sustainable tourism, transport, mobility and digitalization. We want to thank everyone who participated in our events. Whether you were involved in a panel discussion, came as a visitor or contributed with questions during the discussions, we appreciate your engagement and interest in Nordic Innovation.
“2024 marks the end of Nordic Innovation’s current programs and the democracy festivals have been an important arena to showcase and discuss results from our projects from the past four years.”
“We are proud to see that we had full house during most of our events and that so many people decided to take part in the discussions, both on stage and with questions from the audience. We see the democracy festivals as an important platform to network, meet new partners and communicate our results towards vision 2030,” says Lena Henriksson, Head of Communication at Nordic Innovation.
See you at Arctic Circle
Nordic Innovation’s Democracy Tour will be finalized with Arctic Circle in Reykjavik 17-19 October. At Arctic Circle we organize one pre-event and two side-events.
Arctic Circle Pre-event: On 16 October we announce the winner of the Nordic Health App Award. This is the second year that Nordic Innovation runs this competition and turns the spotlight on the development of new, digital healthcare solutions. The award takes place on 16 October, 17.00 at Hotel Holt, Reykjavik. The event is organized in collaboration with Iceland Health Tech Cluster and the partners of the Nordic Health App Award.
Read more about the event here
Arctic Circle Side-event: Together with our partners from the Next Wave project we organize a panel discussion under the title ‘Nordic collaboration for hydrogen trucks deployment is decarbonizing the Arctic’. The event takes place at the Arctic Circle arena between 17-19 October – stay informed about the exact date and time here:
Arctic Circle Side-event: Together with our partner from the project The Nordic Ocean Opportunity: Glosing the Funding Gap in the Ocean Economy, FRONTTIER, we discuss investment opportunities to support a more sustainable ocean economy with the event: ‘The next Arctic Expedition - Exploring the Ocean Investing Opportunity’. The event takes place at the Arctic Circle arena between 17-19 October – stay informed about the exact date and time here:
