Ladies and gentlemen, Good afternoon,

My name is Rolf Kåre Jensen, I am the Chief Executive Officer of Bodø Municipality.
I am here in Portland on behalf of the Mayor of Bodø, Ms Ida Pinnerød, and the entire population of Bodø to invite you to the 54th annual ISOCARP Congress!

We are the proud hosts of next year’s Congress.

It will be held:

. For the first time above the Arctic Circle!
. In Bodø, in Norway
. Surrounded by sea, mountains and lights.

 

I cannot promise any midnight sun – because it will be October, but there may be northern lights, and you may experience the “blue hour”.

I can guarantee:

  • No polar bears in the streets of Bodø
  • A very warm, honest and welcoming people
  • And a vibrant and forward looking city.

This will not be a history lesson, but I will tell you 2 sentences about Bodø’s background:

  • It was founded on fish
  • Developed by the Armed Forces and trade
  • Reinforced its position through developing a rich cultural life. Our ambition is in fact Culture Capital of Europe in the year 2024
  • Bodø is a place where urban life and nature meet and where we love all seasons of the year and embrace wind and refreshing weather
  • Bodø is in many ways unique.Everyone can build cities for the future, but:
    • Our location in the in the European Arctic,
    • Being just the perfect size – the city is not too big and not to small,
    • And being blessed by mother nature
      makes Bodø a unique place and playground for developing and testing technologies for the future.
  • As mentioned before, aviation has been central to Bodø’s development.
  • Moreover, it was the trigger for the massive and ongoing development-project “New City – New Airport”.
  • It started with the need for a new runway at the current airport.
  • And it turned into one of the greatest projects of urban development in the history of Norway.
  • The journey to “The World’s Smartest City” has begun.
  • When moving the current airport and runway; 3.4 million square meters of land will become available for urban development!
  • Together with local, national and international partners we will take a leading role in innovative urban development
    • We will create and test solutions for environmental and people friendly cities of the future.
    • The development shall create economic activity locally, and add value globally.
    • We hope that this is among the exciting developments which we could pick-your brains on during next year’s Congress.
  • This is the essence of “Smart Bodø”; Bodø’s contribution to the global transition to a low carbon economy.

 

The theme of next year’s Annual ISOCARP Congress is: «Cool Planning: Changing climate and our Urban Future». Please mark the following dates in your calendars: 1-5 October 2018.

I am proud to present the official logo for next year’s Congress in Bodø. The design incorporates important elements of Bodø:

  • Stormen, which translates into «the Storm», next year’s primary Congress venue and our concert hall and public library.
  • Lights: an important symbolism for the people of Bodø.
    • During winter we have so-called “polar nights”, which is when we do not see the sun.
    • During summer we have so-called “polar days”, that is the period in which the sun never sets.
    • Northern Lights is the most exotic light to be experienced in Bodø. October, when we host next year’s Congress, is the perfect time to experience the northern lights at its strongest.

I hope you are intrigued by this very quick introduction to Bodø and that I managed to trigger your curiosity!
The October lights and colours are something you want to see for yourself
while taking part in next year’s Congress,

  • Discussing smart city and community planning, within the context of climate change and urbanisation
  • Attending exciting side-events, workshops and site-visits amongst others, of the 54th annual ISOCARP conference.

 

Welcome to Bodø!