Digital North - A Digital and Sustainable Nordic-Baltic Region

Did you miss out on the conference? A full recording can be found here.

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The Norwegian chairmanship of The Nordic Council of Ministers welcomes you to the second ‘Digital North’ conference in Norway. The topic for the conference is ‘A digital and sustainable Nordic-Baltic region’.

The conference took place on September 7th 2022 at the National Museum in Oslo.

The conference explores how digitalisation can promote sustainable development. The conference showcases best practices in the form of exiting projects, products and services from established businesses and start-ups from all across the region.

Conference programme

09:00 Welcome to the conference


Sigbjørn Gjelsvik, Norwegian Minister of Local Government and Regional Development
Sigbjørn Gjelsvik, Norwegian minister of local government and regional development
Introductions by moderator Siri Lill Mannes

09:10 The political agenda


Ministers responsible for digitalisation in the Nordic-Baltic region explore topics such as:
  • 'Green and digital’: How does digitalisation in society and the public sector affect climate and sustainable development? What does the climate footprint of ICT mean for future policy?
  • ‘Social sustainability of digitalisation’: How do we make sure no one are left behind in an increasingly digitalised society where also public sector services have gone digital?
  • Cyber security: The war in Ukraine adds to a trend with growth in organized cyber-crime. How can we ensure a high level of security in the digital services that our societies rely on?
Picture of Fredrik Karlström – Minister of Trade and Industry, Åland, Kristjan Järvan – Minister of Entrepreneurship and Information Technology, Estonia, Eglé Markevičiūtė – Vice-Minister of Economy and Innovation, Lithuania, Artūrs Toms Plešs – Minister of Environmental Protection and Regional Development, Latvia and Sigbjørn Gjelsvik – Minister of Local Government and Regional Development, Norway


10:00 Break

10:20 Sustainable oceans and fisheries


We explore how to make fisheries more sustainable and how digitalisation and data sharing can promote more sustainable governance of the oceans.
Pictures of Bjarni Benediktsson – Minister of Finance, Iceland, Christine Hebert, CEO, Blue Lobster, Silje Ramsvatn – Sustainability Manager, Cermaq, Kimberley Lein-Mathiesen – CEO of Ocean Hub, and Njål Tengs-Hagir – Director Marine Infrastructure, The Norwegian mapping authority


11:20 Lunch

12:20 Food production and food waste


Digital solutions facilitate more efficient and sustainable food production, and data is key in helping farmers change to more sustainable and climate friendly farming.

But more climate and environment friendly fisheries and agriculture cannot make up for all the food we throw away every day. Technology can help both retailers and consumer contribute to reducing food waste.
Pictures of Johanne Sæther Houge – Manager, Climate Smart Agriculture/Climate calculator, Christian Schøyen – CEO, Mimiro, Christophe Diercxsens – Public Affairs Director, Too Good To Go and Adam Vikström – Co-founder and CEO, Deligate


13:00 Nasjonalmuseet – A FutureBuilt museum


In June 2022 the National Museum opened in a new museum building housing all the collections, including Norwegian and international art, architecture and design. The museum has been built with ambitious climate criteria.

Marius Tunstad – Executive Vice President of Statsbygg will give us new insight into our conference venue, and how it was created to contribute to a more sustainable city.
The Norwegian National Museum. Foto: Iwan Baan


13:10 Break

13:30 Smart and sustainable communities


One of the goals of the Nordic Council of Ministers is to make the Nordic-Baltic region the most connected and sustainable region in the world. Connectivity enables communities to be integrated and “smart” in new and sustainable ways, both in terms of climate and quality of life.
Pictures of Allison Kirkby – President and CEO, Telia, Gunn Karin Gjul – State Secretary, Norwegian Ministry of Local Government and Regional Development, Kaisa Spilling – Development Manager, Forum Virium Helsinki, Thomas Bergøy Johansen - Special Advicer, City of Oslo and Heidi Brunborg – CIO, Lånekassen


14:40 The future of Nordic-Baltic cooperation on sustainability


Closing remarks by Paula Lehtomäki, Secretary General of the Nordic Council of Ministers

Wrap-up by moderator Siri Lill Mannes

15:00 Conference close

About the Nordic Council of Ministers


The Nordic Council of Ministers and the Nordic Council are the main forums for official Nordic co-operation, which involves Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden, the Faroe Islands, Greenland and Åland. The Nordic Council of Ministers are organised in many ministerial councils (MRs), with ‘MR Digital’ being the most recently established. This council is special in that it includes ministers from the Baltic countries – Estonia, Lithuania and Latvia – as well as the Nordic ministers responsible for digitalisation.

Digital North - a digital and sustainable Nordic-Baltic region