Women's Day on Svalbard

Innovation Norway Arctic marks international women's day on the 8th of March in Longyearbyen with a breakfast meeting that highlights female pioneers in the Arctic.

The debate will revolve around the major shifts the Svalbard community is facing; the mining operation shutting down, climate change hitting Svalbard hard, big politics having consequences for the archipelago and the implementation of new regulations and protected areas. 

"Which paths should be taken next? What opportunities are there for sustainable businesses and growth? Does it require pioneer spirit, determination, and independence – and can we find opportunities in the challenges?" reads the program for the day.

Among the panelists, we find Hedvig Hjertaker, who in January became the world's youngest woman to ever walk alone to the South Pole, Elin Vinje Jensen, who is a research disseminator at the Norwegian Polar Institute, Iris Dahle Bjørkmann, who is the co-owner of 78th Degrees North AS, and Ingvild Sæbu Vatn, who started the LPO Architects office in Longyearbyen in 2011.

In addition, Æra, an innovation studio that works with strategic innovation with sustainability as the basis, is represented by Trygve Sunde Kolderup, Advisor and Business Developer with competence within tourism and location development, and Øystein Hagen, one of the entrepreneurs behind Æra, and General Manager of the company.