Living and working with ports

Next year’s ESPO Conference will be held in Helsinki on 27-28 May. Theme of the conference is “Living and Working with Ports”. This theme covers a broad range of topics, including the port image, city-port dialogue, training and education as well as living and working conditions.

The programme will feature a number of hands-on sessions covering communication skills, training and educational partnerships, management of change and the untapped potential of port tourism and recreation. Societal integration is still very much a new area for many port managers, comparable to what environmental management used to be fifteen years ago. This is why ESPO is not only giving out an Award in this field but also supports the port co-operation project “People around Ports” which was launched in April this year. This project will lead to a new ESPO Code of Practice that will be officially presented in Helsinki and which is hoped to play the same pioneering role as the first ESPO Environmental Code of Practice back in 1994.
The conference programme will also include an update on the economic situation of the European port industry after the recession and a state of play of the EU ports and transport policy programme.

Given the strategic border location of Helsinki, a special interest seminar on Russia and the Baltic Sea is planned before the conference, organised in co-operation with the Baltic Ports Organisation (BPO). Participants will also have the occasion to visit Vuosaari Harbour, the brand-new outer port of Helsinki which forms a state-of-the-art example of sustainable port development.

Registration opens in the next few days and can be accessed through the conference website which contains all practical information regarding programme, venues, hotel accommodation etc.

(Source: www.transportweekly.com)