Nor-Shipping has announced that renowned global strategist and intellectual Parag Khanna will be its star conference moderator in 2017, alongside award winning BBC presenter and journalist Nisha Pillai. The leading global maritime event week, taking place in Oslo and Lillestrøm, Norway, from 30 May to 2 June 2017, will charge the duo with taking the helm of its Opening Conference and Agenda Ocean series of events, the event organizer says in its press release.
Khanna, named by Esquire magazine as one of the 75 most influential people of the 21st century, is the author of numerous books on future world order, including the acclaimed Connectography: Mapping the Future of Global Civilization, focusing on how connected infrastructure supersedes traditional geographic and political barriers. He has also been an adviser to the U.S. National Intelligence Council’s Global Trends 2030 program, and served in the foreign policy advisory group to the Barack Obama for President campaign. Pillai, meanwhile, has over 20 years of broadcast experience with the BBC, becoming a globally recognised face through her work anchoring rolling news on BBC World News.
According to Nor-Shipping Director Birgit Liodden, the pair offer the perfect combination of authority and intellect to marshal a diverse programme of thought provoking, engaging and insight-rich debates and presentations.
“We are tailoring our conferences in 2017 to help the global shipping community tackle current challenges and exploit future potential,” she comments. “Those challenges are great, but so is the opportunity, and we’re expecting all our events to be fast paced, vibrant and visionary as they address crucial issues.
Nor-Shipping 2017 has committed itself to not only showcasing industry actors, services and innovations – across five themed halls and 45,000 m2 of exhibition space – but also providing a pro-active platform for future solutions. As such it has adopted an overall theme of Catalyst for Change, while dedicating exhibition Hall A to Disruptive Sustainability. Initiatives such as Problem to Profit, where shipping’s next generation seek to find solutions to this generation’s challenges, mirror its far-reaching ambition.
Key themes and speakers for the Opening Conference and Agenda Ocean programmes will be announced in the coming weeks/months.
Nor-Shipping, which is held every two years, attracts around 35,000 visitors to Oslo and Lillestrøm, with almost 1,000 of the world’s leading maritime companies showcasing products and services to the industry, future talent and stakeholders through the shipping value chain.
Nor-Shipping 2017 takes place in Oslo and Lillestrøm, Norway, from 30 May to 2 June 2017. The main exhibition features five themed halls: Disruptive Sustainability, IT & Navigation, Safety & Rescue, Shipbuilding & Repair, Maritime Services & Logistics and Propulsion & Machinery.