Press Release

ESPO Conference 2016, Dublin: register now and do not miss this highlight for the European port industry!

12 April 2016

The European Sea Ports Organisation (ESPO) is inviting its members, policy makers and stakeholders to join in the 13th edition of its annual conference, which will be hosted by Dublin Port. The event will take place on 2 and 3 June 2016 at The Printworks – Dublin Castle.

More than ever, the ESPO Conference 2016 has all the necessary ingredients to make it an unforgettable event:

 1° The theme: Are European ports moving fast enough? The 2016 ESPO Conference will look into ways to improve the efficiency of maritime transport and ports, this from different angles: How to remove the remaining barriers in maritime transport and how to come to a real internal market for maritime transport? How to set the digital agenda for ports? Big data: what is in for European ports? How can ports benefit from new trade agreements? Is Brexit a possible game stopper?

The speakers: as always the ESPO Conference features a remarkable line up of both high level and/or “off the beaten” track speakers. Confirmed speakers are: Jakub Walenkiewicz, Head of Market intelligence, DNV Market Research; Carmen Caro Jaume, Senior Manager, Indirect Tax Global Trade| EMEIA Tax Centre, Ernst & Young, Alan Long, Chairman, IPCSA; Capt. Stein Inge Dahn, President European Maritime Pilots Association; Bruce Weinelt, Head of digital Transformation, World Economic Forum; Marc Beerlandt, CEO, MSC Belgium; Lars Jensen, Chief Executive, Cyberkeel; Benjamin Hodgson, Senior Research Scientist, BMT Group: Bigdata Beyond the Buzzwords; Knut Fleckenstein, Member of the European Parliament and rapporteur on the Port Regulation; Kurt Nagle, President & CEO, AAPA-American Association of Port Authorities; Prof. Dr. Theo Notteboom, Full Professor and High-End Foreign Expert (SAFEA, State Administration of Foreign Expert Affairs), Transportation Management College, Dalian Maritime University (DMU); Sean Potter, Managing Director of DFDS Seaways in the UK; Henrik Hololei, Director General, DG MOVE European Commission; Mark Frequin, Director General for Mobility and Transport, Dutch Ministry of Infrastructure and the Environment; Pat Cox, Former President of the European Parliament and EU Coordinator for the Scandinavian-Mediterranean Corridor.

Jeremy Rifkin: what do you think about having a top-economist and influential thinker who has been and is advising Presidents of the European Commission and Different Heads of State on our speakers list?  Jeremy Rifkin, author of The Zero Marginal Cost Society: The Internet of Things, the Collaborative Commons, and the Eclipse of Capitalism will give a keynote address on the theme of “a Third Industrial Revolution and a Zero Marginal Cost Society”. 

The debate: ESPO conferences are more than listening to a series of speeches. ESPO Conferences seek for the real debate. Panelists enter in an active exchange of views with different port authorities. The following port representatives are getting ready for the debate: Santiago Garcia-Mila, Chairman, ESPO; Eamonn O’Reilly, Chief Executive, Port of Dublin; Hervé Martel, CEO, Port of Le Havre; Julian Skelnik, Director, Port of Gdansk Authority; Chairman, Baltic Ports Organisation; Valeriu Nicolae Ionescu, CEO, National Company “Maritime Ports Administration” SA Constantza; Kimmo Mäki, Managing Director, Port of Helsinki; Johan Röstin, CEO, Copenhagen Malmö Port; Wolfgang Hurtienne, Managing Director, Hamburg Port Authority; Tim Waggott, CEO, Port of Dover; John Mullins, Chairman, Port of Cork and President of the Irish Port association; Dimitrios Makris, CEO, Port of Thessaloniki; Paolo Costa, President, Venice Port Authority and Robin Mortimer, Chief Executive, Port of London Authority.

This year, these debates are in the hands of Claire Byrne. She is an Irish radio and television broadcaster on Raidió Teilifís Éireann (RTÉ) where she specializes in current affairs programmes.

5° The host: The Port of Dublin, Ireland’s premier port is more than just our host. They are doing more than one can expect from a host. And we have a slight impression that we do not know everything yet.

6° The Admiral’s Ball: If you would not be convinced by the first five ingredients, this is the one that might do it. The traditional conference dinner has made way for the Admiral’s Ball. The Admiral’s ball is a gala black tie evening celebrating the Lord Mayor of Dublin’s honorary Admiralty of Dublin Port. The event also launches the Dublin Port Riverfest, A sophisticated evening of fine dining and premium entertainment is promised.

All details about the programme and registration can be found on the Conference Website.

Time is running and the hotel block bookings for ESPO conference delegates are normally ending on 20 April.





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