On 17th October 2024 the Polar Connect team attended the first CEF Digital Community Event in Brussels. Per Nihlén and Lisa Olsson, from Sunet, and Valter Nordh and Ieva Muraskiene, from NORDUnet, represented the North Pole Fiber Project.
The CEF Digital Community Event was organised by the European Commission, in collaboration with HaDEA, and brought together a wide array of stakeholders, including representatives from the European Commission, leaders of other co-funded initiatives, and potential investors. The event thus provided a valuable platform for networking and discussing the advancement of Europe’s digital infrastructure.
The event featured opening speeches by Renate Nikolay, Deputy Director-General of DG-CNECT; Marina Zanchi, Director of HaDEA; and Franco Accordino, Deputy Director-General of the Unit ‘Investment in High-Capacity Networks’ at DG-CNECT.
In addition to the main sessions, our team engaged in side meetings with European Commission officials to align the North Pole Fiber Project with other Arctic Connectivity initiatives. These meetings focused on forging partnerships to unlock collaborative potential to develop the innovative digital routes and thereby strengthen Europe’s digital autonomy and sovereignty.
A key highlight of the event was the Global Gateways workshop, led by Thomas Kuepper and Georgios Tselentis from DG-CNECT. This session provided a strategic overview of submarine cable projects and offered an opportunity for the projects to showcase their initiatives. During the workshop the North Pole Fiber Project team presented the poster, which generated interest among attendees, and facilitated connections with potential investors, who are interested in supporting submarine fiber cable projects.
The North Pole Fiber Project’s participation at the CEF Digital Community Event promoted further opportunities and provided a better understanding of investor interest and the ecosystem for building resilient communication networks in one of the world’s least explored regions. This engagement also allowed the promotion of the project’s mission to contribute to Europe’s long-term digital global gateways strategy.
Read more about the CEF Digital Programme on European Commission’s website