President of Iceland 1996-2016 Mr. Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson celebrates his 80th birthday this coming Sunday, 14 May 2023.
To celebrate this remarkable man and the 80-year milestone in his life an International Symposium - Signposts to the Future - will be held in Harpa in Reykjavík on the occasion of his birthday, May 14th.
Mr. Grímsson is one of the most prominent and influential modern time speakers and thinkers on the Arctic and through his initiative The Arctic Circle he has initiated and shaped an Arctic Dialogue platform of Global importance.
The Symposium includes many distinguished speakers, as seen in the agenda below. It starts in Harpa at 13.30, concluding with a reception at 16.45, and is open to everyone!
The Agenda of the International Symposium - Signposts to the Future:
13:30 Opening
Lilja Dögg Alfreðsdóttir, Minister of Culture and Business, Iceland: Opening remarks
Katrín Jakobsdóttir, Prime Minister of Iceland: Address
Al Gore, Vice President, USA, 1992-2000; Nobel Peace Prize, 2007: Message
Lisa Murkowski, Senator, USA: Message
Six Nations Peace Initiative
Lessons from the Success of Parliamentarians for Global Action (PGA)
Tom Harkin, Senator, 1985–2015, USA,: Opening
Silvia Hernandez, Senator, 1982-1988, 1991- 1994, 2000-2006; Minister, 1994-1997, Mexico
Thomas Downey, Congressman, 1975–1993, USA
Nicholas Dunlop, Secretary-General, the Climate Parliament; Former SecretaryGeneral, Parliamentarians for Global Action
Milind Deora, MP, 2004-2014; Minister, 2011-2014, India. Moderator
The Energy Revolution
Adnan Amin, CEO, COP28 in the United Arab Emirates; Director-General IRENA, 2011-2019: Opening
Chengyu Fu, Chairman, Sinopec Group, 2011-2015, China
Haukur Harðarson, Chairman and Founder, Arctic Green Energy
David Wallerstein, CXO, Tencent, USA/China/Europe
Halla Hrund Logadóttir, Director of Energy, Iceland. Moderator
Arctic - Climate
Peter Seligmann, CEO, Conservation International, 1987-2017; Founder Nia Tero, USA: Opening. Moderator
Kuupik Kleist, Prime Minister of Greenland, 2009-2013; Vice Chair of the Inuit Circumpolar Council
Atsushi Sunami, President, Sasakawa Peace Foundation, Japan
Lassi Heininen, Professor Emeritus, University of Lapland, Finland
Politics in the Future
Katrín Jakobsdóttir, Prime Minister
Lilja Alfreðsdóttir, Minister of Culture and Business
Þórdís Kolbrún Reykfjörð Gylfadóttir, Minister of Foreign Affairs
Kristrún Frostadóttir, Member of Parliament
Ólafur Þ. Harðarson, Professor Emeritus, University of Iceland. Moderator
Final Remarks
Guðni Th. Jóhannesson, President of Iceland
16:45 - 17:30 Reception
