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22Maritime Reporter & Engineering News The maritime industry goes fromcycle to cycle, living with and by uncertainty. You could even say that our industry embracesrisk. This means that ?What?s next?? is always a relevant question ? and one that gets some interesting responses. During Nor-Shipping 2011, we discov- ered that the ?what?s next? question re- ally resonates with the industry when weused it to support the theme ?Next Gen- eration Shipping? for the event week. The standing-room only audience at the Nor- Shipping Opening Conference listenedattentively as industry heavyweights and rising stars shared their insights and vi-sions for the future.Highlights included Trond Giske, Nor- way?s minister of trade and industry, sug- gesting that industry frontrunners goingahead of ?slow politicians? with environ- mental solutions will be the winners.Teekay CEO Peter Evensen responded by emphasizing how voyage costs now steal 75% of revenues and suggested delegates must look to US aviation where fuel-effi- cient planes are replacing 737s and 747s.Looking ahead, Siva Shipping COO Saravana Sivasankaran predicted Africa would become the ?BRIC of the next decade?, while Frontline CEO Tor Olav Trøim said LNG ?? might be the best business opportunity Norway has had since it discovered oil? and that it might save the industry from ?the worst ship- ping market since the black death.? As you can see, the discussion was lively. The Conversation Continues With Nor-Shipping 2013, we will con- tinue the ?What?s next? conversation, ex- ploring the industry?s future via our conferences and the other value-added events that complement the exhibition. Without a doubt, there are continually new challenges for all players in the in- dustry ? designers, engineers, builders, fi- nancers, owners, operators, cargo owners and so on. At Nor-Shipping, we make it our mission to provide an important meeting place for companies from acrossthe entire maritime value chain and from around the globe to share solutions tocommon challenges, make strategic deals and network. Networking Nor-Shipping?s status as a high-level arena for peer-to-peer networking has been hard-won and requires constant ef- fort. We are keen to enhance Nor-Ship- ping?s networking potential and to create channels for sharing business insight so that our delegates have an unbeatable range of opportunities for professionalnetworking and socializing. We have seen how the exhibition and conference create a framework for in- valuable meetings to take place, and we are determined to maximize this aspectof the Nor-Shipping week. Nor-Shipping wants to create the perfect conditions for vendors and suppliers to meet leading players from the whole maritime indus-try ? and we recognize that the most im-portant conversations don?t always happen in a meeting room. Professional networking in social set- tings such as the Nor-Shipping barbeque is invaluable. These connections are made both face- to-face and online ? we want no genera- tion gaps at Nor-Shipping. Nor-Shipping is a ?community event? and we want to build an online community on the web and use social media that strengthens thephysical event and appeals to the younger ?digital generation?.Attracting Young Talent Attracting young talent ? and keeping it ? is crucial for the maritime industry?s future. One way is to promote the gen- uine lifetime of opportunity that the ship-ping world can provide, with attractive salary and career advancement and the added bonus of global travel. We have done this by establishing Nor- Shipping Campus, a city center-based offshoot of the main exhibition, with a mission to attract and engage young peo- ple to a career in shipping , as well as topromote the industry to the general pub-lic. The maritime industry needs to be- come more visible and increase its focuson long-term recruitmentDuring the first-ever Nor-Shipping Campus in 2011, nearly 10,000 people,from students and the media to key politi- cians and maritime heavyweights, visited the event. The pavilions for the Campus event housed exhibitions by more than 40 representatives of Norway?s maritime cluster. This was an important first step in en- hancing the industry?s image that con- nected with bright young minds andsucceeded in bringing shipping to thepeople. We will build on this experience to present an even better Nor-Shipping Campus in 2013.Staying AheadThe necessity to stay ahead of the?what?s next? curve is not just relevant for our stakeholders but also for Nor- Shipping itself.During our 50-year history, we have de- veloped from a niche shipbuilding exhi- bition into a weeklong industry-wideevent filled with conferences, profes- sional networking gatherings and count- less other activities, with the exhibition at the center of it all. Our latest expansion is the strengthening of our conferenceprogram to include the offshore maritime segment. The offshore shipping industry plays an increasing role in the global maritime in-dustry, as demonstrated by the great in- terest in Nor-Shipping?s first-ever Agenda Offshore conference in 2011 at which the then CEO of Brazilian oil giantPetrobras José Sergio Gabrielli was a headliner. Norway, with the second largest off- shore service vessel fleet in the world and expertise in deepwater, harsh environ- ment oil drilling, is a natural location forsuch an event. In fact, at the conference, National Oilwell Varco CEO Pete Miller referred to Norway as ?the poster child? for how Brazil will develop its offshore oil and gas. CONFERENCES & EXHIBITIONSWhat Next?Vidar Pederstad explains why NorShipping 2013 is Shaping Up to be the Best Ever MR May 12 # 3 (17-24):MR Template 4/27/2012 11:08 AM Page 22