IACP 2023 CONFERENCE: ABIDJAN PORT AUTHORITY ATTENDS THE VENICE CONFERENCE

Activités portuaires Friday 19 January 2024

The 2023 Conference of the International Association of Cities and Ports (IACP) opened its doors in Venice (Italy) on 16 November 2023. For three days, this major event brought together experts from the maritime and port sectors, local authorities, port authorities, economic operators and citizens around the topic, "Strengthening the Link between Ports and Citizens: a Shared Vision of the Future."

The Abidjan Port Authority (PAA), a corporate citizen committed to environmental protection, took part in the conference, the aim of which was to support the various regional and port stakeholders in their efforts to achieve the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals. The Port Authority was well represented, headed by its Managing Director, Mr. Hien Yacouba SIÉ.

The opening ceremony was held in the presence of Mario GIRARD, Vice Chairman of the IACP, Rear Admiral Pierpaolo RIBUFFO, Interregional Maritime Commander - North, Fulvio Lino DI BLASIO, Chairman of the Port Authority of the North Adriatic and of the Association of Ports of the North Adriatic, and Simone VENTURINI, Councillor for Tourism of the Municipality of Venice.

This was an opportunity for the IACP Board and local leaders from the Venice region to present the general idea of the event. In other words, to identify the key concepts that need to be rethought, and to find ways and means to reach a compromise between actors with sometimes divergent interests, in order to bring ports and citizens together for a common vision of the future.

They were followed by a number of speakers who, with one voice, raised the issue of the actions to be taken by port cities to meet the sustainable development objectives of Agenda 2023, but also the identification of key areas for improvement and the societal impact of innovation in the maritime and port sectors.

Several roundtable discussions took place during this major international meeting, focusing on topics such as mobility in port cities, the technologies of the future for the port city of the future, promoting city-port culture with citizens, and port cities at the forefront of climate change.

These were just some of the topics addressed by the speakers during the three days of rich exchange of experiences.