EWEA: Vi vil gerne inspirere og komme med friske nye idéer

Programmet for EWEA 2012 ligger nu klar, og den europæiske organisation EWEA har som noget nyt bedt en række Track Chairs om hver især at designe indholdet til hver deres ’spor’. Vindmølleindustrien har undersøgt baggrunden for dette og fundet svar fra Head of Conferences Amy Parsons i Bruxelles, hvor EWEA har kontorer.

EWEA 2012 programmet ligger nu klar, og i år har EWEA som noget nyt bedt en række udvalgte Track Chairs om at designe et indhold til hver sit tematiske spor. De i alt seks Track Chairs er udvalgte personer, som alle har hver sin ekspertise og derved kunne præge deres spor svarende til deres respektive ekspertisefelter. Derfor har disse Track Chairs i samarbejde med EWEA sørget for, at der vil være en række gæstetalere til hvert af sporene for at sikre, at indholdet både er relevant og af højt niveau samt for at bringe nye ansigter ind.

Under viften af de i alt seks Track Chairs har adm. direktør i Vindmølleindustrien, Jan Hylleberg, fået tildelt temaet Policies, Markets & Programme og Formand for bestyrelsen i Vindmølleindustrien, Henning Kruse, vil i form af sin post som formand for TPWind stå for temaet Hardware Technology. Det er planen, at de seks forskellige Track Chairs overordnet skal styre et spor hver, og præsentere en række co-chairs, som vil gå i dybden i de forskellige underemner. Det vil blandt andet give nye input og friske idéer til de deltagende, lyder det fra EWEA.

“Fresh ideas, useful tools and new contacts”
I et interview med Vindølleindustrien beskriver Head of Conferences i EWEA, Amy Parsons, blandt andet det primære formål for konferencen i København, samt systemet med de forskellige Track Chairs og baggrunden for, at man har valgt netop denne model:

Can you briefly explain the concept of the Track Chairs?
“Each track is like a ‘mini-conference’ within the main programme. So whether you are interested in financing, grids, policy, technical or scientific issues, you can identify which sessions are for you, and learn from the best experts in your field. The idea is that the track chairs are responsible for all of the sessions in their track and also work together on designing the programme structure as a whole. Not many events can benefit from this kind of high-level input, so it’s a great boost for us that these people are so keen to be involved, and fits perfectly with our ‘industry for industry’ ethos.”

What do you hope to achieve with the “new” programme form, where the Track Chairs have had freedom to design their tracks?
This year we have made an effort to include a common theme across the entire programme – focusing on innovating – and the track chairs have spent quite some time thinking about the session topics and scope in line with this. The slogan for this conference theme is “innovating today, shaping tomorrow”. We hope that by encouraging the selection of speakers on the basis of this theme that we will produce sessions with a lot more new content, which delegates tell us is a priority for them. We do listen to feedback from our participants each year and develop new concepts for the event in line with their expectations. Our main objective is to deliver an event which gives participants some fresh ideas, useful tools and new contacts that they can take back to the office with them.

Will it be possible to attend to different tracks, e.g. roam from one to another during the tracks?
Yes, delegates are free to attend whichever of the 40+ sessions they like, and certainly some people will find that more than one track is relevant to them. The programme is put online well in advance, giving participants the possibility to get a good idea of what’s on offer some months ahead of the conference. With such a wide-ranging programme, there’s a lot of choice, so it’s important that delegates plan their time to make the most of the four days.

Are there any other things during EWEA 2012 that will differ from the previous conferences that you have held?
As well as pushing this innovating theme in terms of content, we are also asking the session chairs to be innovative themselves, in particular in terms of allowing more time for discussion and emphasising audience interaction. Technology also has a role to play in this – for example we will be using an SMS-based system to collect audience questions and votes across the whole programme. We want to make sure that when people go home after EWEA 2012, they will feel inspired and ready to act on what they have learnt, who they have met, what they have seen at the event.

Finally, with EWEA 2012 getting closer, and the registration being open, what would you like to say to companies in the Danish wind industry that consider attending the conference?
Coming to Denmark is very exciting for us – the enthusiasm for wind energy is tangible, and working with DWIA and some of the big players in the Danish wind sector has been a pleasure. Bringing fresh ideas to the event is much easier in this positive environment! I hope that Danish companies will share this enthusiasm for our event, and appreciate the opportunity to meet and learn from their peers from across Europe and beyond. Our fate as an industry relies on cooperation and collaboration between organisations and across national borders, and EWEA 2012 embodies this principle by bringing everyone together to learn, share and network. Expect some positive surprises, and come with an open, inquisitive mind so that you really get the most out of it!