ICE Arctic Youth Community
Current status: Year 2/3
Funding: NORA, The Norwegian Barents Secretariat
Regions involved: Coastal Norway, Faroe Islands, Greenland, Iceland
Target group: 18-36 year-old entrepreneurially minded people.
Purpose: Create new opportunities for youth from remote areas. Establish new networks and collaborations.
Arctic Circular Economy Summit 2025
Current status: Preparations for 7-9 October 2025 (www.ACES2025.com)
Funding: NORA, The Norwegian Barents Secretariat
Regions involved: New Nordics, Portugal
Target group: Interest in circular transition and cross-border / international collaboration.
Purpose: Connect people interested in practical opportunities in circular transition. Enable creation of new projects Set Sør-Varanger as a point of origin for a strong international concept.
GENGREEN
Current status: Ongoing
Funding: Interreg Aurora
Regions involved: Norway, Finland, Sweden
Target group: Primarily female entrepreneurs.
Purpose: Empowering women in business with particular focus on green businesses. Strengthening competence and cross-border networks.
Polar Bear Pitching Satellite Event Kirkenes 2025
Current status: Preparations for December 2025
Funding: The Norwegian Barents Secretariat
Regions involved: Northern Norway
Target group: PBP eligible businesses willing to pitch from an ice hole.
Purpose: Showcase innovation in Sør-Varanger. Cross-border activity.
Creative North
Current status: 2 hackathons left
Funding: NORA
Regions involved: Coastal Norway, Faroe Islands, Greenland, Iceland
Target group: 18-36 year-old creative minds from the NORA region
Purpose: Solve regional challenges by bringing young creative minds together.
NEWS
ACTIVE PROJECTS
INNOVATION
COMMUNITY
ENTREPRENEURSHIP
@icekirkenes
THIS IS ICE
ICE was created to boost innovation and entrepreneurship in the Arctic, with Kirkenes as its main hub. We have been achieving this through cross border cooperation and events to connect people, provide inspiration, and prompt creative thinking and the entrepreneurial mindset attitude.
Our overall goal is to show Sør-Varanger as attractive to live and establish businesses in. This contributes to making our region resistant and robust with Kirkenes as a power center in the northern ecosystem.
In the past 18 months, ICE has significantly strengthened the visibility of our region on international scene, brought important people to the region, and supported regional entrepreneurial scene.
As a result, ICE has strong support among funding institutions, SVU has been invited to various international projects, and millions of NOK have been secured for SVU's activities to further pursue its mission as a regional development company.
ICE has become an extremely important part of Sør-Varanger, ensuring the businesses in the region get new opportunities, entrepreneurial scene grows, and international networks keep Sør-Varanger in mind - whether for business growth, or project partnerships.
COLLABORATION WITH FINNISH ENTREPRENEURIAL SUCCESS
We have the honor of telling the news that the entrepreneur club has entered into a partnership with Crazy Town, an entrepreneurial community and innovation hub.
ICE MINI SUMMER SCHOOL
Last summer we arranged a summer school for children aged ten to twelve. Over the course of three days, the children learned about innovation, technology and sustainability through cool experiments.
A HYBRID INNOVATION SUCCESS IN KIRKENES
Participants from all over the Barents region got together in Kirkenes for the Hybrid Release Party. An innovation festival held from Kirkenes in Murmansk, Arkhangelsk, Rovaniemi and Luleå.
