THE ICE TEAM
ICE has a strong team able to deliver high-quality results in existing projects, as well as secure funding and build concepts for new projects. Reach out with any questions or just to say hi!
Ondrej Spala
Project Manager - ICE
Event Director - ACES 2024 & 2025
ondrej(a)svu.as
Maja Kruuse
Project Manager - GENGREEN Norway
Ane Sofie Mikkelsen
Event Director - ICEIF 2024
INNOVATION. COMMUNITY. ENTREPRENEURSHIP
Today, we continue to develop the ICE concept with the goal 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.
ABOUT US
ICE started as an innovation festival where we gathered creative people in Kirkenes to solve societal challenges through the method design thinking. We were tired of typical conferences with long speeches, big words and little action: We wanted to get the participants to actually do something.
Nowadays, ICE is far more than just a festival. It connects several brands working toward stronger entrepreneurial environment in East Finnmark and partner regions - from ICE Arctic Youth Community to GENGREEN.
ICE has also initiated a high-demand event - Arctic Circular Economy Summit, aka ACES - as a direct outcome of the ICEAYC project.
CONNECTING ENTREPRENEURS
BRINGS VALUE TO THE COMMUNITY
In May 2019, we gathered around 60 creative people with different backgrounds and expertise for a 24-hour innovation festival.
The conclusion afterwards was "This was cool - we have to do it again". When it was time for ICE 2020, something as unexpected as a pandemic came and took over the world… and WE had to think completely new. In 2020, we therefore arranged two digital innovation festivals «ICE - Hack the crisis» and «ICE Global».
In November 2022, over 550 participants gathered to celebrate innovation in the Arctic at the ICE Innovation Festival.
It was a huge success and set the first step of amazing events at the region's old hospital - today's Nothing Hill.
Fast forward, in 2024, the ICE team prepared another successful ICEIF, increasing the number of attendees and getting stronger local and regional involvement.
Furthermore, the first ever Arctic Circular Economy Summit took place in September 2024 as a successful pilot of a very topic-specific event.
