Commentary
Future Greenland 2015:
Tourism as the Future of Greenland?
Lill Rastad Bjørst
Every second year the Greenlandic Business Association hosts a two-day conference entitled “Future
Greenland” in Nuuk.1 The main theme of this year’s conference was “Growth and Welfare – Scenarios
for the Development of Greenland.” The conference had more than 400 participants – mostly from
Denmark and Greenland – but the format of the conference seems to be opening up for international
business partners. This year’s conference facilitated a dialogue in Greenlandic, Danish and English.
Next year even more interpreters will be needed. To strengthen the outreach, the conference was
broadcasted live via KNR (Kalaallit Nunaata Radioa – Greenlandic Broad-casting Corporation) to the
rest of Greenland which
made the confer-ence even
more impor-tant as a
platform for dialogue on
the future of Greenland.
One of the important
themes of the conference
was the severe economic
situation of Greenland and
an evaluation of the
absence of the promised
“mineral adventure.”
Lill Rastad Bjørst is Assistant Professor at CIRCLA, Aalborg University, Denmark.