“The people of Tromsø have a reputation of always being optimistic. They say the ‘Big Melt’ in the Arctic Ocean might provide new business opportunities for exploitation of oil, gas and minerals, and new routes might open for ships sailing the northern coastlines of Russia and Canada. However, balancing human use and ecosystem protection has become very important. The scientific comunity of Tromsø wants to be the major player, providing input into the discussion and development of the environmental agenda.”
Reinhold Fieler, Akvaplan-niva, organiser of Arctic Frontier, January 2007

The city faces the challenges by investing in competency and research. The transition to a knowledge economy is noticeable – both in terms of the number of employees and the increased turn-over in competency intensive enterprises in North Norway. The research organisation ICSU has launched 2007 as the International Polar Year.  Among the many international conferences to be arranged at Tromsø we find e.g. the World Environmental Day 2007 and Arctic Frontiers Tromsø.