The Port Authority of Bilbao (Spain) organized the 2nd edition of the Sustainable Port Conference on the 6th and 7th of February, counting with several AIVP members and experts. Dr. José M P Sánchez, Director of the Agenda 2030 of AIVP, was in charge of moderating a roundtable addressing several aspects of social sustainability and the port-city relationship. The speakers included Maria del Rosario Soto, President of the Port Authority of Almería, Eider Inunciaga, Bilbao City Councilor responsible for Basque Language, Citizen Services and Participation, 2030 Agenda and International, and Itziar Sabas, Director of HR and Communications in the Port Authority of Bilbao. The discussion covered several scales and steps of the social integration of ports and their implementation of the Agenda 2030. It steered from a broader strategic approach for the Greater Bilbao to the innovation and human capital actions developed by the Basque Port Authority, to concrete interventions to improve the port-city interface in Almería (Spain). Identifying core values for the local society, the port city, and being coherent throughout all the levels of planning and execution is key to improving the social sustainability of the port-city community.
The conference also counted with interventions of AIVP members such as the Ports of Lisbon (Portugal) and Sevilla (Spain). The first highlighted the importance of culture and innovation strategies, and the second, shared good practices on circular economy and biodiversity protection along the Guadalquivir river. Peter De Langen, AIVP expert on port governance and economics, was the keynote speaker of the first day, offering a broad vision of the challenges lying ahead for the port sector in a very uncertain global context. AIVP is proud of having contributed to this excellent event, with a port city perspective for Bilbao.
