Ladies and gentlemen!

It is a great pleasure for me to welcome you all to Ålesund, and to the second InnoTown Design and Innovation festival!

The scenic surroundings of this town is the perfect setting for this conference, which gathers creative and innovative people from all over the world. We are also in a region of Norway where design for many years has been a competitive factor, especially within the ship-building and the furniture industry. Within these sectors, the designers have managed to create products with an identity based on tradition and a sturdy culture on a weather-beaten coast.

The director of The Norwegian Design Council Mr. Jan Stavik, stated at last years conference that Norway needs this conference more than many other countries. I agree with him: We have a job to do when it comes to attract attention from our business leaders and make them realize that they need to focus more on design in their business strategies. The vast majority of Norwegian industries have traditionally been involved in trade of commodities and primary products, and industrial design has not been an issue that has achieved much attention from our business managers.

The globalization process represents both challenges and opportunities. In a world where international competition, innovation and market adjustments is the order of the day, knowledge and skills related to the integration of design in product-development as well as in market –communication is increasingly important .

Today’s consumers expect more than just physical qualities. Products should also appeal to emotions and values. In market-segments where technical solutions have become more and more uniform, first class design plays a decisive role in influencing consumer’s choice. The success of NOKIA is a good example of this. Another example from our own country is Oleana textiles. Based on our cultural heritage, Olane combines fashion with tradition and produces beautiful fashionable products that carry on traditional clothing in a new and innovative manner.

As Minister of Trade and Industry, I am committed to promoting the strategic use of design. In order to implement an action plan, I have appointed a committee to give the Ministry advice on how to integrate design into our industrial policy. I look forward to receiving their proposal, which will be presented to me on the 18 ^th> of June.

Although some Norwegian products have cutting edge commercial design, only 25 % of our companies focus on design when new products are being developed. This is simply not good enough. It is obvious to me that we have to work harder in order to improve the design of Norwegian products and to increase the focus on design as an integrated part of the innovation-process. This calls for joint efforts between business and government. Design has to become an integrated part of business strategies, with commitment from key management to apply design in product development as well as in market communication.

Our challenge is to convince managers that design pays off - and that it can make a difference at the bottom line! Design can also improve both the quality and the competitiveness of products and services. It can also contribute to a more environmentally sound, safe and cost-efficient production-process. In order to succeed, we have to connect designers with business. Conferences like this, where arenas for networking is provided for, are instrumental in this respect.

We also need to improve the understanding of design within our institutions. The Norwegian Industrial and Regional development fund, SND, provides financial grants for industrial development. In a White Paper recently presented to the Norwegian Parliament on the future SND, we stress the importance of design, and that this has to be included in all decision-making processes within the organization. The Norwegian Design Council co-operates with SND, and this joint effort has increased the scope of Norwegian design policy. My ambition is to strengthen this fruitful co-operation.

I know that you have an interesting conference ahead of you, and that these two days will be both inspiring and informative.

I hereby declare InnoTown 2001 opened!