Platform North draws lessons from other initiatives
A workshop in Rovaniemi highlighted how Platform North can use knowledge from New North to strengthen transport cooperation in the north.
Platform North is developing as a shared space for knowledge, networks and cross-border cooperation in the Northern Nordics.
– The aim is to be an umbrella and a hub: a place where knowledge can be shared, ideas can be connected, and common challenges can be addressed across countries and sectors, says Ine Hilling of the Norwegian Public Roads Administration, and Chair of Platform North.
This matters because the north is facing major change. Industrial investment, the green transition and a more demanding security situation are all increasing the need for stronger transport links and closer cooperation. At the same time, long distances, harsh weather and limited capacity make the region more vulnerable — and make cross-border cooperation more important.
Recent discussions in Platform North, including a workshop in Rovaniemi in May, underlined the value of stronger networks and better knowledge-sharing across the north. The wider message is clear: experience from projects and regions should be used more actively in broader cooperation.
New North provides knowledge that can be carried forward
This is where the work carried out by the Aurora Interreg project New North becomes particularly relevant. The Platform North workshop in Rovaniemi was held in connection with the final seminar for New North. This was no coincidence.
New North is a cross-border cooperation project between regional authorities in the northern parts of Finland, Sweden and Norway. It focuses on transport, logistics and security of supply, and on developing the transport and logistics system. The project also looks at how future investment potential in the region can be realised, and at the opportunities offered by new transport and logistics technology.
The project has worked on four themes, or work packages (WPs):
- WP 1: Seamless freight transports chains of the future (led by Finnmark County and Norwegian partners)
- WP 2: Security of supply and co-operation (led by The Regional Council of Lapland).
- WP 3: Electric aviation (led by Västerbotten County)
- WP 4: Green railway transport corridors (led by Regional Council of North Karelia)
Read the reports from the work packages (link to the The Regional Council of Lapland website):
The New North work also shows the value of linking regional expertise with broader cooperation. Participants stressed that actors know their own regions well, and that this knowledge should feed into other initiatives. That makes Platform North well suited to act as a bridge between regional experience, national priorities and cross-border development.
– New North has produced a great deal of knowledge. Platform North is a good channel for sharing this knowledge more widely, while also building on it in our own work, says Ine Hilling.
A broader perspective on transport, society and preparedness
One of Platform North's strengths is that it brings in a broad range of actors and perspectives.
This wider view also sets Platform North apart from the Nordic Transport Preparedness Cooperation (NTPC). NTPC focuses on transport preparedness across the Nordic region, including civil and military mobility. Platform North covers the northern parts of the Nordic countries, but with a broader perspective that also includes society, industry and the green transition.
That means Platform North can complement NTPC and help connect strategic preparedness work with regional knowledge, practical cooperation and a broader network of actors. A dual-use perspective is central here: in the north, the same road, railway, port or airport may be important for daily life, business activity, supply chains and emergency response, as well as military mobility.
Identifying how Platform North can work with NTPC in the future and complement its work was also a topic at the workshop in Rovaniemi.
– Good coordination and dialogue between initiatives such as New North, NTPC and Platform North are important. This helps us achieve good results while using resources efficiently, for the benefit of the whole region, concludes Ine Hilling.