Marine contractor Van Oord is marking its 150th anniversary with an international climate and energy symposium.
In addition to climate change and other themes, the symposium, in the Laurenskerk in Rotterdam, will celebrate the history of Dutch marine engineering with the presentation of a book on the subject.
Diplomat Christiana Figueres is a guest speaker at the event in Rotterdam, taking place on 23 November. Figueres was the United Nations top climate change diplomat and delivered the Paris Agreement on Climate in 2015. She will emphasise the importance of achieving the climate agreements to combat global warming.
The symposium will also take time out to celebrate the history of Dutch marine engineering. Barbara Visser, Dutch State Secretary of Defence, will take receipt of the book Breaking New Ground, titled Grondleggers in Dutch, by maritime historian Joke Korteweg.
Korteweg spent four years researching the history of Van Oord and its legal predecessors. The book has been published by Balans.
To mark its 150 year anniversary Van Oord has also spent the past few months helping eight entrepreneurs develop a professional business plan, as part of the Van Oord Innovation Challenge.
During the symposium, the winning start-up will have the opportunity to present its innovation to the audience and will be granted a one-year partnership contract with Van Oord.
On behalf of the city council of Rotterdam, deputy mayor Bert Wijbenga will also receive a gift, which will be a project in public space near the Maas river.
Van Oord will bring its year-long anniversary celebrations to a close with a two-day event marking the christening of its new trailing suction hopper dredger Vox Amalia. On 14 December Queen Máxima will perform the christening ceremony at the Cruise Terminal in Rotterdam in the presence of Van Oord’s employees and guests.