Photo: From left: Lars Helle, Stavanger Aftenblad, Ragnar Christensen, NRK Rogaland, Tommy Aase, Screen Story, Harald Halvorsen, Mediability and Annenita Bakker Schøyen, Mediafarm. Foto: Fredrik Refvem, Stavanger Aftenblad.
The level of ambition for this co-location project is high. The Editor-In-Chief of the Stavanger Aftenblad newspaper, Lars Helle, believes that a "Media City" in Stavanger will strengthen the social mission of media and at the same time attract both qualified labor and students to the region. The objective includes triggering cooperation with other clusters and institutions.
It is yet to be decided precisely where the new Media City will be situated, but it must be both visible and accessible to the public, says NRK’s Regional Director, Ragnar Christensen. The Media City must be a well-suited meeting arena for both audiences and the businesses. At this time, the well-established companies are taking the first initiative, but the goal is to entice many small and larger companies to relocate and join the others.
The CEO of Mediafarm, Annenita Bakker Schøyen, emphasizes the importance of this collaboration project. “I have faith that we can create a media and technology environment which can capture new markets and strengthen the ability of our region to face changes and competition,” says Bakker Schøyen.
The co-location project in Stavanger is planned to be ready for move-in in 2023.
Read full article in Stavanger Aftenblad here (in Norwegian) and in NRK Rogaland here (in Norwegian).
The Norwegian Media Cluster established a satellite in Stavanger last year, and its CEO, Anne Jacobsen, thinks the idea of a "Media City" there is exciting. Although the national cluster organization isn’t directly involved in the Stavanger co-location project, MCE Media will contribute and help establish partnerships and joint projects.
“The effects one realizes from co-locating are tremendous, and is something we’ve seen countless examples of in Media City Bergen. It has resulted in an extremely high pace of innovation, a far greater value creation for the involved companies, and a popularity for the studies at the University of Bergen tied to MCB that surpasses any other in the country."