Dear members of the Greenland Business Association
Another exciting year as the largest organization in the business world has passed, and thus another year in which we as an organization have reached our goals and learned. In a time when social media and quick conclusions quickly become the basis for major decisions, political as well as business-related, it is important to have a strongly rooted GBA that can translate facts and knowledge into opinions and work purposefully and factually in the long run. It is a trend in many places to make quick decisions on a limited or weakly substantiated foundation, which is why our role as the civil society’s watchdog is even more important now than ever. Greenland faces some big decisions and has high ambitions, but we can only fulfil them in a close partnership between civil society and politicians, and on an informed basis.
Everyday life in an organization offers many different tasks and experiences. We serve members big and small. Express our views on business policy issues. Submit consultation responses. Run industry committees. Host conferences. Participate in business promotions. And in general, we focus on the framework conditions for business development. Not least, we try to make visible that the business world is an important component of society’s cohesion and an area where value can be created through earnings and job creation. We always try to be clear about what our positions are and what they are based on. Over the course of a year, we give many presentations to politicians, ambassadors, companies, interest organisations, the media etc. and slightly inspired by a well-known Danish TV show, we usually end by emphasizing that this is not the whole truth but is our interpretation of data and facts and our view of how we would like to see the development. With well-founded positions, we are entitled to a place in the public dialogue.
New airports and then what! This was the headline at a conference we attended at the end of the year. And it sums up very well something we often encounter when the conversation turns to what Greenland will live off in the future? For a period, the path to more autonomy lay in the raw materials. Then it became tourism. And then the energy sector. And every time it can seem as if we forget where we came from. But the fact is that Greenland’s increased autonomy can only be achieved by diversifying the economy and not working with quick and short-term solutions. The raw materials, tourism and perhaps also the energy sector must be long-term and economically and socially sustainable contributions to a broad economy in Greenland. Neither is a “quick fix” or quick shortcut to independence. We work with the long haul, and this places greater demands on our ability to adapt and the opportunity to acquire insight and knowledge about the individual industries. Because with new industries, we are moving into an area where we cannot decide everything ourselves, but must adapt to trends, tendencies, markets, foreign regulations, new cultures, the financial market, expectations, and global politics. To name just a few. In other words, we must organize the society we would like to have, but to an even greater extent within the framework of the outside world’s expectations of us.
The Greenland Business Association continues to experience a net increase in members, and we are over 320 member companies. We represent close to 80 % of the total private payroll distributed over approx. 7,000 employees. Our work and role therefore have a major impact on many people’s lives.
We experience continued trust in the organization and what we work with. Especially in a time when external circumstances, such as Covid19, energy crisis, rising prices of building materials etc. has meant that several companies have felt the need to seek help and be part of a larger whole.
In many places in our part of the world, organizations and associations come under pressure. The times are different, and the younger generations in particular have more difficulty seeing themselves on the local football club’s board, joining a trade union or being organized as an employer. We need to talk about how we can obtain better insight into what the future businesspeople in Greenland expect of us, so that we can continue to remain relevant and strengthen our unity. Because with the development that Greenland is in, it becomes even more important to have a strong business community and a well-organized labour market.
Thanks to and for all of you, and a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. We are looking forward to another year and hope to see as many of our members as possible at the Future Greenland business conference on 14-15th May in Nuuk.
Kind regards
Christian Keldsen
CEO