AVS. Arkitektúr verktækni skipulag - 01.04.2002, Side 57

while the community of Hafnarfjöröur became an active
shareholder, along with a few large pension funds.
Aflvaki focused on financial participation in innovative
projects by buying shares. In recent years, Aflvaki's
structure and objectives have developed to where now
it is owned solely by Reykjavík and Reykjavík City's
companies. With a more developed financial market
and stock exchange, Aflvaki's venture capital fund was
sold and the company will now focus on development
and promotion of Reykjavík as an investment opportu-
nity.
The idea behind Aflvaki is based on the concept of
private-public partnership strengthening relationships
and understanding between City Officials and other
important players in the economic development of the
City. The company board consists of six persons, three
from the City Council and three from the private sector
and research- and educational institutions. The board
now consists of the following members: Ingibjörg
Sólrún Gísladóttir, Mayor of Reykjavík, Chairman; Inga
Jóna Þórðardóttir, City Council Member; Helgi
Pétursson, City Council Member; Sveinn Hannesson,
Director, Federation of lcelandic Industries; Kristján
Jóhannsson, Director, Institute of Business Studies,
University of lceland; and Þórólfur Árnason, Managing
Director, Tal Communications Ltd..
New priorities
Aflvaki is currently estimating the strengths and qual-
ities of Reykjavík for companies and investors. Over
the years many projects have been launched that
touch upon various aspects, such as Reykjavík as a
health city, „Spa-City Reykjavík," „The International
Meeting Place,“ and „The Clean and Sustainable
Capital Next Door To Nature." Aflvaki's goal is to gath-
er these strands into one compact and comprehensive
strategy to use for promoting the many advantages of
Reykjavík to investors and companies.
Reykjavík's future opportunities in the fields of bio-
science, health science, energy, pharmaceutics, com-
munication and Information Technology, as well as
other fields, are numerous. Preparation for a campaign
to encourage the development of high-tech clusters in
Reykjavík is underway by Aflvaki, and the tentatively-
titled „science and innovation park“, soon to be built on
the University of lceland campus in the City Centre,
raises great hopes to achieve this goal.
As various world regions compete to attract powerful
industries, investment and knowledge, the capital of
iceland, Reykjavík, builds on strength and offers much
potential in these and other areas. ■
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