HRH Crown Prince Haakon

His Royal Highness has a broad national and international engagement. Youth leadership and global development are issues particularly close to his heart. He is co-founder of Global Dignity, and is actively engaged in The Crown Prince and Crown Princess’s Humanitarian Fund. The fund identifies and supports projects for young people at risk – and aims to strengthen youth leadership. Since 2003, Crown Prince Haakon has been Goodwill Ambassador for the UNDP – today focusing in particular on the Sustainable Development Goals. As heir to the Norwegian throne, the Crown Prince has an extensive number of official engagements in Norway, and is patron of various associations. Every year, he is leading Norwegian delegations abroad to strengthen bilateral relations within trade and industry, science and humanitarian fields. He has also represented Norway in the UN. Over several years the Crown Prince has had a special interest for tech, innovation and startups. His involvement can be measured by his participation at events such as Slush in Helsinki, the Norwegian Classroom at BETT in London, Startup Extreme and Oslo Innovation Week. In December 2017 he was appointed one of the 100 most influential figures in the Nordic tech scene by The Nordic Web.
Crown Prince Haakon graduated from the Norwegian Naval Academy in 1995. He holds a BA in Political Science from the University of California at Berkeley and a Master’s in Development Studies from the London School of Economics. The Crown Prince is a passionate surfer, kiter and music lover. He lives in Asker outside Oslo with the Crown Princess in a family of three children.

[Programming descriptions are generated by participants and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of SXSW.]