Stakeholders in the territory of Marseilles have turned out in large numbers to sign the AIVP Missions Charter of a Port Center. Marseilles, France’s largest port city, joins the thirteen international port cities that are already signatories. The charter, which was ratified on Thursday 14 September at the Smartcity Forum, centres on the object of opening the port to the city’s population, involving the Port of Marseilles Fos, the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Marseilles, Provence, the Bouches du Rhône Department and the Metropolis of Marseilles, and cities of Marseilles, Port-Saint-Louis-du-Rhône, Fos-sur-Mer and Port-de-Bouc.
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The education and innovation hub will help businesses become more competitive, offering tailor-made training courses more tuned to the needs of companies in the port community. The aim is to improve the qualifications of port workers and generate social and economic value for the local area. 
In the context of VALPORT, the overall project to improve the quality of the port’s public spaces, the Port of Strasbourg has completely reformulated its signs to achieve integrated signposting of the port zone, for companies and the public.
The 5th “Open Port” event brought together 600 people with an updated, more ambitious programme. Tours of the terminals, meetings with professionals and a complete immersion in the port’s operational landscape all proved highly popular with the visitors. In the words of one: “when you have a port at the heart of your city, tours should be mandatory for all residents”.
Marking the start of efforts to create the future Port Center at the Port of Montreal’s new ferry terminal, this exhibition invites city residents to discover the history and present of the maritime industry. As a signatory to the Port Center Missions Charter, the Port of Montreal has for some years been committed to this societal integration approach, with the aim of developing a more integrated and inclusive approach with residents and other local partners.
The title of port hero or heroine will be awarded to those with a strong social commitment or involved in efforts to reduce the port’s environmental footprint. The Flemish government has identified six missions (employment, quality of life, innovative agriculture, the natural environment, sustainable mobility and discovering the port) as being of crucial societal importance for the port city.
The centre has been open since 2004, but it has now been completely renovated in order to show the historical development of this ancient port territory. The old port quarter, now mainly offering leisure activities and accommodation, still has a few activities linked with the maintenance and use of waterways. 
The Charter was signed in front of an audience of more than 260 delegates attending the AIVP Days, where the theme was animation in the port city. Since Port Centers are a key component of such animation, more and more AIVP members are committing to creating them. They now include the Brussels Port Community, represented by Mohammed Jabour(President of the Port of Brussels), Olivier Auvray (Vice-President of the Port of Brussels) and Michel de Bièvre (President of the Brussels Port Community), who came together on 30 June to officially mark their commitment to the approach, which includes plans to open a Port Center in the next two years. 
