A kick-off event for EUROPEANMOBILITYWEEK in Luxembourg attracted delegates from more than 40 municipalities on 13 May.

The event was organised by Verkéiersverbond, the National Coordinator for the campaign in Luxembourg. The importance of the campaign was highlighted in presentations from François Bausch, Luxembourg's Minister for Sustainable Development and Infrastructure; Camille Gira, State Secretary for the same ministry; Madeleine Kelly-Tychtl representing the European Commission's DG MOVE; Peter Staelens from EUROCITIES; and Luxembourg National Coordinator David Everard, from Luxembourg's transport community Verkéiersverbond. The event attracted 112 delegates who came to get information on and debate how to organise a good or a better EUROPEANMOBILITYWEEK in 2016.

Mr Staelens and Mr Everard presented international best practice examples that could be implemented by small and medium-sized municipalities, such as a street-painting campaign from Austria or rewarding cyclists with vouchers and small gifts from Norway. As well as municipalities, delegates from groups such as Luxembourg's national cycling lobby and organisations working with and for people with disabilities attended. The event aimed to identify local coordinators and have them appointed by the municipalities.

Almost half of the Luxembourg's 106 municipalities were represented at the conference, who wanted to know how the campaign could help with the mobility problems they face. As jobs are mainly concentrated in Luxembourg City, the country’s capital, this means commuters living in other parts of the country and in neighbouring Belgium, France and Germany travel by car, resulting in daily traffic congestion. Public transport in the country also suffers from overcrowding. This means that the urban mobility problems in Luxembourg are of a different character to those in other countries, especially as the average population of Luxembourg municipalities is quite small, between two and five thousand inhabitants.

To view photos from the event click here. For more information about the event, visit mobiliteit.lu (in French).

Photo: Verkéiersverbond Lëtzebuerg

Cooperation is a key to success. That has been the consistent theme during visits by the EUROPEANMOBILITYWEEK outreach coordinator, Jerome Simpson, in Warsaw (Poland) and Chisinau (Moldova).

In both countries, the environment and transport ministries have realised that a truly successful campaign depends on their collaboration. All concerned made their intention clear to establish inter-ministerial working groups that would seek to involve NGOs and international organisations besides municipal associations and the private sector.

Fortunately, neither country is a stranger to EUROPEANMOBILITYWEEK, and both aim to involve a large number of cities in the campaign in 2016. Adrian Mazur of Poland’s Ministry of Infrastructure and Construction looks forward to increasing the number of town, city and community registrations in 2016 than in the previous year. In Moldova, Viorica Staver, at the country's Ministry of Environment, stated that she would convey the responsibilities of a national coordinator to her respective minister, recognising that a formal appointment will boost Moldovan participation.

The week’s outreach also highlighted the importance of allying more closely with those campaigning on matters of road safety and equitable access. Chisinau's streets currently cater to cars moreso than cyclists and pedestrians, while those with impaired mobility face even greater challenges.

The first European Day Without A Road Death (EDWARD) on September 21 2016 will be a welcome boost to the campaign. It is a joint initiative of the European Commission and the European Traffic Police Network (TISPOL). Transport ministries in various countries are showing increased interest in this topic, while Moldovan NGOs were eager to register their activities under the campaign's MOBILITYACTIONS series saw NGOs eager to register their activities. There is much to look forward to in these countries as this year’s EUROPEANMOBILITYWEEK gets underway.

After almost three years of working with municipalities and SMEs to develop electric mobility action plans, the EU-funded E-MOBILITY WORKS project will hold its final conference in Brussels (Belgium) on 14 June 2016.

The conference will draw conclusions from the work of the project, outline the e-mobility policies of the EU, and discuss the future of e-mobility in cities. Municipalities from Spain, Italy, Germany, Austria, Slovenia, Romania, Estonia, Finland and Greece took part in the project.

The conference is held as part of the EU’s Sustainable Energy Week and is free of charge. Speakers at the event include Jose Fernandez Garcia, Innovative and Sustainable Mobility Directorate, and Helmut Morsi, Principal Advisor to the Director-General, both of the European Commission’s DG MOVE; and Thelka Heinel, Head of Department, B.&S.U. mbH, Berlin.

The project helped municipalities to construct and deliver plans to enhance the uptake of e-mobility in cities. Through the project local leaders were empowered to improve urban air quality, and had the chance to build partnerships with business stakeholders such as energy supply companies, car-sharing providers, and charging station providers. Registration for the conference can be completed online.

For more information, visit emobilityworks.com. To download the programme, click here.

EUROPEANMOBILITYWEEK recently extended its reach thanks to the appointment of a new national coordinator in Belarus.

The campaign formally got underway on 27 April when the local UNDP office hosted mobility campaigners and experts from the capital, Minsk, nationwide and internationally to hear suggestions on how to implement a successful campaign. This included the idea of a mobility forum with local governments, a number of whom who had already been introduced to EUROPEANMOBILITYWEEK the day before at a seminar hosted by the Belarus Transport Union. UNDP agreed to take these proposals forward.

Minsk offers much potential in terms of sustainable urban mobility. Wide streets could accommodate bike lanes, dedicated trolley bus or carpool lanes, and it offers pedestrians wide sidewalks, many of which include bike paths already. However, many residents are committed car owners and reducing speeds on Minsk's roads does not seem to be a local priority. Nevertheless progress is being made as a third metro line in Minsk is now under construction. Local campaigners were also very interested in the potential of cargo bikes.

The country is no stranger to EUROPEANMOBILITYWEEK, with Minsk, Polotsk and Novopolotsk registering in 2015. Anton Rodnenkov of Interakcia Foundation said of Polotsk’s 2016 campaign: "More effort is needed in advertising eye-catching events, especially to pedestrians and drivers but also to businesses. We also need to do more to reach out to citizens online.” A video of 2015 campaign events in Polotsk has also been produced.

It sounds like civil society in Belarus knows what needs to be done. At the same time it expressed its gratitude for the kick-off event and thanks to UNDP for its acting as a bridge between themselves and city authorities. The campaign's European secretariat looks forward to seeing the results.

To view a presentation given by the EUROPEANMOBILITYWEEK Coordination at the event, click here.

Murcia (Spain) and Malmö (Sweden) have been announced as the winners of the 2016 editions of the EUROPEANMOBILITYWEEK and Sustainable Urban Mobility Plan awards respectively.

The winning cities received the awards from Director-General for DG MOVE Henrik Hololei, and Commissioner Karmenu Vella, responsible for the Environment. The award ceremony was held in the Théâtre du Vaudeville in Brussels (Belgium).

Murcia was congratulated for taking steps to promote active modes of travel such as walking and cycling. Taking the stand, Mr Vella praised all who take part in EUROPEANMOBILITYWEEK pointing out that it is the citizens who are the real winners. He also stressed the need for more collaboration to achieve sustainable mobility objectives, saying: “we need to act together and on many fronts. We need to increase active transport, car-sharing and green public transport". Murcia’s fellow finalists for the EUROPEANMOBILITYWEEK award, Lisbon (Portugal) and Palma de Mallorca (Spain) were also commended for their efforts in encouraging multimodality in their 2015 campaigns.

Malmö received particular praise for their commitment to creating a multimodal transport network, making it easier to complete journeys sustainably. The other finalists for the SUMP Award, Utrecht (The Netherlands) and Vienna (Austria) were complimented for their own work in integrating different transport modes. Mr Hololei noted that sustainable urban mobility can play a significant role in decarbonising our cities and affirmed that “Europe can and should be a world leader in sustainable mobility solutions”.

To view photos from the ceremony, visit the EUROPEANMOBILITYWEEK Flickr account.