On 14 March Budapest and Nudgd (Helsingborg) won the respective EUROPEANMOBILITYWEEK and MOBILITYACTION Awards 2023 at a lively public ceremony in Brussels, attended by nearly 200 mobility practitioners, policy-makers and enthusiasts.
Budapest won the EUROPEANMOBILITYWEEK Award in recognition of its huge car-free days and awareness-raising activities, as well as the permanent mobility measures it implemented, ranging from new bicycle lanes to the introduction of speed limits (partly on the same roads) for greater space-sharing and safety. Deputy-Mayor of Budapest, Kata Tüttő, shared her enthusiasm for receiving this prestigious EUROPEANMOBILITYWEEK Award on stage, highlighting the tough times her city had faced in 2023 due to rising energy prices. She explained that Budapest’s response was to ensure the extra costs of transport, public services and redesigning public space, were carried by the city.
“We are redesigning public space, as are many cities. We know that the citizens are happy if the public space is connected, not divided […]. Cities have a lot to do. It is up to cities in the next years to keep Europe, with its very ambitious goals, on track”: Deputy-Mayor of Budapest, Kata Tüttő
CTO / Co-Founder at Nudgd, Ola Rynge, collected the MOBILITYACTION Award on behalf of Nudgd's innovative behavioural change platform. This award places a spotlight on civil society organisations, businesses, citizen initiatives, educational institutions and municipalities promoting sustainable mobility throughout the year. Developed in Helsingborg, Sweden, Nudgd’s platform leverages behavioural science to encourage sustainable travel-to-school habits. Ola thanked the teams involved in the success and highlighted the need for further work on behavioural change for more active mobility:
“It is a great honour to be here receiving this prize. It was a team effort, not only for the team of Nudgd, but also for the City of Helsingborg of course […] I would also like to extend a thank you to all the MOBILITY ACTIONS that were made throughout Europe […] we need to work more to change our behaviour for more active transport”: CTO / Co-Founder at Nudgd, Ola Rynge
Speeches from Magda Kopczyńska, Director-General for Mobility and Transport at the European Commission, Georges Gilkinet, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Mobility of Belgium and Herald Ruijters, Deputy Director-General for Mobility and Transport at the European Commission focussed not only on the winners but also on the success of the EUROPEANMOBILITYWEEK campaign as a whole, celebrating the huge efforts of all participants in the awareness-raising campaign to promote greener mobility and contribute to European climate goals.
“If we look back at all the numbers from when we started and see where are now, we can only be optimistic that so many people from all over the European Union and beyond, share the passion and share the commitment to do things together, to push urban mobility. Today we are celebrating achievements of every single person and entity who participated in the European Mobility Week last year”: Magda Kopczyńska, Director-General for Mobility and Transport, European Commission
“In the context of the climate emergency, we need to double up our efforts to develop active mobility; to deliver and follow a clear path based on the Paris Agreement. This aims for zero emissions by 2050, which won’t happen overnight, but we must start today […]. Tonight we are here to celebrate municipalities and companies that endorse greener change”: Georges Gilkinet, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Mobility of Belgium
“We had again a record-breaking year with over 3,350 municipalities from 45 countries participating, which is enormous. I think this shows the importance of this campaign, because since the beginning we have been uniting people across so many countries”: Herald Ruijters, Deputy Director-General for Mobility and Transport, European Commission
For those who couldn't attend or watch the livestream, view the recording of the ceremony.