The final event of the Urban Transports Interreg MED project under the title “Mediterranean Mobility Forum” took place on Tuesday 25 and Wednesday 26 October at OTEAcademy premises in Athens.
The high level of public participation exceeded all expectations, while the diversity of the participants, who came from different Mediterranean countries (European and non-European), significantly enhanced the international character of the two-day event.
The main topics on which the Conference was based, according to the opening speech of the CIVINET coordinator, Mr. Kosmas Anagnostopoulos, were:
- The 4 Policy Briefs on soft mobility, electromobility, mobility in tourist destinations and resilient mobility in the climate crisis. For the first of these documents CIVINET was responsible, as well as for the practitioner briefing on mobility on the Greek islands which will soon be delivered to the project in two languages.
- The mentoring programme with the participation of 8 Mediterranean cities, including 3 from Greece and Cyprus (Larissa, Pallini, Larnaca) with the mentoring of the Assistant Professor of the University of Patras, Zoe Christoforou and with 3 additional Greek cities that operated as “models” for the others (Thessaloniki, Igoumenitsa, Rethymno).
- The Interreg Euro-MED Academy with 9 e-courses, including the “Sustainable Tourism and Mobility for the Mediterranean” which was designed and implemented by the CIVINET Network in collaboration with the researcher of the University of Athens. Aegean, Ioanna Pagoni.
- The Urban Transports Declaration with more than 30 signatory cities, the majority of them from Greece.
Ceremony of the Urban Transports Declaration
During the first day of the event, mayors, deputy mayors and political representatives of the attending cities signed the Urban Transports Community Declaration, expressing their support for the principles and objectives of the project. In total, 31 signatures were recorded, with the vast majority of them consisting of Greek municipalities.
A site visit under the Acropolis
After the main sessions of Day 1, participants had the opportunity to enjoy a unique technical guide from one of the key players of the Archaeological Sites Consolidation project, architect Maria Kaltsa.
Workshop on electromobility
The second day of the Conference was entirely dedicated to an extremely interesting workshop on electromobility and how it can be integrated into the urban fabric. The workshop was presented by Dominique Breuil, an expert on sustainable mobility from the French institution CODATU.
We would like to express our deep gratitude to all those who contributed to the success of this event and to all those who honoured us with their participation.
