EDITORIAL
Dear Reader,
Welcome to this new issue of CROSSROADS. A very special issue for all of us at the IRF as it is with great honor and pleasure that we can announce a bold step taken by our Federation towards greater gender diversity: this month the IRF General Assembly has appointed nine women to the Board of Directors of IRF. This is the first time in 73 years of existence of our organisation. While we celebrate this first achievement, we are at the same time reminded of how long and winding is the road leading to greater gender diversity in our sector and beyond. We hope that other organisations in our sector will follow and that collectively we can build a more inclusive system where women thriving become the norm and not the exception to be celebrated.
Plenty of important announcements and news to share with you in this issue: the launch of the IRF Start-up label, preparations for UN Road Safety week, IRF’ session at the ITF Summit, the launch of a new community of interest at the MOVIN’ON Summit, and a lot more.
I wish you good reading!
Susanna Zammataro
Director General
Nine women appointed to the IRF Board of Directors
At its annual meeting held on 20th April, the IRF General Assembly has appointed nine women to the IRF Board of Directors. In order to increase diversity – and in particular gender diversity – from now on each company/organisation being represented in the Board will have to nominate at least a female representative. A bold step in the history of the Federation and in the sector. The IRF extends its warm welcome to these nine professionals who have already been actively involved in the Federation over the past years.
IRF launches a new Start-up Label
The International Road Federation (IRF) is proud to announce the launch of a Start-up Label to support innovation within the mobility sector. This initiative reflects a core aspect of IRF’s mission, namely: fostering innovation and progress by providing access to cutting-edge knowledge and expertise.
The IRF Start-up Label is designed to support mobility start-ups with high impact potential by helping them showcase their credibility and sustain trust with their clients, investors and employees.
IRF Young Professional Leaders join the UN ECOSOC Youth Forum 2021
Two members of the IRF Young Professionals Programme (IRF-YPP) leadership team recently joined the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) Youth Forum, held virtually on 7th – 8th April 2021.
The event was guided by the overall theme of the 2021 ECOSOC and High-level Political Forum (HLPF) “Sustainable and resilient recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic”.
Ten Step Tanzania: National Workshop proceedings now available on gTKP website
On 16th – 18th March 2021 the United Nations Commission for Africa (UNECA) in partnership with the International Road Federation (IRF), the International Road Assessment Programme (iRAP), the World Road Association (PIARC) and the Tanzania Roads Association (TARA) organised a National Workshop on Safer Road Infrastructure as part of the two-year pilot project Ten Step Plan – Tanzania. The three-day workshop marked the official launch of this pilot project. All the proceedings of the National Workshop are now available on the global Transport Knowledge Partnership (gTKP) website.
Digitalisation of road infrastructure: delivering circular economy today
By contrast with other industries, which have successfully harnessed technological advances to improve and reshape their products and services, the transport sector – and the road sector in particular – has not yet fully embraced the transformative power that technology brings. With trillions-worth investments needed for existing and new infrastructure assets, the need to do things differently is critical. Join IRF and world-class experts on 19th May at 11AM CEST for this IRF high-level session hosted during the ITF Summit.
Phase 2 of the LEARN project kicks off in Senegal
The Global Alliance of Road Safety NGOs and the IRF have kicked off the second phase of the LEARN project in Senegal thanks to support from the Total Foundation. Stakeholders from local government, NGOs, road agencies and the civil society took part in a two-day workshop on data and road safety. The training took place on 13th and 14th April 2021 and focused on practical guidance and support to the Senegal multi-stakeholder coalition formed during the phase 1 of the LEARN project.
IRF President talks to ITS International
Bill Halkias, President of the International Road Federation, delivers the first in a new series of interviews realised under the banner “Tolling Matters” by ITS International in collaboration with IBTTA.
Mapping out Africa’s Response to COVID-19 Impacts on Transport & Mobility: Report Findings
IRF and the Global Alliance of Road Safety NGOs will be hosting on 27th May at 11:00 CEST the final webinar in the framework of the Africa’s Response to COVID-19 impacts on Transport & Mobility project.
This webinar will highlight the final evidence-based suggestions coming out of this project that policy- and decision makers, as well as all transport stakeholders, in Africa should consider when defining responses to potential future waves of COVID-19 or other pandemics and recovery measures.
World Road Statistics 2021 – Data Collection
IRF has well advanced its annual World Road Statistics (WRS) data collection for the WRS 2021 edition (data 2014-2019). If you have transport-related data for your country and have not yet been contacted, please reach out to us. All collaborators are eligible for one FREE access to the IRF WRS Data Warehouse.
MOVIN’ON 2021: Reducing environmental impacts and meeting societal needs
The Movin’On Summit will be this year a reinvented 4-day phygital experience, broadcast worldwide, to inspire, connect and engage mobility stakeholders in collective action on concrete solutions for more mobility with less impact. Actively involved in the Movin’On ecosystem since its inception, IRF will be leading the launch of a new community of interest and share its expertise on a number of sessions. Join us to discuss burning mobility issues with world-class thought leaders!
High-Level Panel – Streets for life: Saving lives on the road through safe speeds
IRF Director General, Susanna Zammataro will be joining the first of a series of high-level panels organized by World Bank GRSF at the occasion of the UN Road Safety Week. Following this year’s theme of the UNRSW “Streets for life: #Love30”, this high-level panel will be focused on communications strategies for speed management initiatives in low-and middle-income countries, promoting key knowledge products and a new Speed Management Hub just launched by GRSF.
E-Mobility in Action: What will it take?
Why is it essential to get electric mobility (e-mobility) right? This event will present findings from the newly released study/report, “Sustainable Electric Mobility – Building Blocks and Policy Recommendations.” The report focuses on policy enablers to e-powered mobility solutions and is part of a comprehensive effort undertaken by the Sustainable Mobility for All (SuM4All) initiative to elaborate an actionable Global Roadmap of Action toward Sustainable Mobility (GRA).
A panel of experts will deep-dive on the best policy framework for an integrated and sustainable introduction of electric mobility with examples of policy conditions under which this model works.
Webinar on Road Safety Management & Action Plan
As an integral part of its mission on Road Safety, IRF-IC is planning a Series of Webinars over the coming months, focusing on important aspects of the 5 Es of road safety. The webinar series is on “Road Safety Challenges in India & Preparation of an Action Plan”.
The 4th Webinar on the subject “Road Safety Management & Action Plan” will take place on 18th May 2021 from 4:30 PM to 7:00 PM IST. Registration are now open!
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SWARCO launches MyCity 1.0
SWARCO developed its MyCity urban mobility management software in order to tackle cities’ frequent challenges associated with the rapid urbanization and related impacts on the environment as well as the rapid changes in the types of urban mobility and the IT landscape needed to support it.
17 – 23 May 2021 – Online
IRF India-Chapter Webinar: Road Safety Management and Action Plan
18 May 2021 – Online
19 May 2021 – Leipzig, Germany
Mapping out Africa’s Response to COVID-19 Impacts on Transport & Mobility: Report Findings
27 May 2021 – Online
01 – 04 June 2021 – Montreal, Paris, Singapore
World Transport Convention 2021 (WTC 2021)
15 – 19 June 2021 – Xi’an, China
Southern Africa Transport Conference
05 – 07 July 2021 – Pretoria, South Africa
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