EIT Urban Mobility, an initiative of the European Institute of Innovation and Technology, a body of the EU, announces its active participation in the upcoming European Mobility Week. This collaborative initiative by the European Commission brings together communities, cities, and organisations across Europe to drive the sustainable and inclusive transformation of urban transportation systems. With the urgent need to address climate change and expedite our journey towards “saving energy”, this week shines light on pressing topics.
The European Green Deal, a cornerstone of Europe’s commitment to environmental sustainability, has set an ambitious target of achieving a 90% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions from the transport sector. To realise this ambitious goal, it is essential to reimagine urban mobility, making it more sustainable, inclusive, and seamlessly integrated. Cities are the frontrunners of the green transition, with the power to make transformative changes such as cycling infrastructure, reallocation of public space, low emission zones, and parking regulations. During the European Mobility week, it is almost 3,000 towns and cities encourage behavioural change in favour of active mobility, public transport, and other clean, intelligent transport solutions by organising awareness-raising activities and events with local stakeholders.
Within its activity to find sustainability solutions in the transport sector, EIT Urban Mobility is developing its activity as an impact venture investor. EIT Urban mobility has joined up the third annual report from European Women in Venture Capital (VC) and is publishing a new report on the Gender diversity in European Venture Capital Firms. Despite the fact that funds with a higher representation of female managers exhibit higher returns, gender gaps are still an issue in European VC firms. A combined desk and research survey of 558 European VC firms and 104 European VC, showed that in 2023 only 16% of general partners (GPs) are women, compared to 15% in 2022. Other key results can be consulted.
As part of the European Mobility Week, EIT Urban Mobility will actively participate in a series of initiatives:
- “Parking Day”: EIT Urban Mobility will organise and participate in various “Parking Day” events across Europe in cities including Barcelona, Spain; Siggiewi, Malta; Lisbon, Portugal, and Greece. A parking space is about 15m2 large. This makes it bigger than many children’s rooms. The organisation of a day to reclaim the parking space or a car-free day, allows to raise awareness on street use and space cars take in European cities.
- Events Across Europe: Join EIT Urban Mobility in various physical events across Europe, including the EIT Open Day in Norway, Urban Mobility Day at Slovakia Tech, and INVENTO MeetUp in Zagreb.
- New Mobility Congress: EIT Urban Mobility will play a pivotal role as a key partner at the New Mobility Congress 2023, taking place from September 26 to 28 at the EXPO Lodz space in Poland. This is the fourth edition of the largest conference in Poland and Central-Eastern Europe dedicated to the development of the sustainable transportation market.
- EIT Urban Mobility offers a range of online training courses to empower individuals and professionals to contribute to sustainable urban mobility solutions.
- EIT Urban Mobility Professional Training Catalogue (E-Courses): A range of e-courses are available online, free to complete (with certificates available at a nominal fee), covering various aspects of urban mobility.
- MASTERCOM Training Programme: Developed to prepare professionals of private and public companies to develop, manage, communicate, and implement effective travel plans, MASTERCOM provides up-to-date knowledge, expert guidance, best practices, and access to a practical ToolKit.
- Girls go Circular: project where 14–19-year-old girls are picking up digital and entrepreneurial skills. EIT Urban Mobility has coordinated the development of the module on “Sustainable Mobility for Circular and Inclusive Cities”, available for free at the Girls Go Circular platform. 20 000 girls will have completed the training by end of 2022. It is already available in 13 countries and now also available in Ukrainian.
- Urban Mobility Explained (UMX): Since September 2022, UMX has been providing educational videos on the latest topics in urban mobility, offering thought-provoking perspectives and key competencies required for the successful delivery of urban mobility solutions. A new video is published every Tuesday.
Every year, from 16 – 22 September, the European Commission’s flagship awareness-raising campaign European Mobility Week on sustainable urban mobility invites towns and cities from across Europe, and beyond, to participate in the EUROPEANMOBILITYWEEK. The annual theme for 2023 is ‘Save energy’. For more information about EIT Urban Mobility and its initiatives during the European Mobility Week, please visit EUROPEAN MOBILITY WEEK | Home.
