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Velo-city 2023 Leipzig: Friday Daily Report – Leaders of the Future

And so, the time has come to say goodbye. But as the old saying goes, don’t be sad it’s over, be happy that it happened! Over the last few days, we’ve made so many unforgettable memories together that it would be impossible to include them all in one report. From all at ECF, let us say, thank you Velo-citizens for your unwaveringly jubilant spirits and incredible enthusiasm that makes Velo-city the best, most enjoyable and truly unique cycling conference in the world! Now let’s cycle off into the sunset and start counting down the days to Velo-city 2024 Ghent!

 

QUOTE OF THE DAY

A huge part of our work before the war was about building community. The main purpose of Bike for Ukraine is to make humanitarian help more accessible (…) We want to implement a new vision of Ukraine.

Viktoriia Prokopenko
Sustainable Mobility Expert, U-Cycle

 

Plenary 6: Strong leadership for action

Our final plenary of the conference convened a host of high-level guests to discuss the ins and outs of leadership when it comes to boosting cycling. Their invaluable perspectives shone a light not only on their own success stories, but also on the difficulties and even tensions involved when striving for more cycling in society. Our speakers emphasised that even when facing the harshest if criticism, it is always important to listen to the support of the silent majority (and always remember that it is empty vessels that usually make the most noise!). The importance of inclusion was stressed, particullary for youth, and that we must not marginalise or outcast society’s young people but allow them to flourish and provide for them, as they are the leaders of the future.

After the panel discussion, the stage was given to Viktoriia Prokopenko, sustainable mobility expert and urban planner of Ukrainian ECF Member, U-Cycle. Viktoriia shared a hard-hitting presentation on the role of cycling in Ukraine in face of the ongoing Russian invasion. She demonstrated how U-Cycle’s Bikes for Ukraine campaign is helping provide for people who rely on the accessibility and utility of bicycles. Her presentation was a stark display of a world far from Velo-city, proving that even in the harshest and most unimaginable conditions, people still need cycling.

Our plenary finished up with the final of this year’s Smart Pedal Pitch. Three innovative startups, See Sense, Velovio and Telraam each presented their ideas to the audience. After a digital vote from all who present, it was Telraam who took home first place and a cool €17,000. Their easy-to-use sensors monitor streets from the windows of people’s homes, providing crucial data on various modes of transport.

Friday's session highlights

Changing perspectives to build a vision

We, as cyclists, need to better understand that not all of us share the same needs. Philip Amaral from the European Cyclists’ Federation moderated a rich session on how taking other people’s perspectives into account is crucial to building safe and inclusive environments for children, elderly people and local communities. Babet Hendriks from Mobycon, Thomas Rosset from Praxie Design, Christelle Abrioux from Inddigo, Sonja Rijsbosch from the Netherlands Enterprise Agency and Maurits Lopes Cardozo from the City of Rotterdam all shared an empathic vision of cycling policy implementation. As Babet Hendriks said, “if we stick to the cycle language, pro-cycling policies will not succeed”.

Better together: Making citizen participation work

Over at the "Better together: Making citizen participation work" session, five speakers shared insights on the importance of involving citizens in advocating for change. While Duncan Dollimore, Cycling UK, emphasised the need to empower citizens to push for change to make politicians understand that cycling is popular, Daniela Rüdel from the City of Aachen shared how they motivated 19% of citizens to sign their bicycle referendum, the "Radentscheid. Áron Halász, City of Budapest, highlighted the significance of participatory budgets and public events such as bike parades. Suzanne Ryvers, from autodelen.net, explained how citizen participation is crucial, especially for controversial topics like taking away car parking and how they appointed key neighbours to advocate for their project.

Back to the future: Connected cycling for a better experience

Technology is changing our societies and economies at a rapid pace. At this Cycling Industries Europe session, entitled Back to the future: Connected cycling for a better experience, the topic of innovation in cycling was put under the microscope. Moderated by Sam Pierce (CIE) the panel brought Gerdien Rots, Alderman, City of Zwolle; Sidsel Kjems, Team Leader, Model & Data, The City of Copenhagen; Wolfgang Backhaus, Managing Director of Rupprecht Consult and Antoine Laporte Weywada, Marketing Director, Géo Vélo, all giving an insight on how technology is changing how organisations in the public and private spheres promote cycling, while presenting the work of the MegaBITs project.

The best of the rest

THANK YOU FOR JOINING US IN LEIPZIG!

We hope it was a blast for those who were in attendance. For our readers, we hope our daily coverage gave you a good overview of all the sessions and activities during the event. See you in Ghent next year!

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