Opening ceremony and plenary 1: Leading the Transition

Things kicked off with a bang at Tuesday morning’s plenary, as ECF CEO Jill Warren invited local musicians Ida Wutzler, Laurenz Bogen and Jörg Anders to perform a live rendition of this year’s conference theme tune, “Take Me Away”. With the crowd’s feet tapping, heads nodding and air guitars at the ready, the early morning cobwebs were certainly blown away and the audience were eager to get this year’s show on the cycling track. Master of Ceremony Totinia Hoerner introduced our first speakers of the day, with Leipzig’s Deputy Mayor of Urban Development Thomas Dienberg, ECF President Henk Swarttouw, State Secretary at the Germany Federal Ministry for Digital and Transport Hartmut Höppner and State Secretary of the Germany Ministry of Environment Christiane Rohleder each coming to the stage to deliver their introductory speeches.

Next up was the inspirational Carlos Moreno. Known for coining the concept of the 15-minute city, Moreno’s words resonated with everyone in the audience, as he not only drove home the need to rethink how we live and interact with our surroundings, but the key role the bicycle needs to play in this. His hat-tip towards legendary urbanist Jane Jacobs was also met with exuberant applause and appreciation. The Plenary finished off with a panel discussion hosted by Jill Warren, as Belgian Deputy Prime Minister Georges Gilkinet, Luxembourg’s Deputy Prime Minister François Bausch, former New South Wales Minister for Active Transport Rob Stokes and Daniel Mes from the European Commission gathered together to discuss the work they are doing to promote cycling.

Tuesday's session highlights

The rise of Cargo Bikes: A game changer for European cities

Over the last few years, you’ve probably seen more and more magnificently odd-looking bicycles of all shapes and sizes gliding by you, often straddled by a red-faced, determined rider carrying a full week’s grocery shopping or a cartful of giddy children. In honour of these people, Session 2.1 was asking the question… are cargo bikes the shining light of sustainability mobility? Moderated by ECF’s Michael Brennan, “The Rise of Cargo Bikes” brought together Anna-Karina Reibold of ECF, Jonas Skielboe of VeloConcerts, Anna Holligan of the BBC and Ceri Woolsgrove of ECF to present their takes on the undeniably positive impacts cargo bikes are having within their line of work. Key takeaways included ECF’s ground-breaking Cargo Bike Dashboard, the incredible potential of cargo bikes within the music industry, the x-factor of having a cargo bike (and child) in the background of a news broadcast and the importance of cargo bikes for the final leg of a delivery.

Cycling data: Who collects it, who regulates it, who needs it?

Forget gold, diamonds and silver, in today’s digital age almost everything gravitates around this particularly precious reserve: our data. And whether we like it or not, the evolution of the cycling world is no different. Moderated by ECF’s Holger Haubold, Session 3.3 gathered Marianne Weinreich of Ramboll, Dana Yanocha of ITDP, Evelien Marlier of IMEC, Raphaël Chapalain of Eco-counter and Christoph Schmidt of ADFC to discuss the importance of data collection in cycling. From understanding data bias for policy-making, to addressing the need for data standards and formats to ensure true transparency, the session fleshed out some of the most pressing issues in cycling’s most relevant, useful and necessary topic.

Plenary 2: Working together towards equitable environments

Late in the afternoon the focus turned to the critical role of sustainable active mobility in realising a future that is inclusive, healthy and equitable. Plenary Two: “Working together towards equitable environments”, put these topics under the microscope, featuring a dynamic panel of experts from across the globe – who are all working for a healthier and more equitable future.

Opening the session was an inspiring presentation from Olatunji Oboi Reed President and CEO of Equiticity, The Equiticity Racial Equity Movement, based in Chicago. At the centre of Equiticity’s mission is the goal of making cities more liveable for black, brown and indigenous people. He detailed how cities in North America are not equitable, saying how active mobility needs to be part of rebuilding a society where black, brown and indigenous people thrive. Detailing Equiticity’s advocacy work to integrate racial equality at the policy and legislative level of all urban policies, he argued the need for policies to curb violence. With a mismatch between job seekers and places of work, he argued for strategies to make cycling safer for marginalised communities. Outlining Equiticity’s mobility rituals and game changing projects, Reed’s address certainly left a powerful impression on all the Velo-citizens in the hall.

Things then moved on to a dynamic panel discussion where Reed was joined by Amanda Ngabirano, Chairperson, The National Physical Planning Board, Kampala; Jo Jewell, Director of Cities Changing Diabetes, Novo Nordisk; Andrea Torres, Director Programme Support and Learning, Urban 95, Bernard van Leer Foundation; Anjes Tjarks, Senator and President, Authority for Transport and Mobility Transition, Hamburg; Lars Stromgren Vice Mayor for Transport and Urban Environment, Stockholm; and Christoph Schmidt, Board Member of ADFC. Sharing perspectives from across the globe, when asked at the end of the session, everyone in the hall agreed on the critical link between cycling and equitable places!

The best of the rest

On Monday, ahead of Velo-city 2023, over 30 representatives of ECF’s Cities & Regions for Cyclists network met in Leipzig for the CRC Network Day 2023, sponsored by Arup. Members had a chance to exchange, tour Leipzig and connect during a networking get together. Read more about the day here.

Velo-citizens were treated to an incredible improv theatre performance at the end of day one! A surprise event after Plenary Two, Die Gorillas switched across multiple theatrical styles in their performance. From musical to western, from horror to Shakespearean theatre, Die Gorillas improv group entertained Velo-citizens with a cycling themed performance!

Fun zone

Presenting ECF Awards 2023

This year ECF will be once again crowning four winners with the aim to promote best practices in cycling and highlight key successes from across the world of everyday cycling.

• Cycling Infrastructure Award

• Road Safety Award, kindly sponsored by Geveko Markings “Marking the future with you.”

• Cycle-Friendly Employer Award, kindly sponsored by JobRad “We get people cycling”

• Cycling Improvement Award, kindly sponsored by Eco-Counter “Providing communities with the necessary tools to collect and communicate the data they need.”

COMING UP ON DAY 2...

- Morning Coffee Break (10:25 CET):

• Cycling Insight, Better Data for Better Cities (Brought by Eco-Counter).

- Lunchtime (13:10 CET):

• How to engage: the bicycle and public transport. Live stakeholder mapping with the Dutch (Brought by the Dutch Cycling Embassy).

• Applying lessons learned: Dutch Cycling Intelligence (Brought by the Dutch Cycling Embassy).

- Afternoon Coffee Break (15:55 CET):

• Nudging intermodal active mobility through gamification (Brought by Pin Bike).

- Plenary session about the shift towards thriving climate-neutral economies

- Panel discussions on EuroVelo and cycling tourism, active mobility projects, challenging ableism, and much more.

- And of course, the annual Velo-city BIKE PARADE! See you there!