CIVINET Slo-Cro-SEE celebrates its 10th anniversary at the “Cities for Climate Neutrality” conference

The “Cities for Climate Neutrality” conference took place in Ljuljana (SI) on 22-24 March, with an emphasis on the exchange of regional experiences and good practices of sustainable urban mobility. This international event gathered over 150 participants from Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Serbia, North Macedonia, Kosovo, Albania, Greece, Belgium, Germany and Hungary. And, it was the perfect opportunity to celebrate CIVINET Slovenia-Croatia-Southeast Europe’s 10th anniversary!

The central part of the conference was officially opened on 23 March by Zoran Janković, Mayor of Ljubljana, and by Luka Korlaet, Deputy Mayor of Zagreb (HR); Zagreb currently holds the position of city coordinator of the CIVINET.

The event was an opportunity to gather CIVINET members; cooperate with partners from the ProSUMP project (in the framework of regional exchange of knowledge and good practices on comprehensive transport strategies in the Western Balkans); and to network with representatives of five members of the CIVINET Greece-Cyprus, who were on a four-day study visit to Zagreb and Ljubljana.

The rich and varied event programme began on Wednesday, 22 March with the ProSUMP sustainable urban mobility workshop. The workshop covered the topic of institutionalisation of urban mobility in local self-government units of the Western Balkans, with proposals for new or improved organisational structures. The possibility of technical support and pilot projects were also presented. The workshop was co-organised by the Open Regional Fund for Southeast Europe – Energy, Transport and Climate Protection (ORF-ETC), which acts on behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), co-financed by the European Union and implemented by Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH.

On the same day, in the afternoon, a joint meeting of the Management, Political, and Academic Boards and the 10th Annual Assembly of the CIVINET Slovenia-Croatia-SEE network were held.

The main part of the programme took place on Thursday, 23 March, beginning welcome speeches. In addition to Mayor Janković and Deputy Mayor Korlaet, the director of ODRAZ (the organisation that runs the CIVINET Secretariat) Lidija Pavić-Rogošić addressed those present, followed by Sibylle Strahl from ORF ETC; Lilijana Madjar, Director of the Regional Development Agency of the Ljubljana Urban Region (RRA LUR); and Kosmas Anagnostopoulos, coordinator of the CIVINET Greece-Cyprus network.

Presentations at the conference covered a wide range of topics, from the description of the process and results of a study of the organisation and integration of public transport in the city of Šibenik; to the challenges of future urban mobility and the key prerequisites for the successful implementation of smart mobility solutions in the Republic of Croatia; to the transformation of the Greek city of Heraklion into a sustainable, accessible and truly smart mobility city; to Slovenian examples of how to approach sustainable mobility in small (semi-)urban areas, based on the example of the municipality of Borovnica. Finally, the event showcased challenges and ambitious measures for climate neutrality led by Ljubljana in the field of mobility planning. The presentations were accompanied by a moderated panel discussion led by Goran Lampelj from ODRAZ.

As part of a pitch session, short presentations shared business ideas/projects such as hydrogen in city transport, innovative parking lots for bicycles and e-scooters with improved safety (presented by the start-up BPARCO), the free application Bikademy, eMobility Hub, new approaches and solutions in public transport, a mobility plan for large employers, and the REAL Mayors Program – a unique education program in the field of mobility in Croatia.

The City of Ljubljana prepared guided tours of the city to explore good practices of sustainable mobility throughout the city – a walk in the pedestrian zone, a bicycle and bus tour of Ljubljana, and a boat tour of Ljubljanica were all highlights!

In the evening, we celebrated the CIVINET’s 10th birthday with dinner and music.

On Friday, March 24, a screening of the film “Why we cycle?” and a panel discussion about bicycle traffic and cycling were held. The programe was organised on the initiative of the bicycle mayor of Ljubljana, Matej Praprotnik, in cooperation with the Ljubljana Bicycle Network and with the support of the City of Ljubljana, Kinodvor cinema, and RRALUR.

The conference “Cities for Climate Neutrality” was organized by ODRAZ – Sustainable Community Development from Zagreb (Network Secretariat) in cooperation with the City of Ljubljana and the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) within the framework of the ORF-ETC, the CLIMASUM project, and the CIVINET Slovenia-Croatia-SEE network. The CLIMASUM project is part of the European Climate Initiative (EUKI) of the German Ministry of Economy and Climate Change (BMWK).

This event took place as part of the traditional campaign ‘For a Beautiful Ljubljana’; by implementing sustainable mobility we contribute to a better quality of life in the city.

The photo gallery from the event is available HERE. Access all presentations at: https://civinet-slohr.eu/hr/multimedija/prezentacije/

Author: the Network for Sustainable Urban Mobility CIVINET Slovenia-Croatia-SEE

Back to News