Two new CIVINETs join the CIVITAS family

The CIVITAS National Network (CIVINET) family has grown in 2018! Two new CIVINET networks have joined the current cohort - CIVINET Finland and CIVINET Greece-Cyprus. With that, the number of existing CIVINETs rises to 13.

CIVINET Greece-Cyprus

In recent years, sustainable mobility has received significant attention from Greek and Cypriot policymakers. The amount of Sustainable Urban Mobility Plans (SUMP) and funding for them has increased, whilst the number of local authorities participating in expert mobility seminars and initiatives like European Mobility Week has risen. Establishing CIVINET Greece-Cyprus (CIVINET CY-EL) is vital to continue the momentum behind efforts to create better and cleaner transport.

What drives municipalities to apply to join CIVINET Greece-Cyprus depends on their size, experience, and access to resources (human and financial). In the short term, CIVINET CY-EL is targeting all municipalities set to develop a SUMP (162 municipalities), whilst in the longer term it wants all municipalities with a population exceeding 10,000 to be members.

Many activities are planned in the near future.  Webinars on "CIVITAS - CIVINET and SUMP elaboration" and clean mobility and workshops on 'street design' and participatory planning and awareness raising are just some examples. In addition, a website, virtual discussion forum, and social media pages are in development (see the Facebook page here).

Visit the CIVINET CY-EL page here.

CIVINET Finland

Finland is well-known for its active start-up community. Many companies are presently working on the theme of Mobility as a Service (MaaS), seeking new ways to connect passengers and increase available transportation capacity. The establishment of CIVINET Finland will be beneficial for Finnish cities and towns exploring how MaaS might fit into the future mobility situation in their town.

To mark the new network, a launch event and a workshop are being organised in the Finnish capital,  Helsinki. This will be followed by a visit to the city of Turku, which is one of the Living Labs cities in the CIVITAS ECCENTRIC project.

For (potential) CIVINET members, two webinars will be held that look at the efficient usage of a city's municipal car fleet, the possibility of car sharing services, and other topics. In addition, the Secretariat will translate and prepare promotional materials and publish three newsletters.

The Secretariat is being hosted at Motiva Services Ltd, a sustainable development company.

Visit the CIVINET Finland page here (in Finnish).

The CIVINETs

CIVINETs promote the CIVITAS approach at a local level, overcoming language and contextual barriers for local authorities and organisations interested in urban sustainable mobility.

See them all here.

Back to News