SECURITY:
Important note: As this seminar is being held in the UN compound, there are specific security requirements; therefore you must register by the 30th October to guarantee security clearance. If you register after this date, we cannot guarantee that you will have access to the event.

Mobility brings undeniable benefits and it is seen to be essential to economic and social development allowing people to access goods, services, jobs, markets, education as well as improving social contacts with family and friends. On the one hand, it enhances quality of life particularly for the poor, but on the other, brings negative consequences such as congestion, air pollution, traffic-related accidents and environmental degradation. Unfortunately, it is often the poorer members of society that have to pay the highest price on all counts – both financially and socially – as roads become less safe for walking and cycling, public transport efficiency and reliability decreases and high levels of pollution and congestion hamper economic vitality. 

Africa has special challenges when it comes to mobility. Today most trips are still made by sustainable means (i.e. walking and cycling) but due to increased distances, urban sprawl and higher incomes for the middle classes, motorization is growing fast. The situation is nowhere more acute than in cities and towns where rapid growth, population density, poverty and inequality, limited public capacity and resource shortages add further to the challenge of enabling people and goods to move about sustainably.

This event will bring top level speakers and international experts together to share examples, give direction for policy development and technical support. A small display area will enable participants to interact with business and industry to share knowledge on state-of-the-art developments and make business opportunities.

The event will be held in conjunction with technical sessions of the European Union’s supported Trans-Africa project. This project will develop recommendations for specifications for public transport vehicles, speeding up development and production process, reducing delivery times and prices; and define a research agenda for public transport in Africa to support the recent re-launch of the sector after nearly 20 years of decline. In addition it is also collecting and disseminating best practices from Africa.