Representatives from the Center for Environment, Tihomir Dakić, Dragan Kabić, and Igor Uletilović, participated in the Velo City conference held in Leipzig from May 9th to May 12th. Velo City serves as the global cycling summit where advocates, cities, decision-makers, policymakers, researchers, and industry leaders convene to shape the future not only of cycling traffic in cities but also the cities themselves.
As the annual flagship event of the European Cyclists’ Federation, Velo City plays a valuable role in promoting cycling as a sustainable and healthy mode of transportation. Unlike any other event, the conference provides a platform for the exchange of knowledge and policies among thousands of participants from around the world.
This year, Leipzig was chosen as the host city, recognized for its dynamic and rapidly growing status as Germany’s fastest-growing city in recent years. A vibrant city that has transformed rapidly, Leipzig, just 30 years ago, was characterized by open coal mines, poor infrastructure, and traffic routes. Today, Leipzig is crisscrossed with green belts, surface mines have been transformed into lakes, and the city and region are committed to sustainable mobility and state-of-the-art transport solutions for economic and demographic sustainability.
Dragan Kabić, Program Coordinator for Transport, represented the Center for Environment on a panel at the Velo City conference on the topic of “Advocacy Organizations for Cycling – Intersectoral Partnerships for Greater Impact.” Panel participants included cycling advocates and members of the European Cyclists’ Federation from Croatia, Romania, Hungary, Slovakia, France, the United Kingdom, and Bosnia and Herzegovina. The panel aimed to illustrate essential leadership and partnerships with stakeholders from different sectors and showcase various campaigns and achieved results.
In addition to numerous sessions, participants had the opportunity to take part in a cycling parade organized on May 10th, as well as a self-organized regular monthly Critical Mass of cyclists in the city.
Ove godine za domaćinski grad je bio izabran Lajpcig, kao najdinamičniji i najbrže rastući grad Njemačke u poslednjih nekoliko godina. Živahan grad, koji se jako ubrzano mijenjao, kao nijedan drugi u Evropi. Prije samo 30 godina, oslikavali su ga otvoreni rudnici uglja, katastrofalna infrastruktura i saobraćajni pravci. Danas je Lajpcig ispresjecan zelenim pojasom, površinski kopovi su pretvoreni u jezera, a grad i region se zalažu za održivu mobilnost i najsavremenija transportna rješenja, kako bi rasli i razvijali se na ekonomski i demografski održiv način.
Dragan Kabić, koordinator programa Transport, učestvovao je ispred Centra za životnu sredinu na panelu Velo City konferencije na temu „Organizacije koje se bave zagovaranjem biciklizma – međusektorska partnerstva za veći učinak”. Učesnici panela bili su zagovornici biciklizma i članovi Evropske federacije biciklista iz Hrvatske, Rumunije, Mađarske, Slovačke, Francuske, Velike Britanije i Bosne i Hercegovine, koji je imao za cilj da ilustruje ključno liderstvo i partnerstva sa zainteresovanim stranama iz različitih sektora, kao i da prikaže različite kampanje i ostvarene rezultate.
Pored mnogobrojnih sesija, učesnici su bili u prilici i da učestvuju u biciklističkoj paradi organizovanoj 10. maja, ali i samoorganizovanoj redovnoj mjesečnoj kritičnoj masi biciklista u ovom gradu.