Video: Mayors of Western Balkan’s capitals as Sustainable Urban Mobility Ambassadors

During the European Mobility Week 2019, GIZ Open Regional Fund for South-East Europe – Energy Efficiency (ORF-EE) supported Western Balkan’s capitals and many cities and municipalities in promoting sustainable urban mobility measures. The mayors of six Western Balkan capitals had an important role in this initiative acting as true Sustainable Urban Mobility Ambassadors.

The mayors of the Western Balkan capitals, or their respective representatives,  joined a regional online conference organized within the European Mobility Week 2019 with the aim to exchange their experiences related to urban mobility concept.

The video that GIZ ORF-EE produced as a follow-up of this regional initiative with a massive participation of local decision makers and citizens depicts the engagement of the mayors and the activities implemented throughout the region.

ABOUT EUROPEAN MOBILITY WEEK

European Mobility Week is an annual initiative of the European Commission for Sustainable Urban Mobility since 2002. It calls on European cities and towns to devote one week to sustainable mobility. It has been looking for ways to influence mobility and urban transport issues, as well as to improve public health and quality of life. The campaign gives participants the opportunity to explore the role of city streets and experiment with practical solutions to urban challenges such as air pollution.

The European Mobility Week 2019 (EMW) took place from September 16-22, focusing on safe walking and cycling, and the benefits of those activities on the environment and the citizen’s health and finances. Numerous activities were also organized across the Western Balkan cities thanks to the GIZ Open Regional Fund for South-East Europe – Energy Efficiency (ORF-EE) and its project Sustainable Urban Mobility in South-East European Countries II (SUMSEEC II).

Particularly significant event within the last year’s EMW was the online conference with participation of Sustainable Urban Mobility Ambassadors, i.e. mayors of Belgrade, Podgorica, Priština, Sarajevo, Skopje and Tirana, or their representatives, on the promotion of sustainable urban mobility and the European Mobility Week. Due to its regional character, the online conference helped the mayors share their experience and exchange the capitals’ best practices on urban mobility.

Thanks to the cooperation with associations of municipalities in the Western Balkan region, the project also supported the participation of the following municipalities in joining EMW 2019:

Librazhd, Belsh, Cerrik, Peqin, Mat, Klos, Shkodra in Albania, Banjaluka, Bijeljina, Zavidovići and Čapljina in BiH, Pljevlja and Rožaje in Montenegro,  Bitolj and Veles in North Macedonia, Pirot, Šabac, Bajina Bašta and Kruševac in Serbia, Gnjilane, Ferizaj, Gračanica and Podujevo in Kosovo*.

Check out the video to find out more about last year’s activities and to get inspiration and ideas for sustainable urban mobility activities that you can develop and implement in 2020 and in the coming years.