European Week of Regions and Cities 2024
The 2024 edition of the European Week of Regions and Cities (EWRC) will take place from 7 to 10 October. The Brussels-based event includes a plethora of sessions focused on the European Union cohesion policy, addressing a wide range of public and private stakeholders.
The EWRC has already reached its 22nd edition and serves as a shared, neutral platform for a wide range of actors—including representatives from governments at all levels, private companies, academia, media and civil society—to discuss common challenges for cities and regions in the European Union (EU). For a whole week, Brussels will be the backdrop of a rich program of sessions and side events to feed the debate on EU cohesion policy and oiling cooperation between cities and regions across the Union.
What is POLIS doing for the EWRC:
As the leading European network of cities and regions working on a key piece in the cohesion puzzle—sustainable urban transport—POLIS will actively contribute to the discussions and exchanges by hosting and participating in EWRC events.
Urban Nodes and the TEN-T
The event will take place on 9 October from 09:00-11:00 CET, at the POLIS headquarters in Rue du Trône 98.
This event will discuss the challenges and opportunities of the trans-European transport network (TEN-T) with a particular focus on the connection and reinforcement of Urban Nodes within this massive EU endeavour to enable the free and smooth movement of people and goods across Europe.
The session will be introduced by Johan Leferink and feature presentations from Cecilia Braun, Director Interregional Alliance for the Rhine-Alpine Corridor, and Ivo Cré, Director Policy & Projects at POLIS, followed by an open discussion tackling questions such as what is the role of local and regional governments and authorities in urban nodes integration and how to enable knowledge exchange among stakeholders.
The event will be wrapped up by representatives of the Groningen network who will integrate and complement the discussion.
New Mobility Services Community 'Catalyst for Solutions' Seminar
The event will take place on 8 October from 10:00 to 16:00 CET, at the Comic Art Museum in Brussels.
The seminar 'Catalyst for Solutions' will focus on transforming urban mobility in European cities. The event aims to address collaboration barriers between cities and scale-ups, which can offer innovative mobility solutions to create smart, sustainable, safe, and inclusive urban environments. The seminar includes work sessions, a networking lunch, and discussions on innovative procurement for cities.
Moderated by Janneke Brouwer & Tamlyn Shimizu, the seminar will feature high-level speakers including:
- Anna-Maria Martyshchuk, DG MOVE, European Commission
- Karen Vancluysen, Secretary General, POLIS
- Martijn van Gruijthuijsen. Regional Minister for Economic Affairs, Province of Noord-Brabant
- Lieve Bos, Policy Officer on Innovation Procurement at the European Commission
The House of the Dutch Provinces event on Mobility
The event will take place on 9 October from 15:00 to 20:00 CET, at the Royal Museum of Fine Arts in Brussels.
POLIS will participate in the Breakout Session on Climate & Mobility (15:45 – 17:15) which will tackle the question: 'Full speed ahead: Toward emission-free transport and climate-neutral cities and regions by 2050. How multimodal mobility solutions contribute to climate goals?'.
The panel will feature high-level speakers including:
- Herald Ruijters, EC DG MOVE
- Yvon Slingenberg, EC DG CLIMA
- Jill Warren, CEO, European Cyclist Federation
- Karen Vancluysen, Secretary General, POLIS
- Deputy Jeroen Olthof
Dirk Frouws (Northern Netherlands Cooperation) and Jacqueline Spuijbroek (Province of South Holland) will moderate the session.
POLIS x EWRC: Small and Medium Cities event
The event will take place on 10 October from 10:00-11:00 CET, at the POLIS headquarters in Rue du Trône 98 and online.
The session is organised as an EURegionsWeek 'Close to you' side event and will focus on the importance of sustainable urban mobility in designing climate-neutral and resilient cities. We will bring together city representatives to showcase stories of achievements and innovations of Small and Medium Cities (SMCs), but also discuss how to address the shared and unique challenges SMCs face, thus creating a space to share knowledge and best practices to advance collectively.
The session will be moderated by Guido Rink, Vice-Mayor of Municipality of Emmen, and Member of the Committee of the Regions and involve representatives from some of our members across Europe:
- Esmée Hof, Project Coordinator - EU Projects Mobility, City of Mechelen;
- Paolo Gandolfi, Director of Urban Mobility Service, City of Reggio Emilia;
- Runa Monstad, Director, Stavanger Region European Office;
- Niina Ruuska, Senior Specialist, Climate Team, City of Turku;
- Daniel de Klein, Business Development Manager – Digital City, City of Helmond.
Find more information about the SMCs event and register here.
