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National Sustainable Mobility Forum 23 May 2024
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The National Sustainable Mobility Forum is an annual event which aims to engage with stakeholders on progress related to the Sustainable Mobility Policy (SMP) in support of walking, cycling, public transport, and shared mobility in Ireland.
The 2024 Forum, which took place in Portlaoise on 23 May, offered an opportunity to review the Policy’s effectiveness, consider how our transport system will need to develop to meet our future needs, and reflect on the behavioural and societal changes needed to realise our emissions reduction targets of 50% by 2030 and climate neutrality by 2050.
The objectives of the Forum are to foster collaboration among key stakeholders, to identify innovative solutions to address climate challenges, and to promote inclusive and accessible transport options. In 2024, attendees comprised approximately 180 stakeholders drawn from across the sustainable mobility sector, including Local Authorities, transport agencies, disability advocates, representatives of Government departments, members of Public Participation Networks and other community representatives, youth groups, academics and many others. This year’s Forum gave particular prominence to those groups most likely to be impacted by the systemic change required for transport, in the form of youth participants and panellists from community organisations around the country.
A new Sustainable Mobility Academy was also launched by Minister Ryan during the event. This is an online platform for sustainable mobility practitioners to share learnings and to access key information on funding, research, latest news and training as well as a large reservoir of use-cases in the area.
The key themes of the Forum were captured through live illustrations of each session by artists from the Creativity & Change team at Munster Technological University. This artistic dimension added increased dynamism to the event and encouraged the consideration of new perspectives on sustainable mobility.
