It has been a challenging journey, but we are ready to meet again to discuss the latest ITS developments. We have worked hard to ensure that this event takes place in a secure and safe environment. We are thrilled that it is time to showcase innovative mobility concepts and reveal how they can be brought to reality.
To celebrate 30 years of innovation, this ITS World Congress brings a piece of the future to current times and lets visitors experience what smarter, cleaner and greener mobility looks like. We have drawn an impressive list of high-level speakers who will discuss the six key themes highlighted throughout the Congress: Automated and Connected driving, Mobility as a Service, Intelligent Infrastructure, Goods Journey from Ports to Customers, New Services from New Technologies and Solutions from Cities and Citizens.
Following the prestigious opening ceremony yesterday, which was sponsored by Deutsche Bahn, we are looking forward to exciting sessions that will cover the overarching theme of Experiencing Future Mobility Now, including three plenaries that will take place in CCH – Hall Z.
This ITS World Congress is also hosting a high-level ITS World Congress Summit in the presence of ministers and industry leaders and forums from the three respective regions: Asia Pacific, the Americas and Europe. Today, the ITS World Congress Summit will discuss questions on financing models, modal transportation shifts, public acceptance of a faster transition to sustainable mobility, harmonising standards and regulations in the ITS sector, and many more hot topics.
Check out pages 19 and 20 in this Daily News magazine for a flavour of today’s packed Congress Programme and an insight into work that has been done through Ertico’s City Moonshot initiative.
The exhibition halls, the Congress Centre Hamburg (CCH) and selected locations throughout Hamburg are the most crucial industry meeting on these topics. The World Congress aims to make innovative mobility concepts tangible and present an outlook on future developments in the Hanseatic city.
Last but not least, the demonstration programme is one of the largest ever seen at a World Congress, pushing the boundaries of technical possibilities within the six Congress themes. The best-rated demonstration will be given the Best Demo Award based on the votes of Congress participants. Check out Spoiled for choice, on page 22, to see the wide range of mobility issues that are covered by the 30 live demonstrations here this week.
The ITS World Congress always leaves an impressive legacy in the cities that host them. I have been involved in the ITS Congresses worldwide since 2000 in Turin, and I see that significant changes have happened within the ITS sector since then. From presenting ITS technologies to the focus on implementation and deployment of technologies to create new mobility services. This is what the ITS World Congress in Hamburg is all about because the networks we are building today will continue to function in the future. We are very excited to see what Hamburg will achieve after hosting the ITS World Congress.
You are welcome to visit Ertico stand B5.135 to learn more about our partners and project activities, including smart and sustainable future mobility. I really look forward to meeting you this week after a very long time!
Jacob Bangsgaard,
CEO, Ertico – ITS Europe
