The 2023 International Transport Forum (ITF) Summit will take place from the 24th to the 26th of May in Leipzig, Germany under the Presidency of the United Kingdom. The summit will focus on the role of transport in enhancing social welfare, providing benefits to society, and promoting inclusion while minimizing externalities such as traffic congestion. Our Projects Director Raquel Barrios will join the summit as one of the speakers.

Raquel will join a session on how safer roads can boost the economy. She will be joined by the Head of the Global Road Safety Facility and Global Lead of Road Safety from the World Bank Said Dahdah, World Health Organization (WHO) Head of Safety and Mobility Nahn Tran, the Chief Innovation Officer of ERTICO-ITS Europe Johanna Tzanidaki, and president of Bolt Jevgeni Kabanov. 

The session highlights the fact that road crashes not only cause “enormous human suffering” but also have huge economic impacts around the loss of income, damaged property, and burden to the health sector. 

With the speakers, the session will discuss practical strategies to make roads safer for people and analyze the associated economic and societal benefits. It will also examine the potential of addressing road safety holistically with shared responsibility among all stakeholders as envisaged in the Safe System Approach.

The theme for the Summit is “Transport enabling sustainable economies”. 

The Summit will cover how transport stakeholders can promote system resilience through better planning for recurrent shocks to the transport system. Each year, the Consultation Day with International Organizations provides an opportunity for an open dialogue around the main themes of the Summit and the priority topics for the ITF. 

“Transport changes lives and livelihood it can create healthier and more inclusive societies and its out biggest weapon against climate change. So by coming together again in Leipzig in May, we have a chance to continue harnessing the economic, social, and environmental benefits of transport. I look forward to seeing you all there” – Mark Harper, UK Secretary of State for Transport 

LEARN MORE ABOUT THE ITF SUMMIT