Building upon and beyond at TCCW23

After two years of virtual meetings due to the pandemic, this year's TCCW brought together around 250 participants from 32 countries who attended 30 sessions with over 50 speakers. The event aimed to achieve global net zero emissions through collaborative efforts and featured experts and practitioners from government agencies and cities in the Global South, working closely with Germany. Several projects implemented by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) and funded by the IKI, the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), the Climate Protection Facility, Switzerland and the European Union (EU) (DG INTPA) contributed to the success of the event.

Under the theme 'Building upon & beyond: Reflecting on the past, Shaping the future’, Transport Week 2023 focused on four themes, with different objectives for each day:

• Visualise achievements, stories of change, lessons learned and innovation in partner countries.
• Equip participants for future action through in-depth thematic training on topics such as e-mobility, fuel efficiency, access to finance, Power-t-X in shipping and urban transport planning, while maintaining the flagship character of the event as a forum for peer-to-peer exchange. 
• Target our efforts towards the ambitious goal of net zero in the transport sector.
• Deliver ideas through global and regional networks of transport experts and practitioners to foster peer learning and collaboration.

The symposium "A glimpse into the future of transport" featured prominent figures like Stefan Wenzel, Secretary of State at the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action (BMWK) and Ingrid-Gabriela Hoven, Managing Director of GIZ. They convened a panel that included Juan Carlos Muñoz, Chile's Minister of Transport and Doreen de Brum, Ambassador of the Marshall Islands to the EU, as well as representatives from Thailand, South Africa, and the European Commission. The event focused on the crucial role of international cooperation in achieving net zero emissions.

The Zukunft – Umwelt – Gesellschaft gGmbH (ZUG), as the IKI project management organization, hosted this year's IKI Implementers Meeting for the sustainable mobility projects, at the margins of the TCCW. These meetings with implementing partners serve as a vital tool for IKI, in collectively evaluating IKI's direction, discussing achievements and obstacles, and reflecting on its advancement.

The central theme of this year's meeting was Transformational Change. In an interactive format, more than 30 participants from ZUG, IKI implementing organizations, BMUV and BMWK discussed how IKI mobility projects could contribute to achieving transformative change in the transportation sector in the IKI partner countries.

During the discussion, participants highlighted key challenges towards achieving transformational change in IKI projects, the potential inherent in these projects, examined effective financing mechanisms already deployed in the transportation sector, and explored the critical factors for successfully scaling project outcomes.

During the Farewell Reception hosted at the ZUG, the participants had the opportunity to engage further in discussions and network with various individuals. This gathering allowed participants to continue fostering connections and collaborations in the realm of sustainable mobility.

Opening the event, Falk Heinen, Department Head at the BMUV, emphasized the importance of international climate goals within the transportation sector. He also recognized the 15th anniversary of IKI this year, marking a significant milestone in this extensive international climate finance program of the Federal Republic of Germany.

Christine Krüger, Head of Department for Urban Development, Infrastructure and Mobility at ZUG, expressed her gratitude directly to the participants in her speech saying, "We all recognize that the transformation in the transport sector is complex. Yet, your contributions in inspiring IKI and other projects worldwide are driving us and our partner countries forward." She emphasized the importance of IKI in fulfilling the international climate finance commitments of the Federal Republic of Germany.

Following this, three brief reports were presented by participants from different regions. Robert Njoroge from the Kenya Bureau of Standards emphasized that many of the discussed solutions could be well applied in a variety of countries. He appealed to the guests: "Let's not just meet again at the next TCCW and discuss solutions. Instead, let's talk about implementation experiences: what worked, what can be improved?" Cecile Danica Co Gotamco from the Department of Transportation Philippines added, "After a week of the conference, it's clear that the common challenges in the world outweigh the differences. The mutual networking during the conference week has been particularly valuable."

Daniel Bongardt, Cluster Coordinator for "Team Infrastructure and Mobility" at GIZ, summed up the TCCW as follows: "Finally, we met in person with over 200 participants from over 30 countries. All of you participated in training, exchanged country presentations, and formed networks. This is how peer-to-peer learning works." He was pleased to say that after a week, colleagues had become friends.