The Netherlands will organize the ITS Congress in 18 months’ time. This was officially announced this afternoon at the Automotive Campus. This conference on Smart Mobility will take place on 3-6 June 2019 in the Brainport region.
Elly Blanksma-van den Heuvel, Mayor of Helmond, together with Jacob Bangsgaard, CEO of ERTICO-ITS Europe, signed the agreement on behalf of all Dutch stakeholders. Bangsgaard explains why the Brainport region has been chosen to organize the congress. “This is a region packed with innovation in the field of Smart Mobility. We opted for Brainport, partly because we were looking for good cooperation between the private sector and the government. In addition, the region has shown more often that it is a great place to show developments in the field of Smart Mobility to its residents, the ultimate users.” Mayor Blanksma adds: “This congress shows how advanced our ecosystem is. It is popular to talk about public-private enterprise and facility sharing, this is a good example of how to put it into practice.”
“As a leader in the world, we need adequate funding and legislation.”Matthijs van Miltenburg, MEP (D66)
The ITS congress is a platform for industry and government to showcase what is possible in the Netherlands with Smart Mobility. Besides the fact that there will be many examples of Smart Mobility at the conference, there will also be a discussion about the future. For example, the Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management intends to organize a European high-level meeting at the June congress.This afternoon, MEP Matthijs van Miltenburg (D66) also spoke about this: “We are already working on a European strategy because self-driving vehicles do not stop at the border.” According to Miltenburg, this is also important for the Netherlands: “As a leader in the world, we need adequate financing and legislation.”
The municipalities of Helmond and Eindhoven will host the event. They will be supported by the Province of North-Brabant, the Ministry of Infrastructure, Public Works and Water Management, Brainport Eindhoven and Connekt/ITS Netherlands. The congress will be sponsored by Dynniq (lead sponsor), Goudappel Coffeng, VDL Groep, Hermes and HERE.
Photos: Vincent Knoops
