Transport Ministers from the 52 member countries of the International Transport Forum (ITF) at the OECD gather in Leipzig, Germany as of Wednesday 25th May 2011 for a three day summit on the future of global mobility.

The event, which is held annually, includes a ministerial meeting and panel discussions with leaders from business, research and civil society. The 2011 summit is headlined “Transport for Society” and will look to identify ways to increase the net benefits transport provides, for individuals and for society as a whole. 

Prominent speakers in Leipzig will include Jeremy Rifkin, President of The Foundation on Economic Trends, and Enrique Peñalosa, a former mayor of Bogota and an influential thinker on urban issues. US top economist Jeffrey Sachs, Director of the Earth Institute at Columbia University, New York, will address ministers, as will Peter Voser, CEO of Royal Dutch Shell and Jaime Lerner, legendary urban planner and public transport pioneer.

The summit convenes as another volcanic ash cloud threatens air traffic over northern Europe, one year after the almost complete shutdown of European air traffic due to the eruption of a volcano in Iceland in April 2010.

“Transport is often taken for granted. It is only when we face disruptions that we take note of the fact that global mobility cannot be treated as a given. It relies on complex, interconnected infrastructures and systems that are potentially fragile”, said Jack Short, Secretary General of the ITF. “Transport systems need to be well maintained, so they do not to fail us. They need to be further developed to evolve with growing demand. And transport systems need to become more interconnected to give users more and better choice. This is what the debate in Leipzig will be all about: How to put the user – us - at the centre.” 

FEHRL is exhibiting at the ITF exhibition and is due to give a press briefing to launch its new Strategic European Road Research Programme (SERRP V) incorporating the Forever Open Road programme at 10.50 a.m. (CET) on the morning of Wednesday 25th May 2011. More details will follow on this shortly, 

You can find the full programme for ITF at www.internationaltransportforum.org/2011
Photos for media use at www.flickr.com/photos/internationaltransportforum
You can also follow ITF's live webcast at webtv.internationaltransportforum.org