Meijer prepares the Netherlands for EMW

EMW is now in its sixth run in the Netherlands, and it continues to grow every year. In 2007, 360 Dutch cities signed up, and more are expected to join in this year’s initiative.

Local organisations join EMW

Ms. Meijer is an employee of Milieudefensie (Friends of the Earth Netherlands) and her full-time role is as the coordinator of EMW nation-wide. She explains how Milieudefensie came to play a central role in the organisation of the event.

"We were already involved in an initiative called LOAZ (National Platform Car Free Day), which helped to organise car-free days in cities throughout the country," she says. "When European Mobility Week was born, we joined forces to place the car-free day in the broader context of sustainable mobility."

Getting the word out

Meijer, who works with one other dedicated part-time staff member, is primarily focused on generating publicity and awareness of EMW. It is a task made easier by the fact that EMW in the Netherlands is a partnership with several other organisations, such as VVN (the national organisation for transport safety), Fietsen Scoort and de Fietsersbond (cycling associations), SenterNovem (an agency for sustainability and innovation), the Car Sharing Association, Climate Alliance, ROVER (a public transport travellers’ organisation) and others.

"Working with these organisations helps us spread awareness," says Marjon. "Each one, keen to promote its role in EMW, disseminates its own news and press releases, and this generates valuable publicity in itself."

Balloons, not cars

This additional publicity supplements the official promotion programme, organised by Marjon, which uses a variety of formats to generate maximum public engagement with EMW.

"On September 6 we’re launching the run-up to car-free day. A group of volunteers in ‘disco’ outfits will take to the streets of Utrecht and Amsterdam to persuade drivers to participate. Those who sign up receive a balloon for their car, which helps promote the event, and a free public transport ticket to use on the car-free day itself, which in the Netherlands will be Sunday, 21 September. We also run fun events like Mr. and Mrs. Bus, where we ask the public, bus drivers, and their bosses, to nominate the best female and male bus drivers," she says.

'More serious' events

Informal events like these are balanced by a more serious programme of seminars and conferences, such as a "Sustainable Mobility in Companies" debate, which will take place in Rotterdam on 18 September. EMW also runs workshops for smaller companies that aspire to adopt greener transport practices.

Less red tape

Although it is difficult to judge Dutch EMW’s success against other participating countries, in the Netherlands the initiative benefits from a certain degree of freedom. The ministries of Transport and the Environment provide financial assistance, but because Milieudefensie is a non-governmental organisation, there is perhaps less government input into the way the event is actually run.

Authorities assess results

One area where the authorities do get involved is in measuring the event’s success. Previously, most of the result-gathering and reporting was undertaken by the organisations involved in EMW themselves. They fed the information to Marjon, who collated it. This year, for the first time, the Ministry of Transport has commissioned an independent agency to carry out the reporting and assess EMW’s impact.

Traffic congestion on the rise

According to Marjon, it is an important task and one that lends EMW further credibility in its grand aim of improving sustainable mobility in the Netherlands, which she says suffers from traffic overcrowding.

"Sustainable mobility is a hot topic in the Netherlands right now. Congestion is still increasing. European Mobility Week is key to highlighting the problems of road traffic not only from a broader environmental perspective, but in terms of quality of life," says Marjon.