International Transport Forum Leads the Global Debate on Connectivity

Political decision-makers, industry leaders, transport experts and top thinkers from around the world, will debate how to create more seamless transport solutions for passengers and freight at the 2012 Summit of the International Transport Forum.

The Summit on “Seamless Transport: Making Connections” will take place May 2-4 in Leipzig, Germany, and will drive the international debate on better connectivity. The event will be held under the Presidency of Japan. The International Transport Forum at the OECD is an intergovernmental organisation with 53 member countries. It acts as a strategic think tank for transport policy and organises an annual summit of ministers.

“Our economies and our lifestyles increasingly rely on seamless transport solutions,” explains Hans Michael Kloth, Acting Secretary General of the International Transport Forum. “Planes, trains, cars, public transport, bikes, and walking, have to be thought of as a common universe providing mobility to people. We can do better to integrate the different modes into tightly-woven networks that create added value for users. Transport users increasingly expect smooth, and sustainable mobility; the place to obtain this efficiency gains is often at the seams: between systems, jurisdictions, business models, and modes. This is what the 2012 Summit on Seamlessness will focus on.”

Luca di Montezemolo, Chairman of Ferrari and Nuovo Trasporto Viaggiatori, will deliver the opening keynote. Angel Gurría, Secretary-General of the OECD, will speak about Transport for Growth, while Koji Sekimizu, Secretary-General of the International Maritime Organisation (IMO), will join a discussion on piracy at sea. Other discussion leaders include, Siim Kallas, Vice-President of the European Commission, Rüdiger Grube, CEO of Deutsche Bahn, and Jean Todt, President of the International Automobile Federation (FIA). From an industry standpoint, global players like DHL, Wal-Mart, and Alstom will join the debate.

The summit will include many highlights such as, the International Transport Forum Awards 2012, and the Transport Innovation Talks, where speakers like Carlo Ratti, Director of MIT’s SENSeable City Lab, and Peter Hendy, Commissioner of Transport for London, will present cutting-edge solutions for seamless mobility. China will participate as an official member of the forum for the first time.

The debates, seminars, workshops, and open forums, will provide introspective on many transport, and transport related issues: How can seamless transport better connect people and markets, systems and sectors? Is the digital revolution is a game changer for transport?

How can international standards have an impact on more efficient transport? What are the possibilities to make integrated networks more sustainable and accessible? With various global players present, and a Ministerial meeting at its core, the Summit will push the agenda of better connectivity.

Technical tours to Europe’s largest air-cargo hub operated by DHL, the ultramodern manufacturing plants factories of BMW, and the Porsche, and Goldschmidt Thermit Plants will provide fascinating insight. Participants can also take part in demonstration tours organised by Toll Collect, and in EcoDriving training. Along with the support of popular German TV characters, Hein Blöd, and Käpt’n Blaubär, FIA-President, Jean Todt, Parliamentary State Secretary in the German Ministry of Transport, Jan Muecke, and Arndt Birkigt of DEKRA, will discuss road safety with with 500 children during the Children’s University. A final highlight will be the bike tour of Leipzig, led by the city’s Mayor.

For more information about the annual summit please visit: www.internationaltransportforum.org/2012