The Greencities Forum – Urban Intelligence and Sustainability, organised by the Regional Government of Andalucía in Málaga, was the setting for the presentation of the new features of MOW FORUM Andalucía, an International Summit to be held on 24 and 25 November in Sevilla, which will be the meeting point for authorities and leaders to build an orderly, pragmatic and realistic transition model in the evolution of a new sustainable, connected and efficient mobility.

The presentation was made by Francisco Javier Arroyo, Director General of Andalucía Global, of the General Secretariat for External Action of the Ministry of the Presidency of the Andalusian Regional Government; Jaime Alguersuari, Vice-President of the Organising Committee of MOW FORUM Andalucía; and Ignacio Fernández, Secretary General of MOW FORUM Andalucía.

Specifically, the event will start with a fundamental premise “On the Need for Debate”, understood from the perspective of the current moment and the great challenges that the 2030 Agenda generates in the field of mobility, with the emergence of new propulsion systems, technological advances and changes of habit in the way citizens move around.

Taking into account all the factors that have developed mobility in today’s cities, Jaime Alguersuari indicated that it is now when “innovative mobility solutions that are truly feasible must be proposed, taking into account the state of technology, the capacity for energy generation and distribution and the impact that all of this may have on the thousands of workers who today work in car and motorbike production factories”.

In this regard, Ignacio Fernández indicated that, “in order to explain each of these developments in more detail, the MOW FORUM Andalucía programme has been structured into 10 thematic axes, ranging from the analysis of the current reality to the importance of the circular economy, alternative energies, the importance of sport as a test bed for the development of new technologies in the automotive sector, or what the 2030 – 2050 Agenda proposes and how it is being implemented at a regulatory level”.

Therefore, one of the main challenges for the successful development of this International Forum, according to Arroyo, is the presence of international organisations and public administrations; from personalities from the United Nations to EU commissioners responsible for the European green strategy, representatives of the Committee of European Regions, or members of the Spanish Government ministries responsible for the matter, among others.

In addition to the institutional presence, Alguersuari stressed that it is crucial to learn first-hand how the multinationals in the automotive and energy sectors are dealing with this new reality, as the use of clean energies and different propulsion systems is being promoted while the use of traditional fuels continues. One of the test beds being used for the development of these changes is the competition, which is why “the presence at MOW FORUM Andalucía of the heads of competitions and international sports organisations is key”.

Finally, Ignacio Fernández emphasised that mobility users will also be present at the forum, represented by the car clubs which, under the umbrella of the FIA, an organisation “which brings together 244 car clubs from 146 countries and represents more than 80 million users worldwide”.