The World Cycling Alliance (WCA) is initiative from the European Cyclists’ Federation (ECF) to build a global network of non-governmental organizations with a substantial interest in promoting cycling as a sustainable mode of transport. The main objective of the network is not only to advocate for cycling within international institutions – such as UN, OECD/ITF, World Bank- but also to promote and support the exchange of knowledge, expertise and co-operation of cycling associations and organizations worldwide. An important step in the founding and launching of WCA was the participation in the World Urban Forum 7 from UN Habitat in Medellin, Colombia (8-11 April 2014). There, ECF organised a networking event to present WCA to the world and it was a big success. A Memorandum of Understanding was signed with UN-Habitat, solidifying the growing need for ECF to further develop cycling worldwide. The Annual General Meeting of ECF in Dublin in April 2014 approved the proposal to found and to launch the WCA at the Velo-city Global 2014 where an International Steering Board was established, representing all continents, that oversees the development and governance of the Alliance.
The newly-formed World Cycling Alliance looks forward to establishing new and fruitful relationships in the coming years. WCA was present at COP21 in Paris in December 2015 and worked closely with SLoCaT and its partners on the Communications Task Force for the PPMC. Along with ECF, WCA was present at the Velo-city conferences and Habitat III in Quito, Ecuador – always bringing with it the desire to unleash the full potential of cycling as a sustainable and accessible means of transportation.
