1st Ministerial and Policy Conference on Sustainable Transport in Africa

The World Bank, UN-Habitat, UNEP and the Government of Kenya are launching the “Africa Sustainable Transport Forum” to provide a platform for high-level attention and policy dialogue on access to environmentally sustainable transport in Africa.

The goal of the Forum will be to integrate sustainable transport into the region’s development and planning processes and increase the amount of funding going to sustainable transport programs in Africa in order to improve access to transport, reduce air pollution and climate emissions, and improve road safety and health.

ASTF will hold the 1st Ministerial and Experts Conference on Sustainable Transport, October 28-30, 2014 in Nairobi and develop a Sustainable Transport Action Plan for Africa for discussion and review at the Conference. Forum activities will include:

• Sharing of policies, knowledge and best practices, along with training, tools, and staff exchanges
• Regional conferences and workshops
• Development of networks and access to expertise and demonstration projects and pilot programs
• Access to funding and investment for sustainable transport infrastructure

The ASTF will focus on the key transport and mobility issues of Africa, drawing on the experiences and lessons available from across the continent. The activities of ASTF subsequent to the 1st Ministeral and Experts Conference will be tailored to the emerging priority areas captured during the Conference discussions, with a view to realising specific interventions to address priority areas in cooperation with country and regional partners.

The ASTF 1st Ministerial and Experts Conference on Sustainable Transport in Africa

The ASTF conference will be held October 28-30 at the UN Headquarters in Nairobi, Kenya. The goals of the 1st ASTF Conference are to:

• Shape the initiative
• Share best practices from Africa
• Develop Framework for Action
• Plan follow-on activities

More information of the program and speakers can be found in the Conference agenda. 

Solution Expo

From 28 – 31 October 2014, the ASTF Conference will host the Solutions Expo; showcasing some of the most successful, exciting and innovative sustainable transport solutions within the African continent and beyond. In particular the Solutions Expo supports two of the key aims of the 1st ASTF Conference; sharing best practice and developing partnerships.

Solutions will be showcased using posters, audio-visual equipment, printed materials, publications and more, and will embody the following key attributes:

• African ownership, leadership and innovation.
• International transport solutions with potential to address transport issues in the African context.
• Showcasing best practice in sustainability, creativity and/or partnerships and collaboration

More information of the Solution Expo can be found in the event’s concept note. 

ASTF Conversation Series

The ASTF ‘Conversation Series’ seeks to provide a discussion platform conducive to understanding and advancing the current narrative around transport and linked issues such as poverty eradication, environmental safeguarding, equitable access for all and the full transformative potential of sustainable transport for people, places, our environment and our economy.

It is the intention of the ASTF Secretariat that the ASTF ‘Conversation Series will serve to inform projects, partnerships and new research around transport in Africa. It is the view that the Series will also act as an enabling platform for on-going exchange of knowledge and information thereby serving to inform decision making at all levels.

The overarching theme for the first sessions of the ASTF Conversation Series is the ‘Transformative Potential for Sustainable Transport in Africa’ and it consists of three discussion themes:

1. The Empowering potential of Transport – Gender, Marginalized Groups and Equitable Access.
2. The Emerging ICT Revolution in Africa and What it Can Mean for Transport
3. Financing

For more information of the sessions, please refer to the Conversation Series’ program agenda.