UP2030 at European Mobility Week 2024: Raising Awareness on Sustainable Mobility and Climate Action in Thessaloniki

EUROPEANMOBILITYWEEK is the European Commission’s flagship awareness-raising campaign on sustainable urban mobility. It promotes behavioural change in favour of active mobility, public transport, and other clean, intelligent transport solutions.

The main event takes place from 16-22 September each year, culminating in the popular Car-Free Day. Local authorities are encouraged to use the main week to try out innovative planning measures, promote new infrastructure and technologies, measure air quality, and get feedback from the public. With more towns and cities joining every year, and with its huge media appeal, the campaign is widely recognised as a driving force towards sustainable urban mobility in Europe and beyond.

The theme of this year's EUROPEANMOBILITYWEEK is Shared Public Space.

The UP2030 team of Thessaloniki, in collaboration with the Municipality of Thessaloniki and liaison partner MDAT SA, organized a series of educational events in the "Dioikitirio" pilot area during European Mobility Week 2024. The initiative aimed to raise awareness among students about climate change, carbon dioxide emissions reduction, and sustainable mobility.

Students aged 6 to 12, along with their parents, participated in interactive sessions where they explored key elements that make neighborhoods more sustainable, learned how EU cities promote walking, cycling, and scooter use, evaluated transportation modes based on their energy sources, and proposed improvements for safer school commutes. Road safety education was also a key focus of the events.

This initiative was supported by CERTH/HIT, the 1st Local Community of Thessaloniki, the 36th, 40th, and 55th schools, and the Thessaloniki traffic police department.

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