The 17th ITS World Congress closed its doors on Friday 29 October 2010 after a week of dizzying activity with papers dissected products and services showcased business deals proposed and concluded projects examined and disseminated contacts refreshed and made technical visits experienced… As ever it was a unique opportunity for ITS companies and organisations to increase their visibility promote specific messages to key players and to establish their presence and position in the forefront of the dynamic worldwide ITS market place.
Opening on Monday 25 October the week long event brought together over 4000 delegates from 84 countries. Over 1000 papers were presented to 13000 participants – read the ERTICO team’s reports here – while another 19000 visited the 900 booths in the exhibition including the European Pavilion a joint initiative between ERTICO ITS Sweden and ITS Finland.
The ITS Hall of Fame was inaugurated during the opening ceremony with Dr Shoichiro Toyoda Chairman Emeritus of Toyota Mr Russel Shields Chairman of Ygomi LLC and the Intelligent Transportation Society of America and Dr Fotis Karamitsos Director of the European Commission’s DG MOVE all picking up awards for their unmatched contributions to the furtherment of ITS.
Dr Karamitsos was chosen as the member of the ITS Hall of Fame for his long standing leadership in driving ITS forward in Europe. He is also one of the founding fathers of ERTICO. ERTICO congratulates all three entrants to the ITS Hall of Fame for their hard work leadership and determination.
The European Pavilion a joint stand shared between ERTICO ITS Sweden and ITS Finland was very successful located in a prime position and showcasing its constituents’ members projects initiatives and partners. The joint European cocktail was held on Tuesday 26 October an event enlivening by the kind collaboration and generosity of ITS Russia who provided beautiful live classical music and hospitality. An enjoyable start to future cooperation – ERTICO and ITS Russia have recently signed a memorandum of understanding and ERTICO is currently leading a mission in Russia with a number of ERTICO Partners investigating business opportunities and taking part in the International Specialised Exhibition-Forum ROAD. More news soon!
The Congress clearly showed the enormous pace of ITS developments worldwide especially in Asia which provides a major challenge to political and industrial activities in Europe. The deployment of ITS is accelerating and global cooperation and exchange of best practice to provide user focused solutions at reasonable cost is increasingly prominent. Effective cost-efficient deployment of ITS in Europe will depend on the degree of cooperation achieved by the relevant stakeholders.
A united and strong voice on ITS in Europe will also aid and benefit from the efforts on global harmonisation. The European Commission has now established a strong partnership with its American counterparts on the development and deployment of cooperative mobility services and are in ongoing negotiations with Japan. China and Russia are also emitting very positive signals concerning global harmonisation. In this context it is also important to note that the recent creation of ITS Asia-Pacific which will facilitate cooperation activities in the regions.
ERTICO extends its congratulations to all participants at the 17th ITS World Congress who helped to make it the success it was – and looks forward to the upcoming European ITS Congress to be held in Lyon 6-9 June 2011. The Lyon Congress will focus on ITS deployment and the involvement of cities regions and member states. We look forward to seeing you there!
To read the ERTICO team’s reports on the sessions click here.
Link to original Article
http://www.ertico.com/17th-its-world-congress-busan/
Original Publication Date: Thu 25 Nov 2010
