2020 – Walking through a transformative year

What a year 2020 turned out to be!  Like all of you, we expected everything from 2020 but not a global pandemic.  While this year has been difficult for all of us and brought new challenges, we have also experienced the revitalisation and recognition of the importance and value of walking.

Walkable neighborhoods where you can run your errands on foot and take a walk from home gained new meaning in times of physically distanced lockdowns.  Unsurprising to us – walking has proven to be a highly resilient form of urban transport and a critical mode to safeguard the sustainability of our transport systems and our communities throughout the pandemic. 

While being bound to our homes we exchanged our walking perspectives in numerous new online formats be it fireside chats, webinars or online conferences.  And just recently we have contributed to high-level events to emphasize the power of walking for sustainable and livable cities at events such as UNFCCC’s Race to Zero Dialogues and SLOCAT’s #EnRouteToCOP26.

It is fantastic to see how digitalisation brings so much reach and we are able to share with people all around the world in new ways.  We miss meeting you all in person but we will continue to explore these new opportunities for bringing people together and hopefully return to sharing time in-person soon.

Launch of the Africa Network for Walking and Cycling (left) and a Board meeting for the Sustainable Low Carbon Transport Partnership Foundation (right) capture our new mode for meeting.