In a series of interviews, Walk21 is recording the experiences of practitioners who have developed national policy for walking. Representatives from Ministries and national agencies will share their story of raising awareness, overcoming obstacles, and lessons learnt along the way. The interviews offer an opportunity to learn from real life examples, experiences and processes in other countries. 

Walk21 estimates that nearly half of countries have some form of national policy and is in the process of researching the published documents in the pan-European region thanks to a grant from VREF. By understanding the processes that governments follow to develop and deliver walking policy Walk21 hopes to inspire and train other national leads to further develop their policies to benefit people walking.

Upcoming interviews

19 April

Ireland, 15-16 CET – Register
Portugal, 16-17 CET- Register

3 May

Czech Republic, 15-16 CET- Register
England, 16-17 CET- Register

The first interviews in the series were held with Scotland’s policy lead Rona Gibb and the walking manager in The Netherlands, Filip v an As. The Scottish policy was first considered in 2003 and was one of the first to publish in 2014. A new national strategy is due for Scotland is in development with support of both the Health and Wellbeing Minister and the world’s first Active Travel Minister.

Meanwhile in The Netherlands, Filip turned the table on his political career when he saw a policy gap and has expertly built a network of nearly 60 partners who are now collaborating to fund and deliver a package of impressive actions.

Rona’s engaging interviews is already on the Walk21 YouTube channel here:

• Scotland – Rona Gibb, Paths for All Scotland – Let’s Get Scotland Walking
• Netherlands – Filip van As, Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management (The Netherlands)

Ask your question

The interviews will be live on Zoom. You are invited to join and raise your questions.

Would you like to submit your questions before? Send them to network@walk21.com or leave them on our social media: Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and LinkedIn.

Registrations

Attendance is free. Please register here.

Ireland

Host: Jim Walker, Walk21

Guests: Garret Doocey, Assistant Secretary, Transport Investment and Public Transport Policy (Department of Transport Ireland) and Jason King, Programme Manager (Get Ireland Walking)

Date: 19 April 2023, 15:00-16:00 (Central European Time)

Register here

Portugal

Host: Jim Walker, Walk21

Guest: Sophia Pires Bento, Evaluation and Foresight Services Department, Mobility and Transport Institute, Portugal

Date: 19 April 2023, 16:00-17:00 (Central European Time)

Register here

Czech Republic

Host: Jim Walker, Walk21

Guests: Jitka Marie Vrtalova

Date: 3 May 2023, 15:00-16:00 (Central European Time)

Register here

England

Host: Jim Walker, Walk21

Guest: Kevin Golding-Williams Department for Transport UK

Date: 3 Mayl 2023, 16:00-17:00 (Central European Time)

Register here