The Nexus working group aims to develop an academic hub that connects those in academia and practice as well as an online repository to share research into walking and cycling. The emphasis is to build on African rich research and have it in a ‘simplified’ format, to provide easy-to-use data for our member organisations as well as decision-makers. 

The group is chaired by Sean Cooke. He is a researcher in the Centre for Transport Studies in the Department of Civil Engineering at the University of Cape Town. He has an interest in the evolution of transport planning as a practice in African Cities. He has also undertaken research with UN Environment in areas of climate change.

To connect with other researchers, join the LinkedIn group.

The Financing for Walking and Cycling (multilateral and development partners) working group is exploring ways to attract more funding for walking and cycling and bring more financial institutions into the network. The group is currently working on a financing methodology by learning from ongoing initiatives our partners are working on to make walking and cycling projects more bankable. 

The group is chaired by Gashaw Aberra the ITDP Country Manager, in Ethiopia. He holds a Master’s Degree in Urban Administration and Planning from the University of Seoul, Korea. He has experience in developing NMT strategies, bike sharing and street design manuals.

The Government Support and Financing group is developing an interactive database/catalogue of African countries and support them on walking and cycling projects. It is leading the network as the key consultative body on the Pan-African Action Plan for Active Mobility (PAAPAM) project. The main goal of PAAPAM is to work closely with African governments to raise the profile of active mobility, highlighting the role of active mobility in addressing regional, national and city priorities. See the PAAPAM Information Pack for more information on the project. 

The group is co-chaired by Carly Gilbert-Patrick and Janene Tuniz. Carly manages the UNEP team for Active Mobility, Digitalisation and Mode Integration. She is also the Regional Coordinator for the Central and Eastern Europe Region. She has worked in the field of sustainable mobility for almost 15 years including road safety, rapid bus transit, congestion charging, low-emission zones and bike-share systems.

Janene is based at the UN-Habitat headquarters in Nairobi, she provides technical assistance and support to national governments and local authorities in the development and implementation of sustainable urban mobility policies, plans, and strategies.    

The Data for Walking and Cycling working group is developing a data-sharing platform and a methodology for data collection and dissemination on walking and cycling in Africa. 

The group is chaired by Paschailin Basil, a researcher and PhD Student at the Institute for Development Studies, University of Nairobi, Kenya. She is also the Assistant Coordinator of the Kenya Transport Research Network (KTRN). Her current research interests are in motorised, non-motorised transport, governance and informal economy and social protection.

The Building Capacity group has mapped out African-based NGOs and civil societies working on walking and cycling in Africa. The group plans to identify its needs in carrying out its operations and establish areas for peer-to-peer learning to enhance its capacities. Please contact the secretariat if you wish to include your organisation in this database.

The group is chaired by Emmanuel John, a sustainable transport expert with 24 years’ experience in urban transport and traffic safety both at government and NGO levels. He is also CEO of Ochenuel Mobility and the founder/director of Africa Sustainable Urban Mobility Course as well as Open Streets Abuja. He is a board member and Vice President of the World Cycling Alliance and President of the Africa Urban Cycling Organisation.  

The Public Transport working group is developing key performance indicators (KPIs) for public transport in order to help evaluate public transport in African cities and tie it to accessibility and connectivity to active mobility. The group is also evaluating best case studies to pick lessons for other cities.

The group is chaired by Amanda Gibberd, director of Universal Design and Access in Public Transport at the Department of Transport, Pretoria, South Africa. She holds a Master’s in Universal Access in Urban Planning from the University of Pretoria.

The Rural Mobility working group is developing measurement indicators of rural access to inform advocacy and funding for inclusive rural mobility. It is also mapping individuals and organisations in the rural mobility space.

The group is chaired by Susan Bornstein, Global Director, Institutional Partnerships & Influence at World Bicycle Relief.