EGWA 20 Years Later – The symposium, presentations available

The experience exchange symposium

Namur, Belgium. Friday June 29th, 2018,

Presentations available for download (in English or French); See the outline of the symposium and events here

08:45 Welcome

Opening speech

09:15 Frédéric Razée. Minister of Public Works, Walloon Region (Belgium)

09:25 Start. Adrien Joveneau, moderator

At the beginning…

09:30 Why is it necessary to go to the USA to hear about Spanish Vias Verdes ? Gilbert Perrin, EGWA and association Chemins du Rail (Belgium)

09:40 From the Walloon RAVeL to the European greenways, the role of the Walloon Region. Marc Bovin, member of the cabinet of the Michel Lebrun, former Minister (Belgium)

09:55 A vision for Reconnecting America : the trigger toward a European Greenways Association. Paul Labovitz (USA)

10:10 EGWA’s birth, the challenges. Joaquín Jiménez, 1st president of EGWA (Spain)

10:25 Break

EGWA’s benefits – The progress in the concept of greenways

10:45 Start. Adrien Joveneau, moderator

10:50 The importance of former railway lines, cross border connections. Christoph Hendrich, Tourism Agency of the East of Belgium (Belgium)

11:05 The influence of other countries on a national project: The results in the Baltic area. Janis Sijats, Latvian Greenwsy Association (Latvia)

11:20 Ireland : from the community movement to a national vision. Denis McAuliffe (Great Southern Trail) & Mary Stack (Failte Ireland) (Ireland)

Management : finance, maintenance, mobility tool

11:40 Start. Adrien Joveneau, moderator

11:45 Ecopistas : the origins, the present and the future. Luis Silvestre & Filipe Beja (former and present managers of the National Greenways Scheme of Portugal ). Infraestructuras de Portugal (Portugal)

12:05 UK wide Sustrans initiative «One Path». Gordon Clarke, Sustrans (UK)

12:20 The first greenway… And perspectives. Mirko Radovanac (Yugo cycling campaing) & Marija Trmčić Bogojević (Ucize city council) (Serbia)

Debate

12:40 Questions-answers. Adrien Joveneau, moderator

13:00 Lunch

Promotion, tourism, heritage

14:00 Start. Adrien Joveneau, moderator

14:05 Namur in the heart of the European cycle routes. Maxime Prévot, Mayor of Namur (Belgium)

14:15 Greenways of Spain, a European example. Carmen Aycart & Arantxa Hernández (Former and current manager of the Vias Verdes program from the Spanish Railways Foundation (Spain)

14:35 Railway and industrial heritage, cycle path or greenway?. Christa Mrozek, Wuppertalbewegung e.V. (Germany)

14:50 An exceptional promotion of railway heritage. Sylvia Gleitsmann NÖ Werbung (Lower Austrian Tourism Board) & Christian Schrefel FbW4 (Austria)

15:05 Greenways, heritage and tourism: the point of view of the Walloon Region. Stéphanie Villance, General Commissariat for Tourism (Belgium)

15:15 Break

And now…

15:35 Start. Adrien Joveneau, moderator

15:40 National scheme, cycle routes and greenways, planning and predictions at the scale of a country with 67 million inhabitants. Camille Thomé, departments and cycling regions of France (France)

15:55 Saint-Petersburg and the Baltic zone, soft mobility and greenways projects. Olga Lakimenko, from ICSER Leontief Centre. Coordinator of Green Mobility Project Development (San Petersburg, Russia)

16:10 EGWA and its future. Giulio Senes & Mercedes Muñoz, European Greenways Association (Europe)

Debate

16:30 Questions- answers. Adrien Joveneau, moderator

Conclusions

16:50 The role of greenways in the development of a sustainable environment in Europe. EGWA presidents: Joaquin Jiménez, 1st president of EGWA (Spain); Gilbert Perrin past president, (Belgium); Giulio Senes EGWA president (Italy), European Greenways Association (Europe)

17:00 Closing Drink