The For a More Beautiful Ljubljana campaign started in the spirit of sustainable mobility. Ljubljana hosted the Cities for Climate Neutrality conference between 22 and 24 March 2023, with which we marked the 10th anniversary of the CIVINET Slovenia-Croatia-South East Europe network.

About 140 members of the network gathered at the event – city representatives, experts in the field of sustainable mobility and city planning, and fans of walking, cycling and public transport. Members of the CIVINET Greece-Cyprus network and partners of the ProSUMP project – regional exchange of knowledge and good practices on Integrated Transport Strategies in the countries of the Western Balkans also joined.

Ljubljana, co-founder of the most active CIVINET network

In the City of Ljubljana, we have been following the guidelines for the sustainable development of the city for many years, and we can particularly highlight the efforts to promote sustainable mobility. We focused on this as the lead partner in the European project CIVITAS Elan (2008-2012), after which we established the CIVINET Slovenia-Croatia network in Ljubljana on 25 April 2013, with the aim of exchanging good practices in the field of mobility in the region.

When the memorandum was signed, the network consisted of 27 members – cities, organizations, research and educational institutions and companies, and then on 10 February 2016, the network expanded to an even larger area of South East Europe and was renamed CIVINET Slovenia-Croatia-South East Europe. It currently has over 220 members from six countries from the region of former Yugoslavia and is the largest and one of the most active CIVINET networks in Europe.

It is important to learn and progress

The international event included, among other things, emphasizing good mobility practices from the region, a round table, discussions, workshops and guided tours of Ljubljana. At the central event on 23 March at the Ljubljana Castle, the participants were also greeted by Mayor Zoran Janković. He stressed the importance of such events because of the exchange of experiences, personal contact between people dealing with sustainable mobility and discovering examples of good solutions and arrangements in the cities of the region.

»In Ljubljana, we can show many such arrangements that improve the quality of life in the city. Among other things, we have one of the largest pedestrian areas in Europe, a very successful bicycle rental system BicikeLJ, and many green areas. We are pleased that the supporters of sustainable mobility gathered in such a large number right here in Ljubljana, the best among green capitals in Europe and one of the cities in the European Mission for 100 climate-neutral and smart cities. It is important that we learn from each other and discover how we can be even better. Congratulations on the 10th anniversary of the CIVINET Slovenia-Croatia-South East Europe network,« said the Mayor on this occasion.

Deputy Mayor of the City of Zagreb, Luka Korlaet, coordinator of the CIVINET Slo–Cro–SEE network, also spoke at the opening of the event. He praised Ljubljana for its achievements so far in the field of sustainable mobility and added that Zagreb is often inspired by »the most beautiful city in the world«.

Enthusiastic about Ljubljana

We are receiving highly positive responses to the event, in addition to praise for the rich program and enthusiasm about the event locations (it was held at the Ljubljana Castle, in the City Museum of Ljubljana and the Kinodvor cinema), they especially highlight the city tours, during which they have learned first-hand about Ljubljana's good practices in the field of sustainable mobility. We organized four tours: a BicikeLJ bicycle tour on the eastbound route along the Ljubljanica River to the Bike Park Štepanjsko naselje, a walk through the central pedestrian area with a presentation of the Kavalir service and its electric vehicles, a boat tour on the future river public transport route and a bus to the three P+R parking areas with an emphasis on measures to promote public transport and mobility management in the Ljubljana Urban Region. Expert presentations on tours were carried out in cooperation with our public companies and institutes – the public passenger transport company Ljubljanski potniški promet, the public energy company Energetika Ljubljana, the Regional Development Agency of the Ljubljana Urban Region and Ljubljana Tourism.

We have prepared a diverse program in cooperation with the secretariat of the network from Zagreb, the organization ODRAZ – Sustainable Community Development, and the Regional Development Agency of the Ljubljana Urban Region, which acts in the ProSUMP project as a coordinator of promotion activities in cities and regions of the Western Balkans and implements the transfer of good practices for concept development for organizational structure set-up for the implementation of urban mobility plans in cities and regions in SE Europe, with the support of the City of Ljubljana, the CLIMASUM project and the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) within the framework of the Open Regional Fund for South-East Europe – Energy, Transport and Climate Protection.

The event was held as part of the traditional campaign For a More Beautiful Ljubljana because it is precisely by implementing sustainable mobility – both the city implementing projects, measures and activities as well as individuals moving around the city in a sustainable manner – that we contribute to a higher quality of life in the city.