Organised every four years, the IRF World Meeting has established itself as one of the most prestigious congresses for road transport professionals. The 17th 2462 IRF World Meeting has just concluded its deliberations and lived up to both its reputation and participants' expectations
Held in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, the event attracted over 2000 participants across six continents that were present as exhibitors and/or had the opportunity to participate in many of the numerous high quality technical and scientific sessions of the congress.
The7575 ERF was strongly involved in the organisation of the event from the very beginning. Charged with the task of maximising participation from Europe, ERF managed to pull through. Through systematic awareness-raising amongst its members and in external events, this greatly contributed to a high number of abstracts submitted by European participants, the highest in fact compared to other continents.
In addition to the mobilisation of the European participations, ERF presence was also boosted by its exhibition stand. Together with a selected number of members (184 Colas, 294 Nynas, 231 Hill & Smith and the Heintzmann Group), ERF had the second largest stand of the event. Together with the Spanish Pavilion, this became a key point of reference for participants and other exhibitors.
Thirdly, ERF staff actively participated in the technical sessions either as speakers or moderators. In particular, ERF director general Christophe Nicodème had the opportunity to share the ERF‘s experience on Road Asset Management on several occasions and most importantly, during the special session held under the auspices of PIARC. Against a backdrop of declining road maintenance budgets, there is a growing need to raise awareness of the huge socio-economic importance of Europe’s road infrastructure, which in fact represents one of its largest community assets.
Nicodème’s participation was complemented by other presentations given by ERF staff on two EC co-funded projects. RAINVISION seeks to investigate the impact of road markings on driving behaviour under all weather conditions during night-time. Meanwhile DURABROADS aims at developing a new generation of pavement materials that are more resilient to the challenges of climate change and increased freight transport.
“Our participation in the 17th IRF World has lived up to our expectations and even exceeded them. First of all, it has provided the ERF with a fantastic opportunity to raise awareness of its activities and present to a broader audience the achievements and challenges facing Europe in these difficult times. Second, it has enabled us to strengthen our ties with the region of the Gulf Cooperation Council and to enable it to act as a hub for technology transfer to other countries outside Europe. The EU has an impressive track record on road safety and ERF can play a pivotal role in enabling the sharing of good practice acquired in Europe over many years. Finally, and most importantly, this event has proved a fantastic opportunity for us to strengthen our relationship with our IRF colleagues on the other side of the Atlantic. Our cooperation during the past year and a half has been exceptional and I would like to thank them for giving us the opportunity to contribute to such a prestigious event,” said Nicodèmee.
Held in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, the event attracted over 2000 participants across six continents that were present as exhibitors and/or had the opportunity to participate in many of the numerous high quality technical and scientific sessions of the congress.
The
In addition to the mobilisation of the European participations, ERF presence was also boosted by its exhibition stand. Together with a selected number of members (
Thirdly, ERF staff actively participated in the technical sessions either as speakers or moderators. In particular, ERF director general Christophe Nicodème had the opportunity to share the ERF‘s experience on Road Asset Management on several occasions and most importantly, during the special session held under the auspices of PIARC. Against a backdrop of declining road maintenance budgets, there is a growing need to raise awareness of the huge socio-economic importance of Europe’s road infrastructure, which in fact represents one of its largest community assets.
Nicodème’s participation was complemented by other presentations given by ERF staff on two EC co-funded projects. RAINVISION seeks to investigate the impact of road markings on driving behaviour under all weather conditions during night-time. Meanwhile DURABROADS aims at developing a new generation of pavement materials that are more resilient to the challenges of climate change and increased freight transport.
“Our participation in the 17th IRF World has lived up to our expectations and even exceeded them. First of all, it has provided the ERF with a fantastic opportunity to raise awareness of its activities and present to a broader audience the achievements and challenges facing Europe in these difficult times. Second, it has enabled us to strengthen our ties with the region of the Gulf Cooperation Council and to enable it to act as a hub for technology transfer to other countries outside Europe. The EU has an impressive track record on road safety and ERF can play a pivotal role in enabling the sharing of good practice acquired in Europe over many years. Finally, and most importantly, this event has proved a fantastic opportunity for us to strengthen our relationship with our IRF colleagues on the other side of the Atlantic. Our cooperation during the past year and a half has been exceptional and I would like to thank them for giving us the opportunity to contribute to such a prestigious event,” said Nicodèmee.
