The International Road Federation (IRF) and Dubai’s Roads & Transport Authority (RTA) are convening global surface transportation specialists to the 18th IRF World Meeting & Exhibition on November 7-10, 2021. This will be held under the patronage of HH Sheikh Hamdan Bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and chairman of The Executive Council,
Held in Dubai, one of the world's iconic cities and a hub of transport innovation, the IRF World Meeting is a global summit and technology showcase that is both uniquely relevant to a wide cross-section of road mobility stakeholders. It is focused on delivering solutions to the world's pressing mobility questions.
In a new program released on May 1 the co-organisers have presented 70 policy panels, scientific sessions, workshops and master classes articulated around the World Meeting’s six central themes:
- Innovations in transport engineering & financing
- Preparing roads for electric & autonomous mobility
- Safe & sustainable by design
- Maximising existing road assets
- Re-inventing urban mobility
- Roads & inclusive societies
The policy panels range from game-changing trends in road construction to solutions designed to reduce the carbon footprint of road traffic, achieve “Vision Zero” fatal injuries, and mitigate the impacts of future shocks arising from pandemics and natural disasters.
The scientific program was assembled with input from 40 leading academic partners as well as 350 abstracts submitted by researchers in 56 countries. As part of a partnership signed with Springer Publications, the full conference Proceedings will be referenced in a prestigious scientific journal.
Additional learning opportunities will come through the form of master classes available to all delegates and focused on practical questions. These include topics such as affordable road monitoring, transport demand modelling and solutions to mitigate urban heat islands.
According to HE Abdullah Al-Mogbel, chairman of the IRF, "IRF World Meetings are a privileged opportunity to set strategic orientations for the sector. It is a source of great pride that IRF is planning the premier event for transportation professionals in 2021 alongside our local host, the Dubai Roads & Transport Authority. I call upon the global transport community to fully engage with us in delivering this landmark event."
World Meeting host, the Dubai Roads & Transport Authority (RTA) has invested over US$30 billion on roads and transportation infrastructure since its establishment in 2005. Dubai and the UAE's highways have consistently been rated the best in the world, according to the World Economic Forum's Global Competitiveness Report. Signature road projects include the recent opening of the AE$590 million Dubai Intelligent Traffic Systems Centre, a state-of-the-art technology platform that uses artificial intelligence and technologies of advanced communication systems. They also include road facilities leading to the Dubai Expo site consisting of eight interchanges with 80 bridges which will serve 250,000 visitors/day.
Eng Maitha Bin Adai, CEO of the Traffic and Roads Agency, said: "The meeting and exhibition of the International Road Federation will bring new knowledge to the region and open avenues for partnerships and cooperation. Dubai is the undisputed city of the future in the Middle East. Behind this story, the RTA’s efforts contribute to promoting a culture of excellence, quality and innovation based on world-class research, and the authority seeks to implement the Dubai government's strategy to convert 25% of the total transportation trips in Dubai to self-driving trips through various modes of transportation by 2030.”
