WELCOME NOTE

Dear friends and colleagues,

We are living in unprecedented times and the uncertainties linked to the global COVID-19 pandemic and the delays or differences in the vaccination advancement in our EPA countries made us question the impact and ability to conduct and ensure a well-attended safe international parking and mobility congress. In order to confirm that we will celebrate a truly memorable event the 20th EPA Congress and Exhibition, the EPA Board and the Belgian Parking Federation have decided to postpone the congress to autumn 2022.

The 2022 Congress theme is “The EU Green Deal and the Future of Parking – Integrated solutions for Dynamic Urban Management” and will be the most complete and multidisciplinary event involving operators in the parking industry, national and local public administrations, representatives of European Commissions and Projects, experts in the field of mobility, urban logistics, electrical mobility, the data world, ITS, Apps and much more. We will be examining the overall parking and urban mobility situation in Europe after the COVID-19 pandemic enabling us to address wider issues of urban mobility alongside detailed parking matters. EPA with renewed intensity continues positively promoting parking solutions for sustainable mobility, contributing to the reduction of congestion, pollution and improving accessibility.

The European Parking Association today represents the national associations of 21 countries and their 41 million on- and off-street parking spaces, almost 500 thousand professional employees and an estimated annual turnover of €23 billion. This stimulating cultural, operative and economical context with its vast range of parking and mobility realities and solutions is being used to increase the awareness of the enormous potential and opportunities that parking management offers in contributing to sustainable towns and cities generating liveable, accessible and competitive centres. The EPA professionals today contribute by managing the static component of the mobility chain in the on- and off-street spaces for individual, collective and logistics vehicles, and the technological revolution that we are part of today is a stimulating challenge for the parking industry that is part of the fast moving world where the digital, technological, clean energy and behavioural developments are generating new opportunities.

Many illustrious personalities from the political, scientific, academic and industrial fields have been speakers during recent congresses and the 20^th EPA Congress will continue the level of excellence. A brief mention of some of our past speakers confirming the level of prestige are: Siim Kallas, Vice President of the European Commission and Commissioner for Transport, Prof. Donald Shoup, Professor of the Department of Urban Planning – UCLA, Los Angeles, José Viegas, Secretary General of the International Transport Forum, Transport and Mobility Ministers and Mobility Councillors from many countries, leaders and experts from the automotive industry and its associations, the transport authorities and their associations, the ITS world and of course public and private experts from the parking industry and internationally renowned academics.

The EPA Congress combines a well-attended scientific conference with a trade exhibition for the parking and mobility industry. The recent events have seen an average presence of over 500 delegates, 50 top level national and international speakers and 70 exhibitors from 32 countries worldwide. The professional trade exhibition alongside the Congress offers the opportunity to the manufacturers, suppliers and others active in this field to promote their products and services. We ask you to consider this exceptional showcase event for gaining information, exchanging ideas and networking with the European Parking Industry.

The Congress marks the biennial presentation of the prestigious EPA Awards introduced back in 1994 and since the EPA Awards ceremony is one of the staged highlights of the EPA Congress it was decided that it too will be postponed together with the Congress to the autumn of the year 2022. The awards will be assigned in five different categories, illustrating the state of art solutions combining management, technology and environmental attention.

Today the EPA Congress is unquestionably the most important combined international parking and mobility event in Europe and the event in 2022 will reach a new level and will mark a further strategic change in EPA’s development.

EPA together with BPF, the Belgian Parking Federation who will be hosting the event, is making every effort to ensure the Congress is a worthwhile, enjoyable and memorable event and we look forward to finally meeting you all again in Brussels at the 20th EPA Congressand Exhibition.

Yours sincerely,