Event
15/09/2026 - 17/09/2026 Thessaloniki, Greece

CIVITAS Forum 2026

The CIVITAS Forum 2026, the flagship event of the CIVITAS Initiative, will take place from 15-17 September 2026 in Thessaloniki, Greece.

Since 2003, the CIVITAS Forum has brought together city representatives, policymakers, practitioners, planners, academics, and mobility enthusiasts to exchange ideas and shape the future of smart, inclusive, and sustainable urban mobility.

The 2026 theme is 'Roots & Routes: Moving Forward to Competitive, Connected and Resilient Urban Mobility!' and the programme is structured around three umbrella topics: competitiveness, connectivity, and resilience.


Where to find POLIS

DAY 1
OPENING PLENARY (13:00-14:45)

Plenary session 'Competitive Urban Mobility: Scaling Innovation, Industry, and Investment Pipelines'

  • Thessaloniki Concert Hall, M2 Building, Emilios Riadis (Plenary Room)
  • MoC: Dan Sobovitz, European Start-up Prize for Mobility
  • Moderator: Ewa Ptaszynska (CINEA)
  • Speakers: Karen Vancluysen (POLIS), Eric von Breska (DG MOVE), Stelios Angeloudis (City of Thessaloniki), Stelios Sakaretsios (Greek Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport), Vassilis Kappatos (Hellenic Institute of Transport, CERTH), Neil Valentine (EIB), and Marc Rozendal (EIT Urban Mobility)

PARALLEL SESSIONS I (15:00-16:15)

POLIS member Turku will appear in the session 'City-Region Connectivity and TEN-T Urban Nodes: Integrated Planning and Cross-Border Coordination', and Sofia in 'Scaling Urban Mobility Innovation: From Pilot Projects to City Deployment'.


PARALLEL SESSIONS II (17:15-18:30)

POLIS member Breda University of Applied Sciences will appear in the session 'Mobility Skills & Workforce for the Transition', and Dublin, Hamburg, Madrid, and Forum Virium Helsinki in the session 'Urban Air Mobility Strategies: City Perspectives and Lessons Learned'.


DAY 2
PARALLEL SESSIONS III (11:15-12:15)

POLIS members Bologna and Hamburg will appear in the session 'Active Mobility for Liveable, Healthy Cities—How Cities Make It Happen (Part I)', CERTH will participate in the session 'Data-Driven Mobility: AI, Digital Twins and Urban Transport (Part I), and Antwerp in the session 'Inclusive & Accessible Public Transport for All (Part I)'.

 

PARALLEL SESSIONS IV (12:30-13:15)

POLIS members Roma Servizi per la Mobilità, Barcelona, and BKK Centre for Budapest Transport will feature in the session 'From Data to Decisions: Planning, Monitoring and Managing Urban Mobility (Part II)'.


PARALLEL SESSIONS V (14:30-15:45)

Session 'Transforming Public Transport Systems: Innovation, Markets & Partnerships'

  • Speakers: Ivo Cré (POLIS), Isabelle Vandoorne (DG MOVE), Giorgos Antoniou (Municipality of Ioannina), Chiara Lepori (SRM Società Reti e Mobilità), Marti Jofre (NEMI Mobility Solutions), and Ioannis Panagiotidis (INFRAMIND Innovative Infrastructures Ltd.)

Session 'Future-Ready Last-Mile Logistics: Shaping Demand, Deliveries and Urban Space'

  • Moderator: Raffaele Vergnani (POLIS)
  • Speakers: Amalia Polydoropoulou (University of the Aegean), Lorena Axinte (Bax Innovation), Live Røstadsand (Agency for Urban Environment Oslo), and Ioanna Fergadiotou (Inlecom Athens Lab)

POLIS member Roma Servizi per la Mobilità will take part in the session 'Safe Streets for All: Vision Zero in Urban Areas'.


PARALLEL SESSIONS VI (16:15-17:30)

POLIS member BKK Centre for Budapest Transport will take part in the session 'European, National and Local Cooperation for the Next Generation of SUMPs', Barcelona and CERTH in the session 'The Thessaloniki Challenge: Thessaloniki vs Europe on the Road to Climate-Neutral Mobility', and Mobility Lab Vitoria Gasteiz and Madrid in the session 'Urban Freight Data Connectivity and System Operations: From Data Sharing to Measurable Outcomes'.


DAY 3
CLOSING PLENARY (9:30-10:45)

Plenary session 'Connected Tourism Mobility: Managing Visitor Flows and Liveability in European Cities'

  • Thessaloniki Concert Hall, M2 Building, Emilios Riadis (Plenary Room)
  • MoC: Dan Sobovitz, European Start-up Prize for Mobility
  • Moderator: Nina Nesterova (BUAS)
  • Key speaker: Apostolos Tzitzikostas, Commissioner for Sustainable Transport and Tourism, European Commission
  • Speakers: Stelios Angeloudis (City of Thessaloniki), Cristina Nunez (NECSTouR), Françoise Guaspare (Île-de-France), Jaromir Beranek (City of Prague), and Jan Deman (Busworld Foundation)

PARALLEL SESSIONS VII (11:30-12:45)

POLIS members CERTH and the Province of South Holland will appear in the session 'Sustainable Tourism Mobility', Helmond, in the session 'Automated Mobility Services: From Demonstration to Deployment – Building Europe’s Competitive Advantage', and Madrid in the session 'Powering the Transition: Deploying Investable Energy-Mobility Roadmaps for Cities'.


SIDE EVENTS

On 15 September 2026, POLIS, together with CERTH, the Region of Central Macedonia (RCM), and the Municipality of Oslo, will host the workshop 'From projects to practice: advancing SUMP implementation in the functional city' on data and decision-making in SUMP implementation. The side event features Ivo Cré (POLIS), Marko Stančec (POLIS), Iliani Styliani Anapali, Maria Chatziathanasiou, and Maria Morfoulaki (CERTH) among the speakers.

On 17 September 2026, from 14:00 to 15:30, the DISCO project, together with MED COLOURS, is hosting the workshop 'City–innovation partnerships in action: from research to urban logistics transformation in Thessaloniki', presenting how research and innovation projects are translated into practical urban logistics solutions through collaboration between cities, research organisations, and local stakeholders. The event features Raffaele Vergnani (POLIS), Vasileios Giannoudis, Zisis Maleas, and Dimos Touloumidis (CERTH).

Check the full programme here.


More info

Visit the CIVITAS website for more information.