From 15 to 17 September 2026, Europe’s urban mobility community will gather in Thessaloniki, Greece, for the CIVITAS Forum 2026 – the flagship event of the CIVITAS Initiative.
Under the theme Roots & Routes: Moving Forward to Competitive, Connected and Resilient Urban Mobility, the forum will bring together city leaders, policymakers, researchers, industry experts and practitioners to exchange ideas, showcase innovative solutions and shape the future of sustainable urban mobility.
EIT Urban Mobility at CIVITAS Forum 2026
EIT Urban Mobility will play an active role throughout the Forum, bringing its experience of connecting cities, innovators, industry and policymakers to help turn urban mobility innovation into real-world impact.
From high-level discussions on European competitiveness and the deployment of innovation to practical sessions on public transport, city partnerships and mobility solutions ready to scale, EIT Urban Mobility will contribute to some of the Forum’s key conversations.
Plenary 1 | Competitive urban mobility: scaling innovation, industry and investment pipelines
Tuesday, 15 September | 13.00–14.45 CET
Marc Rozendal, CEO of EIT Urban Mobility, will join the high-level opening plenary on competitive urban mobility, exploring how Europe can move from successful innovation to large-scale deployment and strengthen its competitiveness in the process.
Marc will share EIT Urban Mobility’s perspective on bridging innovation and deployment, strengthening collaboration between cities, innovators and industry, supporting market uptake and creating the conditions for European mobility solutions to scale and deliver tangible public value.
The rest of the panel includes:
- Stelios Aggeloudis, Mayor of Thessaloniki
- George Kotsiras, Alternate Minister at the Greek Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport
- Ewa Ptaszynska, Head of Unit at CINEA
- Karen Vancluysen, Secretary General of POLIS
- Vasileios Tsanidis, Innovation Procurement Programme Coordinator at the European Innovation Council
- Neil Valentine, Head of the Urban Mobility Division at the European Investment Bank
- Vassilis Kappatos, Director at the Hellenic Institute of Transport (HIT/CERTH).
The discussion will address the investment, collaboration, market and policy conditions needed to help promising mobility innovations move beyond pilots and scale across Europe.
High-level meeting with EU Commissioner Apostolos Tzitzikostas
Thursday, 17 September | 12.00–13.15 CET
Marc Rozendal will also represent EIT Urban Mobility at a closed high-level meeting with Apostolos Tzitzikostas, European Commissioner for Sustainable Transport and Tourism, alongside leaders of major European mobility organisations and city representatives.
Under the theme “Urban mobility innovation – from pilots to deployment within the EU competitiveness agenda”, the meeting will explore which proven, EU-supported mobility solutions are ready to move towards full deployment and what barriers still prevent them from scaling.
The discussion will bring together senior representatives from organisations including POLIS, Eurocities, UITP, ECF, ALICE, ENoLL and IRU, creating a high-level space to discuss how Europe can turn successful urban mobility innovation into deployment at scale.
EIT Urban Mobility sessions at CVITAS Forum
Beyond the high-level programme, EIT Urban Mobility is curating three sessions exploring how cities and mobility stakeholders can accelerate innovation, strengthen public transport and share lessons across Europe.
Scaling Urban Mobility Innovation: From Pilot Projects to City Deployment
Tuesday 15 September | 15.00–16.15 CET
Moving from a successful pilot to deployment at scale remains one of Europe’s biggest urban mobility challenges. This session will explore how innovation procurement, city partnerships, living labs, regulatory sandboxes, evidence of impact, finance and market uptake can help make that transition possible.
Yann Simon, Head of City Partnership at EIT Urban Mobility, will share EIT Urban Mobility’s experience of working with cities to validate, pilot and scale innovative mobility solutions across Europe.
Urban Mobility Innovation Beyond the EU: Practical Lessons from Candidate and Partner Countries
Tuesday 15 September | 15.00–16.15 CET
Innovation doesn’t stop at the EU’s borders. This session will explore how cities and mobility stakeholders in EU candidate and partner countries are advancing sustainable urban mobility despite institutional, financial and infrastructure challenges.
Drawing on experiences from Ukraine, Moldova, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia, the discussion will cover sustainable urban mobility planning, road safety, public transport reform, clean fleets, active mobility, evidence-based planning and capacity building.
The session will also feature the SHIFT2SUSTAIN project, in which EIT Urban Mobility is a partner.
Transforming Public Transport Systems: Innovation, Markets & Partnerships
Wednesday 16 September | 14.30–15.45 CET
How can cities and transport authorities modernise public transport while creating the right conditions for innovation and long-term deployment?
This session will bring together public and private sector perspectives to explore demand-responsive and shared mobility, digital tools and data sharing, governance and contractual frameworks, and strategic partnerships.
The discussion will also look at how successful pilots can move towards long-term deployment and contribute to more effective and attractive public transport systems.
Matchmaking Agora – Ready to Scale: Meet the Next CIVITAS Mobility Solutions
Tuesday 15 September | 16.15–17.15 CET
Be sure to visit the CIVITAS Matchmaking Agora, organised by EIT Urban Mobility, where a carefully selected group of CIVITAS-funded mobility innovators will pitch their solutions and connect with cities and other stakeholders to explore opportunities for deployment, replication and market uptake. The selected solutions come from DECARBOMILE, GREEN-LOG, ELABORATOR, SPINE and UPPER.
Whether you’re looking for inspiring discussions, innovative solutions or new partnerships, we look forward to meeting you in Thessaloniki!