On August 20 and 21, 2024, a partner meeting for the INTERREG Central Baltic Sea Region Programme 2021–2027 co-funded project “SuRuMo” (“Sustainable Mobility Solutions for Rural Areas”) was held at the Riga City Council. The event was organized by the Riga Planning Region, one of the project partners. The meeting was also attended by a delegation from Sweden, including representatives from the lead partner AB Östgötatrafiken, as well as representatives from the Östergötland Region, the Swedish National Road and Transport Research Institute, and Linköping University. The Kurzeme Planning Region was represented at the event by project manager Vizma Ģēģere, mobility specialist Anna Margreta Vērdiņa, project expert Gints Birzietis, and project department head Aiga Meri.
The event was opened by the speech of Annelie Frick, a representative of the lead partner AB Östgötatrafiken, who provided comprehensive information about the project. Tīna Šipkēvica, project manager and event organizer from the Riga Planning Region, presented the event program. This was followed by a presentation on the project by Laura Cunska-Aborna from the Central Baltic Lead Secretariat. Rūdolfs Cimdiņš, head of the Spatial Planning Department at the Riga Planning Region, and David Gundlegard from Linköping University also delivered presentations about the project. Kristīne Larsona provided an overview of the “SuRuMo” project’s point D 2.3, which focuses on co-creative methods for involving users and stakeholders. This was followed by working group sessions and discussions led by Annelie Frick, during which tasks from each region were reviewed and evaluated. The Ostergotland, Riga Planning, and Kurzeme Planning Regions presented their progress and upcoming activities. The day concluded with group discussions and future planning. An excursion around Riga’s Old Town was organized for the project partners. On the second day of the seminar, a field visit to two pilot areas within the Riga Planning Region was arranged. From the Kurzeme Planning Region, project manager Vizma Ģēģere and mobility specialist Anna Vērdiņa participated. The first visit was to the village of “Lapsas,” where a meeting and discussions were held with local community representatives about their mobility issues. The second pilot site was in Ķemeri, a part of Jūrmala city, where tourism office representatives greeted the group, provided insights into Ķemeri from a tourism perspective, and outlined their mobility challenges.
We would like to express our sincere gratitude to the Riga Planning Region team for their excellent organization and programming of the two-day event. The Kurzeme Planning Region looks forward to hosting the project partners in the summer of next year.
The SuRuMo project aims to conduct research in pilot areas, gather data, and develop a unified digital platform to address sustainable mobility in rural regions.
Project activities are being implemented with the support of the Central Baltics Programme 2021-2027.
Project manager
Vizma Ģēģere
+371 29129385
vizma.gegere@kurzemesregions.lv
