Following a very active and rewarding past few months, where METREX was represented at events almost weekly – on a local, European and international level – we’re pleased to bring some updates and opportunities to engage during the rest of 2022.
The Metropolitan Vision for Europe 2050, which we have been promoting at meetings across Europe, remains at the top of our agenda. We’ve used the many events over the last few months to take a reading of some of the key issues. Between now and the end of 2022, we will hold a series of roundtable discussions to bring in scientific, business and political communities – as well as you, our Members – to articulate why the metropolitan scale must be at the centre of Europe’s policies and programmes.
You may also be aware that we have been working on a new communications strategy for METREX. Together with our advisors, we’re in the process of analysing your feedback and will evolve this into what will become our new strategy. Our aim is to share this with you at our forthcoming Autumn Conference, which will take place over 5-7 October 2022, in the Metropolitan Region of Amsterdam. Here are some preliminary details of the Conference, which offer an overview of our time in Amsterdam and Almere.
As parts of Europe fall under extreme heat, two areas of METREX’s work come to the forefront: the From Roads to Streets Expert Group, a key part of which promotes green-led urban cooling, and the Metropolitan Climate Challenge Expert Group, a new initiative to help address the world’s most serious threat.
Linked to Expert Groups, we are looking to Members to come forward with information on new activities that we are developing– on energy and visioning –as well as refreshing on the opportunities for knowledge exchange that are already available. Details can be found on this recent update.
Finally, we will soon be approaching Members to support colleagues in Ukraine with technical assistance. We are working directly with a small team in Ukraine to understand what assistance they need.
We wish you a safe and enjoyable summer!
Photo of Amsterdam, the location for our next Conference, by Bart Ros on Unsplash
