Interview with José Vicente de los Mozos, president of the Steering Committee of IFEMA MADRID, for News GLOBAL MOBILTY CALL

1. What is Global Mobility Call?

GMC is much more than an event. It's a globally driven platform that comes at a key time on the heels of the triple crisis of health, the economy, and collective conscience. This situation has mobilized institutions and companies to take measures and propose recovery plans, which makes this a unique opportunity to turn sustainable mobility into a force that creates a positive impact socially as well as environmentally, on the productive sectors of every order.

It will therefore be a high-level encounter that will bring together international leaders from different activity segments directly interested in new mobility to offer solutions and experiences, as well as to catch investor attention in new projects. An encounter that will try to captivate and lead the discourse on sustainable mobility of goods and people; to integrate the ecosystem of interconnected industrial sectors, and contribute to post-pandemic recovery while also fostering a society and environment that are cleaner, safer, healthier, and more inclusive.

2. How is it different from other events and conferences on international mobility?

Until now no one had thought of an encompassing, transversal event on sustainable mobility. The smart city perspective, which is the one most often approached conference-wise, will only be one part of the broader vision of our conference, which hosts contexts that are really important to take into account, such as the five thematic axes that bundle together in the development of sustainable mobility and turn it into a single event: New Urban Planning, which will address new urban models for energy efficiency, mobility and connectivity centred on the citizen; Economic Development & Regulation, on the economic drive from new frameworks of public-private cooperation, business ecosystems, and regulatory schemes; Sustainable Transportation, to treat the challenges of multimodal transport, scheduling, and the best solutions; Tech, Data & Innovation, on the new technologies in infrastructure, data, automation, and new services; and Future Society, which proposes a global public agenda to take on the newly arising demographic and social challenges.

3. For EFEMA MADRID, what goals and expectations do you have with organising and holding GMC?

Our goal is to make GMC a flagship for innovation, creating a front-running initiative in terms of society, the economy, technology, the environment, and regulations. It will feature contents that will point the way to go with the participation of the major international leaders.

We hope to bring together more than 7000 professionals and more than a hundred key speakers and leaders of opinion.

4. From your point of view, where is sustainable mobility now in Spain and where should it be headed with the help of GMC?

We've made progress, but there's still a long way to go. In our country we have large companies, consultancies and engineering firms that lead international markets in matters of design and construction of infrastructures, gas, energy, as well as a powerful automotive market, and they have a lot to contribute to finding sustainable, feasible, and socially committed solutions. That's why we're sure the GMC conference will be a success, because it will join the greatest relational and business potential on a global level as we've never seen before.

Some data to understand the economic dimension of what sustainable mobility can mean: according to a study done by the Spanish Association of Automobile Manufacturers (ANFAC), by 2040 it will bring in some 310 billion euros in sales; between 860,000 and 1.4 million jobs, and it will entail an investment for every sector involves of 54 billion euros, or said another way, 5% of the GDP of our country.

5. When we talk of a sustainable mobility ecosystem, we usually think of big companies, but what about small and medium businesses and entrepreneurs? What role do they have in developing this sector?

Indeed, we always talk about our big flag bearers on the international level, but in fact our business fabric is quite different, since more that 90% is made up of small and medium businesses. There is no doubt that they are all essential to providing support, because many of them are already indispensable suppliers, and have their responsibility in developing sustainable projects, and of course responsibility for their own activity with the environment and particularly with their models of mobility. That's why Global Mobility Call will also be a shout-out to our country's small and medium businesses.

6. GMC has managed to accomplish true public-private support for its call. What will it take for this alliance to be long term and achieve its objectives on matters of sustainable mobility?

It's absolutely essential. We're at a time when intelligence and leadership, public and private alike, feed off each other and are indispensable for achieving their goals and fulfilling projects, and in the area of mobility, it ¡s absolutely essential. That's why close, long-term collaboration is needed for the institutions that are responsible for managing mobility in their territories  to have the technical resources only the private sector can provide to ensure it optimally, sustainably, and socially.

7. How or what impact does an event like this have on daily life of citizens in Madrid and in Spain? How to explain that this event has some effect on their everyday life?

We want to get the message across to society. For them to appreciate the research and development efforts being done in the private sector, and the progress being made in every city and territory, also fostered by the public administrations. And this conference may be the best platform for broadcasting the lines of action being taken not only in Spain but around the whole world.

8. GMC is also a platform of action that goes beyond June 16, when the event ends. What can you say about this phase of post-event continuity?

Indeed, beyond the physical conference, which we hope will be a success, Global Mobility Call will remain active through its digital platform Live Connect, which will help give continuity to the links and relationships that get established in Madrid and notably increase their echo internationally throughout the year. So the project is conceived to have continuity and cross borders.