12 September 2022, Colombo, Sri Lanka: The Embassy of the Kingdom of The Netherlands continues to bring together a diverse group of stakeholders to strategize on pushing sustainable mobility in Sri Lanka through shared visions on cycling and sustainable transport. 

Having earlier partnered with the Colombo Municipal Council to pilot ‘CarFreeCMB’, the Netherlands now also supports sustainable mobility in Sri Lanka working closely with Ride for Life Sri Lanka, a group of Sri Lankan citizens who have been promoting cycling as a primary mode of mobility in Sri Lanka. And as the Sri Lankan Government started looking at adopting sustainable mobility practices, the Dutch supported through technical assistance and capacity development to institutions such as the Road Development Authority and Urban Development Authority. To engage the private sector, the Embassy also hosted an event on World Bicycle Day in June to award winners of the Bike to Work call for proposals with Dutch cycling and urban planning consultancy services to implement their ideas. 

In this background, the Embassy of the Netherlands in Sri Lanka convened a virtual co-design session on 31 August to bring together key stakeholders from all sectors to discuss the required steps to mainstream sustainable mobility in the country. The co-design workshop was facilitated by Citra Social Innovation Lab, South Asia’s first social innovation lab which is a joint initiative of the United Nations Development Programme and the Government of Sri Lanka.

The first stakeholder session focused on understanding the current challenges, key stakeholders and ideation of solutions and key actions needed to promote cycling among the public. Subsequent sessions are planned to continue the deliberations and develop an action plan to effectively mainstream cycling in the country. Are you/your organization/company interested in joining this movement for sustainable mobility, please contact innovations.lk@undp.org.  

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