PIARC is really happy to be able to convene its Mid-Term Meeting, with the involvement of all our Committees and Task Forces. It was due to take place in Prague, in the Czech Republic, but the pandemic has made this impossible, and we are organising it as a series of four online meetings.

The Mid-Term Meeting is a long-standing tradition of the Association and is a key part of our overall processes. It is a time in our four-year work cycle to pause, in order to review the progress on the expected deliverables, with workshops on each of our Strategic Themes. It is also a great opportunity to organize interaction between all our 20 Committees and Task Forces, so that they can share ideas and best practice, and also work together on some common issues. The meeting is open to all Committee and Task Force Chairs and Secretaries, as well as to the leadership of the Association.

This year we will discuss a wide range of topics, including Innovation, Climate change and Resilience, Safety, how PIARC works with low- and middle-in come economies, the impact of COVID-19 on roads and transport and on our own processes. The meeting will also include a workshop on gender inclusion and diversity, in order to raise awareness of all on those questions, so that we can discuss how best to build them into our outputs and into the way we work.

We all look forward to that, and we will make sure to answer our Czech colleagues’ invitation at another time!