The Forum on Smart Cities and Sustainable Urban Mobility and Security  took place on 11 December 2019 in the conference room of the National Assembly, "Titi Alvarado". The event was opened by Marcos Castillero, Member of Parliament and President of the National Assembly, who stressed the importance of urban security.

Among the guests were deputies and advisors of the National Assembly, representatives of Panama's municipal administration, interested private companies (public and private mobility service providers) and various civil organizations, such as residents' groups (including San Francisco and Betania). On behalf of the KAS, Alixenia López thanked everyone for the participation and emphasized the importance of the city administration and especially of mobility and security.

The issue of safety is also reflected in the Agenda 2030 for Sustainable Development, #11: Sustainable Cities and Towns and is of utmost importance for every citizen who has to be able to move safely as a minimum requirement.  Public administration must take this need into account, as it affects the quality of life and the lives of citizens themselves. However, traffic accidents and inefficiency in transport are daily topics in the news. Deficiencies in infrastructure, public transport, insufficient awareness and traffic education of citizens also have an economic impact. In this context, the KAS is aware that the safety of urban mobility requires further education, dialogue and success stories that present solutions to the state to meet the goals of Agenda 2030 for sustainable cities and municipalities.

In the framework of the Forum on Smart Cities and Sustainable Urban Mobility and Safety, the KAS was able to establish first relations with the Transport Commission of the Panamanian Parliament and the Foundation for Transport Education. Furthermore, the Foundation was able to present itself to the civil society in a public event that was broadcasted live on the TV channel of the National Assembly and published on the website of the National Assembly.

The presentations:

First, Jorge Isaac Perén of SuSBCity and Professor of Architecture at the Faculty of Architecture of the University of Panama spoke about the infrastructure in the city. As a specialist in urban planning, he gave an overview of the innovations, opportunities and challenges that must be taken into account in order to create sustainable measures in urban planning. With the help of his studies and research results on the infrastructure of Panama City, he was also able to point out deficits and make recommendations for improvements. The remarks on urban mobility created awareness and sensitivity for #NoDejarANadieAtrás, or the consideration of all road users. It became clear that changes with a holistic vision are needed to enable the planning of a strong city. Together with Jorge Vega, representative of the NGO Reconocer, he gave examples of the lack of safety that the ordinary citizen often faces. This enabled him to raise the participants' awareness of the daily dangers that citizens face on the streets.

Axel Dell'olio from the Association for the Reduction of Road Accidents (ADISIV), presented the concept of Integral Management of Road Safety. He gave examples of the practical elements, tools, evaluation mechanisms and diagnoses that can be used to improve road safety and the urban environment. In this context it was possible to identify the problems that occur in urban environments. It also became clear that the requirements for emerging cities are similar throughout Latin America. Thus, lessons can be learned from the experiences of other municipalities and possible measures for improving urban safety can be considered.

At the end of the event, Osiris Gratacós from the Foundation for Transport Education thanked the participants for the opportunity to hold the Forum and called for continued work on the implementation of sustainable, modern and safe urban mobility.

Through the Forum it became clear that this is a mobility problem that also touches on many aspects of Agenda 2030. #3 Health and wellness: according to the WHO, about 1.3 million people die on the world's roads and Panama is a reflection of this problem; #4 Quality of education: road education must be included in the academic curriculum from elementary school onwards, so that the entire population is made aware of appropriate traffic behaviour from childhood on; #9 Industry, innovation and infrastructure: appropriate urbanism is needed that respects the safety of the most deprived and achieves harmony between architecture and efficiency; #10 Reducing inequalities: a sustainable urban mobility model is needed to achieve social balance and leave no one behind; #11 Sustainable cities and communities: Administration and public policies create and maintain strong, sustainable and resilient cities; #16 Peace, justice and sound institutions: the various actors (institutions, organisations and citizens) must support and respect the rules; #17 Alliances to achieve the goals: Cities are complex organisms that require the cooperation of all stakeholders, from the state to the economy and civil society, to the individual.